Operating from the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Coast Guard Air Station Houston has been responsible for providing an all-weather Search-and-Rescue (SAR) response capability from the Colorado River to White Lake, Louisiana since its establishment in December of 1963. Originally operating two Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard helicopters, the crews assigned to Air Station Houston could be routinely seen hoisting Gemini astronauts from their space capsules in the Gulf of Mexico during water survival drills. Hurricanes Betsy and Beulah in the late-1960s found aircrews from Air Station Houston rescuing over 500 survivors in New Orleans and South Padre Island in the storms'aftermath. In 1974, the 734-foot M/V Globtik Sun rammed an unmanned oil rig off Galveston, setting both structures ablaze. Air Station Houston HH-52 helicopters transported numerous injured personnel to shore, and conducting searches for missing crew members and pollution overflights for days following the accident. Air Station Houston deployed in support of the Cuban Refugee Exodus in South Florida during the 1980s, saving hundreds of lives at sea and earning the Humanitarian Service Medal. The current Aerospatiale H-65 Dolphin series helicopter arrived to Houston and began operations on March 17th, 1989 as the HH-65 "A" model. Later that year, two Air Station Houston helicopters are credited for penetrating the eye of Hurricane Chantal saving the lives of 14 individuals on 3 vessels. During the 1990's Air Station Houston aircrews deployed regularly onboard 210 and 270-foot Coast Guard Medium Endurance Cutters to combat the increase in illegal drug smuggling in the Caribbean, and were responsible for the interdiction of over 10 tons of illegal narcotics. In 2005 and 2008, Air Station Houston aircrews were front-line responders to efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike; aiding overall Coast Guard efforts to save over 2400 lives during Katrina and Rita, and solely responsible for saving 59 lives during Ike. Today, Air Station Houston can be seen operating the newest variant of the H-65 Dolphin series of helicopters, the MH-65C. With an improved communications suite and ability to mount M-240 and M-14 weapons onboard for Homeland Security missions, Air Station Houston's MH-65C Dolphin helicopters continue to provide a vigilant watch to save those in peril along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.