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SUBJ: SHIPMATES 23: COAST GUARD BIRTHDAY – FOCUS ON PROFICIENCY

1. Shipmates, I recently had the great privilege of visiting the

headquarters of the National Archives, where the archivists showed me

the original legislation which gave us our beginning, signed by

President George Washington on the 4th of August, 1790. This was a

very special event that vividly reminded me of the connection our

Service has to the history of the United States of America. This

year, as we celebrate the 222nd birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard, we

will dedicate time to honor our profession by focusing on proficiency

throughout the Service.

2. I invite you to view a Coast Guard Day video message from me and

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Leavitt using the

following links:

http://www.dvidshub.net/video/150864/coast-guard-birthday-message-adm

iral-robert-papp-and-masterchief-michael-leavitt

or

http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2(underscore)itemId(equal)1704240

3. The Coast Guard remains an organization undergoing change while

sustaining a broad range of operations and support activities across

a diverse range of missions. Increased activity in the Arctic, the

continued flow of drugs and migrants toward our shores, threats to

fisheries, and our mandate to assure the safe and secure approaches

to American ports all confront us like uncertain and stormy seas-and

all in the context of shrinking budgets. At the same time, however,

we must rely on the enduring anchors that define us as Coast

Guardsmen – members of the profession of arms – and that are crucial

to our success: proficiency in craft, proficiency in leadership, and

disciplined initiative.

4. This week I published an article linked below that communicates my

vision and intent on proficiency, why it is important, what the

service is doing to improve it, and what I expect of each of you.

http://tinyurl.com/cff9hzr. I encourage you to read it and discuss it

with your shipmates.

5. Proficiency in craft, proficiency in leadership, disciplined

initiative-these are the anchors upon which we will hold fast in the

uncertain and stormy seas that we are facing.

6. Beyond the current situation, they are enduring. Their value and

necessity to our ethos and our mission success is proven in our rich

heritage and the long blue line of Coast Guard men and women who have

gone before us. They will sustain us in the future as they do now and

have before.

7. Within the next 30 days, commanding officers and

officers-in-charge shall discuss the contents of the article at

quarters or an appropriate muster. I encourage you to continue these

discussions in the mess deck and hangar deck, Chiefs Mess, wardroom,

and among staffs and teams.

8. As we face uncertain and stormy seas, current threats, or future

challenges, I am always confident that we will succeed because of the

great men and women of our Coast Guard. I am proud to be your

Commandant. Linda and I want to take this opportunity to thank you -

our Active Duty, Reserve, Civilian and Auxiliary members as well as

our retirees and all of our Coast Guard families, for your service,

sacrifice and dedication to duty.

9. We are Coast Guardsmen. This is our chosen profession. This is our

way. This is what we do.

10. Stand a Taut Watch. Semper Paratus.

11. Admiral Bob Papp, sends.

12. Internet release authorized.

BT

KODIAK, Alaska — Capt. Jerald Woloszynski will assume command of Coast Guard Base Kodiak from Capt. Karl Moore during a formal change of command ceremony Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Northern Lights Recreational Facility on the base.

Moore, a native of Laramie, Wyo., is retiring after 24 years of service in the Coast Guard. Moore’s assignments include numerous afloat and ashore tours. He has served in Kodiak since 2009 when the base was an integrated support command and saw the unit through the modernization process to consolidate the Kodiak-based units that provide internal, administrative, logistics and support services to the operational Coast Guard commands in Alaska thus creating Coast Guard Base Kodiak.

Woloszynski, a native of Dearborn, Mich., is a 1989 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. He is coming to Kodiak from Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C., where he served as the program manager of the Nationwide Automatic Identification System project within the CG-9 Acquisition Directorate. His duties included management and oversight for the design, development, testing and deployment of NAIS assets used to track commercial vessels in order to enhance the nation’s maritime safety and security.

His previous units include Civil Engineering Unit Miami, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific in Alameda, Calif., Integrated Support Command Seattle, Civil Engineering Unit Juneau, Alaska, Loran Station Marcus Island, Japan, and the Coast Guard Cutter Bear based out of Portsmouth, Va.

He holds a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Mary’s College of California, and a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Alaska and a DHS certified level III acquisition professional.

Woloszynski's personal awards include the three Meritorious Service Medals, two Coast Guard Commendation Medals, two Achievement Medals and a Commandant's Letter of Commendation. 

Coast Guard Base Kodiak is one of 13 newly established bases under the nationwide reorganization. The combining of these units did not constitute the loss or addition of any personnel to or from Kodiak. For more about the Coast Guard's modernization program please cliickhere http://www.uscg.mil/modernization/.

