Calling in the auxiliary
June 23rd, 2010 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
Fan boats normally used for ice rescues have been sent from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico to navigate shallow coastal waters. // PA3 Zac Crawford / Coast Guard
On the same day that Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp recognized the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s 71st birthday. the service also sent out an “all hands on deck” message requesting more of the volunteers to help with the containment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Today, Papp thanked the auxiliary for its contributions, especially during the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti and its current assistance helping with public affairs and vessel safety checks in regards to the oil spill in the Gulf.
But much more is needed to not only backfill positions of active-duty Coasties who have been assigned to the spill, but also to respond directly to clean up coastal pollution. The ALCOAST message requested volunteers who are willing to work long hours and be available for a 30-day period. Rear Adm. B. M. Salerno, deputy commandant for operations, had this to say:
This has become a mission of unparalleled proportion. As time has passed, the breadth and scope of spill impacts have significantly expanded and require long-term, coordinated action that is expected to last through the remainder of CY2010.
Former Coast Guard vice commandant gets new gig
June 18th, 2010 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
Then-Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen presents an award to Vice Adm. David Pekoske during his May 24 retirement ceremony at Ft. McNair.//PA1 Kip Wadlow/Coast Guard
After a week off, newly retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. David Pekoske landed a new gig. As of June 1, the former vice commandant is the executive vice president of A-T Solutions Inc., a counter-terrorism intelligence company in Vienna, Va.
“I love it,” said Pekoske, who retired May 24. “It’s a company whose culture is very similar to the place from which I came.”
Among other services, the company provides intelligence on how to locate and defuse improvised explosive devices. IEDs have wreaked havoc for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pekoske said it is “only a matter of time” for these types of bombs to be used on civilians in the U.S. He cited the recent attempt to set off a bomb in Times Square as an example.
Pekoske will be responsible for developing and managing A-T Solutions’ international maritime and port security business unit.
Toddler-flage
June 18th, 2010 | Chow Life at Sea Morale Navy Photos | Posted by Susan Schept
A child looks at his father, CS2 Rowin Lameque, during a Father's Day celebration lunch June 18 aboard the amphibious command ship Blue Ridge. // MC1 Josh Huebner/Navy
Who knew the Navy Working Uniform came in this size? The Blue Ridge’s service staff invited sailors and their families to the enlisted galley for a Father’s Day luncheon. They served up a photo of the day.
Check out the beard
June 9th, 2010 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
A look at Adm. Thad Allen throughout his storied career.//Coast Guard
Although this already has been taken off the Coast Guard’s home page, it deserves being immortalized on Scoop Deck. Here is a look at former commandant Adm. Thad Allen through his nearly 40-year Coast Guard career. Check out the beard.
iCommandant disappears…
May 28th, 2010 | Blogs Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
The new Coast Guard blog.//Coast Guard
If you didn’t notice as you were busily preparing for the long Memorial Day weekend, the Coast Guard website underwent a makeover after Adm. Robert Papp became the commandant May 25.
Papp immediately set about making changes, including upending the social media blogs. There will be no more iCommandant blog or commandant’s Facebook page — both pioneered by Papp’s predecessor Adm. Thad Allen. The All Hands blog also will disappear in favor of one centralized Coast Guard Compass blog.
Some humor found during oil spill
May 28th, 2010 | Navy | Posted by Susan Schept
Coast Guard Commandant Robert Papp speaks with reporters after his May 25 change of command ceremony. //AP Photo/Cliff Owen
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — now considered the largest in U.S. history — is hardly a laughing matter; however, some have been able to find a little humor this week.
Here are a couple of quips:
At Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen’s change of command ceremony on May 25, his replacement, Adm. Robert Papp, said that the transition has been a little like a hurried relay race.
“I’m a little worried that there might be a little oil on that baton,” Papp said.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar testified before the House Natural Resources Committee hearing on May 26. //AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
In the House Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing on May 26, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar testified that his department responded quickly after the oil rig explosion:
“The following day, I dispatched [Deputy Secretary] David Hayes, without a change of clothes and not even a change of underwear, to the Gulf of Mexico because I knew that this was an issue which required the kind of urgency and focus that we have been giving it since April 20th.”
Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., responded:
“Thank you, Mr. Secretary. That was perhaps too much information.”
Enlisted heroes honored
March 22nd, 2010 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
An artist's rendering of the fast response cutter. // Bollinger Shipyards Inc.
An interesting turn has taken place in the naming of the new class of 154-foot fast response cutters. The first was supposed to be, Sentinel, and the second, Guardian, as previously reported in November when news broke about construction beginning at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La.
After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles “Skip” Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
Now that’s about to change.
In Friday’s iCommandant blog, Commandant Adm. Thad Allen changed course and announced that all 58 of the Sentinel-class of fast response cutters would be named after enlisted heroes. The first cutter will carry the name of Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Bernard C. Webber, who took part in the famous rescue of the freighter Pendleton in 1952. The Pendleton had split in half during a storm, and Webber and three crew members rescued 32 sailors.
Webber, who retired as a chief warrant officer, died last year. The official keel laying ceremony for Webber’s namesake will be April 9 at the Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, La.
Come on down!
March 12th, 2010 | Morale Navy | Posted by Susan Schept
Host Drew Carey celebrates the 500th episode with him as host on the CBS’s Emmy Award-winning, “The Price Is Right.” //Photo: Mark Davis/CBS
Vincent Romeo, come on down! You’re the next contestant on ‘The Price is Right!’”
Those were the happy words that Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Apprentice Vincent Romeo heard when he and 44 other sailors from the carrier Ronald Reagan attended a recording of the TV game show Wednesday at CBS Studios, according to a press release from the carrier Ronald Reagan.
Another contestant beat Romeo on the first bid by only $1. Romeo returned the favor to another contestant and won the second prize, a luggage set from London Fog.
Romeo played “The Shell Game” and correctly guessed which coconut shell contained the red ball.
While [host Drew Carey] was explaining the game, I heard the ball clack against the wall. Immediately I knew were it was, so it was an easy win. And now I’m going to Cabo, baby!”
That’s right, folks. Romeo won a six-night trip to the sun-washed beaches of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Well, not so fast. His chain of command needs to approve a special request chit.
Welcome home
March 2nd, 2010 | Coast Guard | Posted by Susan Schept
The Coast Guard national security cutter Waesche transits through the San Francisco Bay Sunday for the first time en route to its homeport of Alameda, Calif. //PA3 Kevin Metcalf/Coast Guard
This must be a welcome sight for Coast Guardsmen everywhere: A new ship! Check out the second-in-class national security cutter Waesche, which is scheduled to be commissioned in May.
Alaska Ranger rescue documentary airs on Discovery
March 2nd, 2010 | Coast Guard Navy | Posted by Susan Schept
The Alaska Ranger sank 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor March 23, 2008. Seaman Gregory Crane and Seaman Nathan Cramer aboard the high endurance cutter Munro assist a crew member from the Alaska Ranger. // Coast Guard
A Coast Guardsman from Air Station Barbers Point will be featured in the cable documentary, “Mayday! Bering Sea,” which is scheduled to air 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. EST (6 p.m. and 9 p.m. PST) Wednesday on the Discovery Channel, according to the Coast Guard.
The documentary recounts the story of the Alaska Ranger, a 189-foot fishing vessel that sunk in the icy waters of the Bering Sea, March 23, 2008. Aviation Survival Technican 2ndClass Abram Heller is credited with saving eight of the 42 fishermen who went into the water after the Alaska Ranger sank. Heller received the Distinguished Flying Cross. In total, crews from Air Station Kodiak and the high endurance cutter Munro rescued 20 Alaska Ranger crewmembers in 10–foot seas and 25-mph winds.
Coasties also will be featured on Oprah on Thursday when the talk show host interviews service members from the Tampa Bay area who helped rescue NFL player Nick Schuyler. To keep track of other upcoming shows, click here.