What: Media availability for National Safe Boating Week

When: Friday, May 18, 2012, 7 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Where: Harbor Island West Marina, 2040 Harbor Island Drive San Diego, CA 92101

Hosted By: U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary

Contact: Petty Officer Henry Dunphy, 619-252-1304, henry.g.dunphy@uscg.mil, by 5 p.m., Thursday, May 17, if planning to attend.

Background: National Safe Boating Week is May 19-25, 2012. Boating safety partners across the U.S. and Canada are teaming up to promote safe and responsible boating, including voluntary wear of life jackets.

“Each year, as many as 500 lives could have been saved if boaters had worn their life jackets,” said Virgil Chambers, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council. “New life jackets on the market today make it easier than ever for a boater to have fun and stay safe on the water.”

Drowning remains the primary cause of death in recreational boating accidents. Statistics released by the Coast Guard indicate that 88 percent of boaters who drowned in 2010 were not wearing their life jackets.

“Like many recreational activities, boating has inherent risks,” said Chief Petty Officer Bradley Adams, officer in charge of Coast Guard Station San Diego. “We encourage everyone to make safety a priority on the water. This means having all the required safety equipment on board, including properly fitted life jackets, knowing the rules of the road, checking that weather conditions are safe for your planned activities and never boating under the influence of alcohol.”

This event will feature Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary members who will discuss ways to stay safe on the water and the free vessel safety checks that are available to boaters.

For more information, visit http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/ or www.USCGBoating.org.

To schedule a vessel safety check, visit: http://safetyseal.net/

SAN DIEGO – A San Diego-based U.S. Coast Guard anti-terrorism team will return home on Mother's Day tomorrow from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after a six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

During the deployment, Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego members formed the Joint Task Force Guantanamo Maritime Security Detachment and were responsible for securing the port and waterways around the base.

"The Coast Guard is a nimble service that consistently is able to adapt to multiple military missions," said Cmdr. Eric Cooper, MSST San Diego’s commanding officer. "The team consistently demonstrates quiet professionalism in every job that we perform, and I am extremely proud of their impressive contributions to this strategically important mission for the United States."

MSST San Diego boat crews, specialized in armed boat tactics and threat interdiction, conducted more than 4,500 hours of continuous patrols during the deployment.

The unit also provided shore-side security at Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which includes internal courtroom security for the expeditionary legal complex where military commissions for high value detainees are held. 

Prior to deploying, unit members completed two-months of training that included boat and weapon qualifications, team coordination training and CPR certification. To augment the MSST's active-duty component, reservists from across the nation were hand selected for the six-month deployment. 

“During the deployment, the active and reserve components integrated seamlessly across all aspects and the reservists brought unique skill sets from their civilian jobs that greatly enhanced our effectiveness,” Cooper said.

The reservist members' civilian occupations include everything from undergraduate students to police officers and airline employees. Each reservist volunteered for the deployment, were excited to join MSST San Diego and serve their country.

“My time working with the JTF has been an enlightening experience,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Laurie Fletcher, a Coast Guard Reservist normally assigned to Sector Puget Sound. “Recently working with the Navy in CENTCOM as a communications supervisor, I was able to use that experience to bring knowledge to my job here in GTMO.  Working closely with JTF and the Naval Station Guantanamo has helped me a gain a better knowledge of different branches of the military.”

MSST San Diego was created under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) in direct response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and is a part of the Department of Homeland Security's layered strategy directed at protecting seaports and waterways.

MSSTs provide waterborne and a shore-side antiterrorism force protection for strategic shipping, high-interest vessels and critical infrastructure. These units are a quick response force capable of rapid worldwide deployment via air, ground or sea transportation in response to changing threat conditions and evolving maritime homeland security mission requirements.

Eleven MSSTs are strategically positioned throughout the nation and are components of the U.S. Deployable Operations Group (DOG). The DOG provides properly equipped, trained and organized Deployable Specialized Forces (DSFs) to Coast Guard, DHS, Department of Defense and interagency operational commanders.

Editor's Note:  Media is invited to attend the homecoming of MSST San Diego at Naval Station North Island, Calif., May 13, 2012, at 2:45 p.m.  Family members will be at the hotel to greet their returning loved ones.  Please contact Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Anderson at (202) 631-3313 to coordinate access to the Naval Station.

USCG MSST San Diego to New Orleans GTMO Transfer of Authority

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Outgoing Commander U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego, Cmdr. Eric M. Cooper addresses the audience during the turnover of authority ceremony from San Diego to MSST New Orleans. MSST provides twenty-four hour security to both the Joint Task Force and Naval Station. Joint Task Force Guantanamo photo.

MSST San Diego Level 2 Tactics

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Fast boat teams assigned to he United States Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) San Diego apply their tactics training in Guantanamo Bay. The Opposing Forces (OPFOR) boat (left) simulates a breached 500 yard security zone of a high valued asset and the Reaction vessel goes in and determines the OPFOR’s intent. MSST San Diego provides 24-hour security to both the Joint Task Force and Naval Station. Joint Task Force Guantanamo photo.

MSST San Diego Level 2 Tactics

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Fast boat teams assigned to he United States Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) San Diego apply their tactics training in Guantanamo Bay. The Opposing Forces (OPFOR) boat (left) simulates a breached 500 yard security zone of a high valued asset and the Reaction vessel goes in and determines the OPFOR’s intent. MSST San Diego provides 24-hour security to both the Joint Task Force and Naval Station. Joint Task Force Guantanamo photo.

