[Llarry]

The U.S. Navy operated icebreakers for years before transferring them to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Here are three USN icebreakers -- the USS Burton Island (AGB 1), the USS Atka (AGB 3) and the USS Glacier (AGB 4) -- combining their efforts to move an iceberg out of the channel at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. McMurdo Station is the largest U.S. station in Antarctica.

A bit more on Navy icebreakers... Navy icebreakers were armed with 1940s-era guns (5" and 3" guns) -- see the attached photo of the Glacier -- and the armament was ultimately removed after transfer to the Coast Guard. Given the global competition for resources etc., one could make a case for more icebreakers. The U.S. Coast Guard is the obvious choice for operating these ships but is perpetually underfunded. A class of icebreakers for the Coast Guard with the option of an armed Navy icebreaker sister would make sense to me but likely would not survive the budget process.