The Eighth Coast Guard District is divided into 3 regions.  The Eastern Region includes northern Alabama, and Mississippi, all of Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia as well as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana below the 41st parallel. These inland states have many miles of navigable waterways over which tons of cargo are transported from the tributary waterways of the Great Lakes to the Ohio and Tennessee Valley River systems in to the Lower Mississippi River. The Coast Guard is charged with licensing and regulating commercial traffic on these rivers as well as maintaining Aids to Navigation.  Both commercial vessel safety and recreational vessel safety are of paramount importance to the Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard Auxiliary, an organization of unpaid volunteers, is charged with the primary mission of furthering public safety on the waters through public education, vessel safety checks and operational aid to the Coast Guard in maintaining safe boating zones for recreational vessels.  The Auxiliary aids the Coast Guard in Radio Watchstanding, Search and Rescue, and any non-enforcement tasks they are able to do.  The Auxiliary also operates in conjunction with State Boating Law Administrators by offering the same services on lakes and rivers which are basically recreational and not under the regulation of the Coast Guard.  As more Auxiliarists are trained, "Marine Safety and Environmental Protection" missions will become increasingly important.

  Our sister District, Eighth District, Western Region includes Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and part of Illinois and Minnesota.  The Missouri River system and Upper Mississippi River are the primary waterways in this area.

    Eighth District, Coastal Region includes the Gulf Coast states, Texas, Louisiana, the lower portions of Mississippi and Alabama and the Gulf Coast of Florida.  All together the three regions comprise the largest Coast Guard and Auxiliary district.

    Unfolding from a heritage of volunteering to the Maritime Services since the beginning of this great country, we the members of the Eighth Eastern Region are an energetic and dynamic community servicing the boating public.  We are dedicated to upholding the highest professional standards of the Maritime Services while serving the communities in which we work and live.  Our healthy and diversified Region is anchored in the values and principles of all our members.

   As we recruit, train, and utilize our members, not only to serve Team Coast Guard, but the general boating community, we fulfill each member' expectation as to why they joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary and what they wish to  accomplish in the future.  By merging the expectations of our members with the expectations of Team Coast Guard and general public, we are able to build an energetic and dynamic inland Maritime Service Team to serve our Communities.  

   As the regional center for a variety of inland, maritime activities serving all who call during a time of need, we look to the future for traditional and non-traditional mission and means of training our members and leaders.  The Eighth Eastern Region offers a fair and attractive environment for our members promoting diversity and fairness where future generations of Auxiliarists may grow and prosper.

   We are committed to our fundamental objectives of protection of life and property through training and proactive and reactive service, always respecting individual right, human dignity, and community values.  The Eighth Eastern Region is committed to creating and maintaining active Coast Guard/community partnerships and assisting citizens in identifying and solving problems to improve the quality of life in our communities.

    Employing creativity, patience, persistence, and an appreciation of diversity both in the the Auxiliary and in the community, we perform our duties with an unwavering commitment to integrity and professionalism, and are accountable to those we serve for our decisions and actions.  The men and women of this region accomplish their missions with empathy, compassion, and sensitivity at all times, with the highest regard for individual and constitutional rights.  The Eighth Eastern Region will keep to the highest standards of the Maritime services of the United States, always ready to answer the call