BOSTON — The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle arrived in the port of Boston to participate in the War of 1812 Bicentennial commemorations Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Eagle has been used as a training ship for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., since 1946.   It is one of only two active commissioned sailing ships in the U.S. military; proudly serving the U.S. Coast Guard just as the USS Constitution proudly serves the U.S. Navy.  The Eagle was originally christened as the Horst Wessel, a training ship for the German Navy prior to World War II.  The vessel was transferred to the United States as part of war reparations in 1945 and commissioned to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

The Eagle’s namesake fought in an infamous battle against the British during the War 1812 off Long Island.  In 1814, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Eagle embarked on a mission that definitively marked her place in U.S. history. The Revenue Cutter Eagle crew and thirty volunteers left their homeport to rescue the crew of the merchant ship Suzan, which had been captured by the HMS Narcissus and the Cruizer-class brig-sloop Dispatch.  During this rescue attempt, the Revenue Cutter Eagle found itself dangerously close to the British brig Dispatch. The Eagle retreated to shallow waters on the Long Island coast in an attempt to evade capture by the Dispatch, but the Dispatch deployed several barges to give chase.  With few options left to avoid capture, the captain of the Revenue Cutter Eagle, Captain Frederick Lee, intentionally beached the cutter.  Locals assisted the crew in carrying two 4-pounders and two 2-pounders up to a bluff to prepare for the defense of the cutter. The Revenue Cutter Eagle’s crew successfully defended the ship against musket and cannon fire throughout the day and through the night.

The Eagle will be open for public tours Saturday from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Charlestown Navy Yard – Pier 1, on Sunday, July 1^st, Monday July 2^nd and Tuesday, July 3^rd from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

 

 

Centenarian Elfie Larkin, a Coast Guard World War II veteran and SPAR, admires her birthday cake during a surprise event held in her honor Dec. 7, 2011. More than 160 people helped Larkin celebrate her 100th birthday at the Oakland Zoo where she volunteered as a docent. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Sarah B. Foster

Written by Cmdr. Rick Wester.

The Coast Guard was saddened by the recent passing of a shipmate who was a true pioneer: Elfie Larkin, a former Coast Guard SPAR and World War II veteran. She was 100. At a time when the U.S. needed “all hands on deck,” Elfie answered the call like so many other American women and enlisted as a SPAR in 1943. The Women’s Reserve of the Coast Guard was formed in 1942 and were named “SPARs,” an acronym taken from the Coast Guard’s motto “Semper Paratus – Always Ready.”

 

 

Elfie Larkin as a World War II Coast Guard SPAR. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Following boot camp and initial training, Elfie served as a radio operator at the9th Naval District in St. Louis, monitoring the maiden voyages of Naval vessels from shipyards in the Midwest region down the Mississippi River and out to sea. In 1944, Elfie shipped out to Hawaii, where she sent, received and decoded sensitive military messages critical to the war effort. At the end of the war in 1945 she was honorably discharged.

Elfie went on to serve as both a teacher and a volunteer docent at the Oakland Zoo for more than two decades. She also frequently traveled overseas.

Capt. Dorothy Stratton, the very first SPAR, recommended the term SPAR, stating “A spar is often a supporting beam and that is what we hope each member of the Women’s Reserve will be.”

In fact, at the Coast Guard’s peak personnel strength in 1944, more than one out of every 13 officers and one out of every 16 enlisted were female, the highest ratio of any of the nation’s armed services at that time.

SPARs served in 43 different specialties, providing critical depth to the U.S. military during a two-front world war that mobilized the entire country. Coast Guard cutters Spar and Stratton, a national security cutter, were named to honor the service of all SPARs.

 

 

Adm. Bob Papp, Linda Papp and Vice Adm. Manson Brown visit with Elfie Larkin. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.

“Because of shipmates like Elfie Larkin, the Coast Guard continued on its trackline to fully integrate women into active duty service,” said Coast Guard CommandantAdm. Bob Papp. “Her love of life and her important role in our heritage will never be forgotten.”

Sixty-seven years after Larkin’s service, the United States Coast Guard Academy’s incoming Class of 2016 reported Monday and is made up of approximately 36 percent women.

Prior to her passing, Larkin wrote “I have had a wonderful and happy life of which the United States Coast Guard played a big part in.”

Visit the U.S. Coast Guard historian’s page to learn more about Capt. Stratton, SPARs like Elfie Larkin and the history of women in the Coast Guard and it’s predecessor services.

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NEW LONDON — New cadets are reporting to the Coast Guard Academy today for the seven-week training program known as Swab Summer.

The academy in New London says the cadets from around the country make up the most diverse class in its history. Thirty-five percent of those offered appointments are from minority groups and 37 percent are women.

The academy says about 250 cadets are expected today for Reporting-In Day.

Seventeen are Connecticut residents. On their first day cadets receive haircuts, go through drill practice and administration in-processing.

Swab Summer is a notoriously difficult boot-camp regimen of academic and physical training intended to transform them from everyday teens into potential Coast Guard officers.

Students graduate with a bachelor of science degree and an obligation to serve five years in the Coast Guard. 

TO VIEW VIDEO, CLICK HERE

SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Henry Blake refueled, using a 50/50 blend of petroleum F-76 and hydroprocessed renewable diesel derived from algal oil, in Everett, Wash., Wednesday, becoming the first Coast Guard cutter to use as the renewable diesel as part of an operational evaluation.

Successful evaluation of this fuel mixture, known as 50/50 F76/HRD76, can help guide the development of alternative fuels in America, reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. 

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A Port Clinton, Ohio, based Coast Guard Reserve unit deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Tuesday night.

Port Security Unit 309 deployed from Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base and will join with the Navy's Maritime Expeditionary Squadron Three (MSRON 3) to form Combined Task Group 56.5, under the Naval Expeditionary Combat Command. CTG 56.5 is charged with providing harbor defense and security to ports, seaward approaches, and waterways within U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility and ensuring the free flow of personnel, equipment and commerce in the region.

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