A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka, Alaska, lands on a beach near the 50-foot fishing vessel Mirage April 21, 2014. The two crewmembers aboard the vessel were safely rescued by the helicopter crew after the Mirage became grounded by a low tide Don Kluting/Sitka Mountain Rescue/US Coast Guard

Alaska is the final frontier of the US.

Sparsely populated, disconnected from the contiguous states, subjected to a harsh Arctic climate, and almost unimaginably vast, the mere mention of Alaska conjures images of forbidding wilderness. But it's in these conditions that the US Coast Guard in Alaska must operate.

Dedicated to patrolling Alaska's territorial waters, coming to the aid of damaged vessels, breaking through the routine sea ice blocking ports, and carrying out scientific studies, the Coast Guard has its work cut out.