Air Station Clearwater

Air Station Clearwater is the largest and most significant air station operated and maintained by the United States Coast Guard. There are a few air stations in this armed force of the country though. This one is located within the international airport from Clearwater, Florida. It is supported by around 600 military troops and civilian personnel, not to mention about the fifteen aircrafts – six HC 130 H Hercules units and nine HH 60 J Jayhawk units.

Air Station Clearwater is more than just a basic installation. Its jurisdiction goes over two other similar facilities. Both of them are located in The Bahamas. These two facilities support the same missions of the US Coast Guard, but mostly the ones implying the drug operations and the illegal immigrants. The place is commanded by Captain John Turner. It brags with around twenty decorations and its motto claiming “Anytime, Anywhere”.

History

Before using Air Station Clearwater, the US Coast Guard established a small facility in the western part of Florida. It was located in St. Petersburg and hosted multiple amphibious units. In 1976, the officials adopted the more advanced HC 130 Hercules aircrafts, which brought in a lot of other changes and expansion projects. However, this base was unable to expand, therefore the officials decided to set up a similar one nearby. This is how Air Station Clearwater was established.

The station may be relatively young compared to other similar facilities, but its history is very rich, especially around the Caribbean and Florida. The first decorations were achieved in the ’80s due to the heavy amounts of work and the impressive success rate. Besides, the station was involved in the well known Cuban lift. A new medal was awarded for the rescue operations from Grenada. The invasion was referred to as Operation Urgent Fury and implids the harsh attack of the United States of America over Grenada to install a favorable government. During the same year, Air Station Clearwater played a major role in Operation Wagon Wheel. The operation was conducted in a tight collaboration with other agencies to stop some huge drug transports. Similar such operations were taken over the years and most of them brought in more and more decorations. One of them clearly stands up in the crowd though. In 1986, the site was responsible for launching Challenger, one of the most prolific space shuttles.

The site became the largest air station in the United States Coast Guard in 1987, when it was taken through a major expansion project. It was the time when the two other subsidiary installations from The Bahamas were also established. Other popular operations it was involved in over the years include Operation Desert Storm or Operation Kuwait Liberation. It also played a major role in 2005, after the disastrous tsunami that affected more countries around the Indian Ocean.

Today, the activity at Air Station Clearwater is not as intense as it used to be years ago. However, the military troops are always ready to step in whenever the situation asks for it.