Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans

Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. It is a military unit and tenant installation on Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans.

Operations and missions
Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) New Orleans support a multitude of Coast Guard missions world-wide. Air Station New Orleans provides Search & Rescue (SAR) coverage with MH-65C Dolphin helicopters 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for numerous miles of shoreline from the western border of Florida to the eastern border of Texas, averaging more than 320 SAR cases a year. Other missions include: Marine Safety, Marine Environmental Protection, Protection of Natural Resources, Aids to Navigation support, Migrant Interdiction, Drug Interdiction, and Defense Readiness. Many of these missions require deployment of Aviation Detachments (AVDETs) about Coast Guard Cutters.

History
Air Station New Orleans has been a part of the Coast Guard family for nearly 50 years saving over 3,600 lives since its conception in 1955 at the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, La. Now located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in Belle Chasse, La, the air station has proven itself to be a major asset within the Gulf of Mexico Region by being able to make the claim of saving an average of 73 lives a year since the year it was established and assisting many more. The crew of twenty-six officers and 85 enlisted personnel, along with five HH-65B Dolphin helicopters, stand ready to perform any mission at any time!

Air Station New Orleans is also recognized as being the first HH-65 “Dolphin” helicopter search and rescue unit and can claim the title of being one of the busiest search and rescue units with in the Coast Guard, boasting 339 cases in 2002 alone. However, search and rescue sorties are not the only missions flown by helicopter crews assigned to the air station. Law enforcement patrols are flown over the Gulf of Mexico, around the Mississippi River, over Lake Ponchartrain and other neighboring waterways.

Located 11 miles west of the metropolis of New Orleans, Belle Chasse offers those stationed at the air station the experience of small town life while at the same time just a short drive across the river is one of America’s major cultural attractions, keeping everyone entertained. New Orleans lures the crew with its diverse culture, original music and bright lights.