COAST GUARD UPGRADES ITS CAPABILITIES (AND COOL) BY OPERATING JET SKIS

The debate over which branch of the United States military has the coolest equipment is an eternal and ever-evolving one. Is it the Army with its unstoppable tanks and deadly attack helicopters? The Navy, with its sleek submarines and massive aircraft carriers? The Air Force and its squadrons of stealth bombers and futuristic fighters? Or we Marines with our delicious crayons and the big rocks we like to bang against other, even bigger rocks?

As with all purely subjective issues, this argument will probably never end. And it’s recently gotten even more complicated now that one of our country’s more underappreciated armed forces recently begun operating one of the coolest modes of transportation there is. That’s right, the United States Coast Guard has jet skis (cue rocking electric guitar riff).

The History of the Jet Ski

The history of the personal watercraft (PWC), the formal title for the family of vehicles commonly referred to as jet skis (even though that’s actually the brand name for a line of PWC’s manufactured by Kawasaki), dates back to the 1960s.

During that decade, former banker and avid motorbike enthusiast Clayton Jacobson II came up with the idea for a vehicle that could approximate the thrills of his hobby on the water. He was eventually approached by the Bombardier, Inc. corporation to design a machine that would potentially fulfil that goal: a water-borne adaptation of their Ski-Doo snowmobile. The ensuing vehicle, the Sea-Doo, hit the market in 1968 but failed to catch on with the public.

After Bombardier lost interest, they gave Jacobson the patent, which he took to Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki in 1971. By 1973, they began marketing their first Jet Skis to the public; steered from a standing position via a handlebar and powered by a 400cc engine, the vehicles were capable of the speed and power needed to tow a water skier.

The machines proved incredibly popular, leading Kawasaki to begin mass-producing them in 1976. Other manufacturers began building and selling similar watercraft, including Bombardier who restarted their Sea-Doo line of products in 1988. Today, several companies sell a variety of personal watercraft that, despite their modern features and minor differences, all bear a great deal of similarity to the first motorbike-inspired vessels Clayton Jacobson II first designed.

Do Other US Military Branches Have Jet Skis?

As a matter of fact, the US Navy has PWC of its own. Specifically, they own and operate an unknown number of specialized jet skis in use by their SEAL Teams.

According to insider experts, the jet skis operated by America’s lethal frogmen are specifically modified craft capable of carrying up to three people at high speeds.

Moreover, America isn’t even the only country whose armed forces operate jet skis. Units of Russia’s special forces and the Iranian military also have PWCs capable of carrying troops into combat.

Why the US Coast Guard Has Jet Skis

Because they’re awesome (repeat guitar riff)! But seriously, the Coast Guard recently began fielding personal watercraft for several practical reasons.

With the Department of Homeland Security’s increased focus on the southern border of the United States, jet skis allow Coast Guardsmen to operate closer to shore with greater speed and flexibility than ever before.

Additionally, USCG rescue units now equipped with PWCs can put that speed and flexibility to use in saving the lives of boaters and swimmers in peril up and down America’s coastlines. As if having jet skis wasn’t cool enough in its own right (third and final guitar riff).

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