Official USCG Investigator Patch - United States Coast Guard Investigator (IV) Rating and Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) Embroidered Patch.
Service, Integrity, Justice — the motto of a federal law enforcement community that keeps watch over the Coast Guard and the maritime realm from the inside out.
The Coast Guard Investigative Service traces its origins to 1915, when a Chief Intelligence Officer was first assigned at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. What began as a small intelligence function grew through Prohibition, two world wars, and decades of maritime law enforcement expansion until 1996, when all criminal investigative and protective-services functions were consolidated into the present-day CGIS. The Investigator (IV) rating sits at the heart of that mission, with agents conducting criminal and background investigations, preparing sworn affidavits for search warrants, collecting and analyzing intelligence, and providing personal protection to senior Coast Guard officials and visiting VIPs. CGIS holds a dual mandate — roughly a third of its caseload falls under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, while the remaining work covers general criminal investigations across navigable waterways, including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, fraud, and environmental violations. The workforce spans active duty, reserve, and civilian special agents operating from eight regional offices and more than thirty resident agent offices nationwide. This embroidered patch represents that layered identity — a federal law enforcement mission carried inside a uniformed military service, with jurisdiction that stretches from the station house to the open sea.
Perfect For: CGIS special agents, Coast Guard Investigator (IV) rating veterans, reserve investigators, law enforcement collectors, DHS alumni, shadow box displays, retirement and promotion gifts, challenge coin and patch boards, Coast Guard unit historians, and anyone who wants a precise embroidered tribute to the investigative side of America's maritime service.
CGIS heritage, stitched for the agents who protect the service from within.