I cant really go into details but I will tell you that as a Marine in 2nd Force Recon back in the mid 80's,the Coast Guard saved several of us from the bad guys several times.Those guys ran us up river in a certain South American country and waited on the banks of the river for our return,and have on several occasions fired their 50 cals and 60's over my head to keep the bad guys at bay while we made a quick exodus from the area.
There are a lot of exciting jobs in the Coast guard and they are not as safe or mundane as one might think.