Frederick Chamberlayne Billard (22 September 1873 – 17 May 1932) served as the sixth commandant of the United States Coast Guard for an unprecedented three terms from 1924 until his death in 1932.

[13] As a result of the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Volstead Act, which went into effect 16 January 1920, placed the responsibility for enforcement of prohibition of the manufacture, sale, import, or export of intoxicating beverages under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Treasury.

The first important enforcement did not occur until September 1921, with the seizure of the British registered schooner Henry L. Marshall by the cutter USCGC Seneca.

[14] In 1923, Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon recommended in a budget request that the Coast Guard obtain twenty new cutters, 200 cabin cruisers and 91 motorboats with an additional 3,535 officers and men at a cost of $28,500,000 for the enforcement of prohibition.

On 2 April 1924, a bill was signed into law that provided the Coast Guard a little over twelve million dollars to fund the renovation of twenty Navy destroyers and two minesweepers for prohibition enforcement as well as 223 cabin cruisers and 100 smaller motor boats.

[15] As the Coast Guard prepared for changes in operations caused by the new law, Billard addressed the commissioned officers of the service in a printed circular: We can not, however, carry out this big undertaking to our full satisfaction unless I can count on the loyal and earnest support of each of you.

[16]Recruiting manpower for the enlarged "Rum Patrol" operation was simplified somewhat by high unemployment in some sections of the United States at the time.

The 3-inch gun batteries, torpedo tubes and depth charge racks were deemed unnecessary for the prohibition mission and were removed and a one pounder was mounted forward to fire a warning shot at boats that might attempt to flee a boarding.

[20] As Commandant during the Prohibition Era, Billard established the Coast Guard's first intelligence center, designed to collect, evaluate, and disseminate information relating to smuggling practices and plans.

[24] During his tours of duty as Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, Billard maintained an interest in the training of the officers that served under him.

He repeated his budget requests each year funds for permanent facilities for the academy so that the inadequate Fort Trumbull quarters could be abandoned.

In 1929, Congress finally granted his request of funds to establish a permanent academy and the city of New London donated to the U.S. government a tract of land adjacent to the Thames River for that purpose.

The cornerstone for Hamilton Hall, the first building, was laid on 15 May 1931 and the new academy was first occupied by cadets returning from the summer training cruise in September 1932.

It distributed correspondence coursework and graded examinations to qualify enlisted Coast Guardsmen for advancement in rating and provided a degree of uniformity in the promotion process that had been lacking in previous years.

[27] During Commandant Billard's tenure, the Coast Guard sought a replacement cutter for the aging USCGC Bear which had been built in 1874 and was used for Arctic service.

The result was a steel-hulled cutter that was specifically designed for icebreaking and had a brigantine sail rig for emergency use in the event of ice damage to her propellers.

[30] Billard made it clear to Secretary Mellon in his budget requests that the addition of vessels used for prohibition enforcement did not satisfy the needs of the service for cruising cutters because the larger cruising cutters that were presently in service were fast approaching obsolescence and the smaller prohibition enforcement vessels served a different purpose.

Smith published Practical Means for Determining Ocean Currents in 1925 and sailed on the USCGC Tampa as an observer in the 1926 ice patrol season.

Billard organized a relief force of five cruising cutters and diverted four Rum Patrol destroyers to the area to aid hurricane victims.

Crews patrolled the area to restore order and prevent looting, improvised hospitals for the wounded, searched for missing persons, and assisted local authorities.

[38] Coming just a few months after the hurricane, heavy spring rains caused the worst flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries known up until that time.

Billard, as head of the Coast Guard, responded with relief efforts that included 674 officers and men, manning 128 vessels and boats.

Coast Guard vessels provided transportation for workers and materials needed for levee repair and served as escorts for the hundreds of public officials and news reporters that converged on the scene.

[38] Even as the Coolidge Administration and several state governors questioned Federal government involvement in state affairs and the Federal government had not involved itself with disaster relief to any great extent before, Coast Guard search and rescue efforts in Florida and along the Mississippi Valley were conducted at the direction of Billard as one of the normal responsibilities assigned to the service.

APHRODITE, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of transporting and escorting troops and supplies through waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, during World War I.

His insight into using updated technology to complete a diverse set of missions resulted in improvements in cutter design, increasing use of radios, and gave Coast Guard aviation a practical start.