Last Words I created five stories in the rich land of the US Coast Guard and feel that I explored only the tiniest edge. By the time I was done, a dozen reference books about the USCG had been added to my shelf. My computer is littered with references from the operator’s manual for a 47’ Motor Lifeboat, the specifications of an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, and the official listing of every boat and aircraft in the USCG’s inventory. I even took an online course about writing the USCG authentically. (Any mistakes are wholly mine.) What did I learn from my time visiting them? The world of “The Forgotten Service” as the Coast Guard is sometimes called, embraces a level of complexity that I actually don’t see in the other forces. Yes, the bigger services may have many more actual pieces moving a