In Katrina's Wake: The U.S. Coast Guard and the Gulf Coast Hurricanes of 2005

Of all the Homeland Security agencies operating in New Orleans before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, no agency performed its duties with the same level of diligence and heroism as did the U.S. Coast Guard. Tirelessly, Coasties in helicopters and small boats pulled survivors from rooftops, floating debris, and high ground and ferried them to safety as the rest of us watched live on CNN.

Only a few days later, disaster struck again in the form of Hurricane Rita, which left ev...