Editing Posse Comitatus Act (section)

===Exclusion applicable to U.S. Coast Guard===
{{See also|Missions of the United States Coast Guard}}

Although it is an armed service,<ref name=14USC101>{{Cite web|url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title14-section101&num=0&edition=prelim|title=Establishment of the Coast Guard|website=U.S. Code| date= |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives| access-date=May 28, 2023 }}</ref> the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates under the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] during peacetime, is not restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act and has explicit authority to enforce federal law. This is true even when the Coast Guard operates as a service within the [[United States Navy]] during wartime.<ref name="CGLEDET" />

In December 1981, the [[Military Cooperation with Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies Act]] was enacted, clarifying permissible military assistance to domestic law enforcement agencies and the Coast Guard, especially in combating [[drug smuggling]] into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (such as the use of facilities, vessels, and aircraft, as well as intelligence support, technological aid, and surveillance) while generally prohibiting direct participation of U.S. military personnel in law enforcement (such as search, seizure, and arrests). For example, a U.S. Navy vessel may be used to track, follow, and stop a vessel suspected of drug smuggling, but Coast Guard [[Law Enforcement Detachments]] (LEDETs) embarked aboard the Navy vessel would perform the actual boarding and, if needed, arrest the suspect vessel's crew.<ref name="CGLEDET" />