Эдвин Джон Роланд: АҚШ Құрметті сақшылар корпусының адмиралы

USCG admiral (1905 1985)

Edwin John Roland (11 February 190516 March 1985), was a United States Coast Guard admiral and served as the twelfth Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1962 to 1966. During his tenure, Roland oversaw the replacement of many World War II era cutters under fleet modernization programs. He also assisted the U. S. Navy with operations in Vietnam by supplying crews and cutters for Operation Market Time. Roland was noted for his support in efforts to bring international safety standards to merchant shipping. Although Roland was already retired when the Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of Treasury to the newly formed Department of Transportation in 1967, he was largely responsible for the planning for the move and the Coast Guard retaining its military responsibilities along with its transportation related functions.

Roland was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. Growing up in Buffalo, he attended Canisius High School and later Canisius College in the city. He was accepted as a cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1926. While at the academy, he served as captain of the award winning football squad, also playing on the baseball and basketball squads. He graduated from the Coast Guard Academy and was commissioned as an ensign on 15 May 1929. Roland was promoted 15 May 1931 to lieutenant (junior grade) and under his leadership, both cutters won gunnery trophies and he won a commendation for his contribution to the awards. While in this capacity Roland was promoted to commander. For his meritorious service while commanding Mackinaw, he was awarded a Coast Guard Commendation Letter that cited him for icebreaking on an unprecedented scale while keeping shipping lanes open for both military and merchant vessels carrying urgently needed war supplies.

In April 1946, Roland moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as the Chief of Staff and Chief of the Operations Division of the Ninth Coast Guard District. He served in that capacity until June 1949 when he was named as commanding officer of home ported in San Francisco, California. While assigned to Taney, Roland was promoted to captain on 5 August 1949. In August 1950 he was transferred to the Coast Guard Academy as commandant of cadets where he served for the next four years. After a year of study at the National War College, Roland was assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in the office of Chief of Staff in June 1955.

One of the first responsibilities that Roland undertook as commandant was to implement the recommendations of a staff report on U. S. Coast Guard roles and missions that was ordered by Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon. The U. S. Coast Guard acquired additional responsibilities in March 1963 with an agreement with the Navy relating to icebreaking duties in Arctic and Antarctic research missions. In May 1965 the U. S. Coast Guard acquired the Navy's five icebreakers, but the requirements for additional personnel recruiting to man the icebreakers delayed the actual transfer of the ships. The first icebreaker could not be crewed until July and the last was not transferred until November 1966. On 9 July 1963, Roland received the Legion of Merit from Secretary Dillon in recognition of his outstanding record in maintaining a military readiness posture "unparalleled in the peacetime history of the Coast Guard".

Roland served as commandant during the time that the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) requested greater U. S. Navy involvement in interdiction of North Vietnamese troops and equipment into South Vietnam under Operation Market Time. The Navy did not have the patrol craft that would serve MACV's purposes and they requested assistance from the U. S. Coast Guard. Roland agreed to supply Point class cutters and their crews to the operation, fearing that if the U. S. Coast Guard were left out of the Vietnam War that its standing as an armed service would be jeopardized. An additional nine Point class cutters were assigned to Squadron One on 29 October at the request of MACV. The increased operations in Vietnam during Roland's time as commandant included buoy tenders to service Vietnamese aids to navigation. U. S. Coast Guard port security personnel were assigned at MACV's request after a visit to Vietnam by Roland in July 1965. There were additional manning requirements for new Loran C radio stations for radio navigation of ships and aircraft. During the time of the Vietnam preparations he also managed the U. S. Coast Guard's response to the Camarioca boatlift operations in the Straits of Florida.

During Roland's tenure as commandant, U. S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the formation of the Department of Transportation and its new role as overseer of all federal transportation related activities. Roland was informed that the U. S. Coast Guard would be one of the agencies transferred to the new department. Although Roland initially opposed the move, Johnson made it clear that he had the executive power to split the U. S. Coast Guard into two separate agencies and move all transportation responsibilities to the Department of Transportation and leave a much smaller U. S. Coast Guard within the Department of the Treasury. Roland withdrew his opposition to the proposed move and asked only that the U. S. Coast Guard not be stripped of its identity as an armed service.

On 15 January 1965, Roland received Italy's highest award, the Commendatore (Knight Commander) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, for the U. S. Coast Guard's many years of assistance to Centro Internazionale Radio Medico, a humanitarian organization which arranges medical first aid at sea for injured and sick seamen. In March 1966, Roland represented the United States to the Load Line Conference on merchant ships held at London, England. In May he served as a delegate to the Maritime Safety Committee of International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO). The committee meeting reviewed merchant ship standards to prevent fires as occurred on board SS Yarmouth Castle.