MSST San Diego / MCSFCO CASEVAC exercise

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — The United States Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego and the Marine Corps Security Forces Company use a Coast Guard fast boat to swiftly egress injured personnel to a medical check point during a simulated casualty evacuation exercise. Both MSST San Diego and MCSFCO provide 24-hour security to both the Joint Task Force and Naval Station. Joint Task Force Guantanamo photo.

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing crewmember of the sailing vessel Aegean at 4:15 p.m., April 29, 2012.

The Coast Guard, Mexican Navy and civilian volunteers searched more than 600 square-miles since yesterday afternoon.

The initial search began shortly after a boater reported debris from a boat near the Coronado Islands. Three of the four crewmembers were found dead in search area Saturday. The sailboat crew was taking part in a Newport Beach, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico regatta.

“It’s never easy to make the decision to suspend a search and rescue case,” said Capt. Sean Mahoney, Commander Sector San Diego. “The Coast Guard extends its sympathies to the families and friends of the Aegean crew. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.”

Coast Guard investigators have not determined a cause for the incident. An investigation into the tragedy continues.

First release: http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417043/

First update: http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417063/

Second update: http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417107/

SAN DIEGO – The graphic above shows the search area for the sailing vessel Aegean. U.S. Coast Guard graphic.

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews continue their search for the missing crewmember of the sailboat Aegean, west of the Coronado Islands, Mexico, April 29, 2012.

Crewmembers of the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter have searched throughout the night. A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter search and rescue crew rejoined the search this morning.

The Coast Guard, along with the Mexican navy and civilian volunteers searched more than 500-square miles since the search began Saturday morning following reports of boat debris near the Coronado Islands. Three of the four crewmembers from the Aegean were found dead during Saturday's search. The sailboat was participating in a Newport Beach, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico regatta.

"Our Coast Guard members feel for the family and friends of these sailors and we continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers," said Capt. Sean Mahoney, Commander, Sector San Diego.

Coast Guard investigators have not determined a cause for the incident. An investigation into the tragedy continues.

Please click on the image below for video of the search and rescue mission.

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue crews continue their search for the missing crewmember of the sailboat Aegean, west of the Coronado Islands, Mexico, April 29, 2012. The Coast Guard, along with the Mexican navy and civilian volunteers searched more than 500-square miles since the search began Saturday morning following reports of boat debris during Saturday's search. The sailboat had been participating a Newport, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico regatta. U.S. Coast Guard video.

Previous news releases:

http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417043/

http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417063/

SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter and a Mexican Navy vessel continue to search in the vicinity of the Coronado Islands, Mexico, for a crew member missing from the sailing vessel Aegean.  Three other crew members from the sailboat, which had been involved in a race from Newport Beach, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico, were found dead in the area Saturday. 

Search and rescue boats and aircraft from the U.S. and Mexico began combing the area after other boaters reported vessel debris Saturday morning.  Search planners later spoke with regatta organizers who said the Aegean was unaccounted for. 

Saturday's search involved a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter, a 45-foot Response Boat, and a C-130 Hercules aircraft as well as the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter, a Mexican Navy vessel and civilian boats.  All search and rescue units except the Sea Otter and Mexican Navy vessel returned to base Saturday night after completing their assigned areas.  Plans call for a resumption of aerial searches at first light Sunday, if the missing crew member is not found overnight.

NOTE:  There will not be any additional updates until after 6:00 a.m. PST Sunday, unless there are significant developments in the search.

 LINK TO ORIGINAL RELEASE: http://www.sandiego.uscgnews.com/go/doc/830/1417043/

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Coast Guard, Mexican Navy and civilian search and rescue crews are searching for a missing crewmember from a 37-foot sailboat that was reported missing Saturday morning near the Coronado Islands, Mexico.

Three other crewmembers from the vessel were found deceased Saturday afternoon.  One was recovered by a Coast Guard helicopter crew and two others by a civilian crew. The sailing vessel was participating in a Newport, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico regatta.

Vessels in the area of the Coronado Islands reported seeing debris at approximately 10 a.m. The Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, and a 33-foot response boat to search the area.

Coast Guard search planners later spoke with race officials who reported that one of the boats participating in the race, the Aegean, was unaccounted for.

By mid afternoon, searchers located the three deceased crewmembers and debris from the sailboat.  The deceased were brought to Coast Guard Sector San Diego and turned over to the San Diego County Coroner.

The search for the remaining sailboat crewmember continues with Coast Guard crews aboard a Jayhawk helicopter, a 45-foot Response Boat, and a C-130 Hercules aircraft as well as the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter, a Mexican Navy vessel and civilian vessels.

The cause of the incident will be investigated.

Life is full of accidental opportunities. Some help to shape you to become who you are, while others take you down a path you would not have gone down if given a different choice. Most people don’t recognize these accidents as blessings in disguise, but most people aren’t Capt. Patricia Hill.

Joining the Coast Guard in November of 1989 out of Daily City, Calif., Hill often jokes that she accidentally became a lifetime Coastie.

“Frequently, as I came into the Coast Guard, I was the person who was getting out next tour,” she lauged. But now, her outlook has changed. “I would characterize myself as a Coast Guard geek. I definitely drank the Kool-Aid.”

Now, at almost 22 years of service, she says the Coast Guard has provided her with many opportunities, and even some she didn’t expect.

Prior to joining the Coast Guard, Hill was a college graduate who was originally considering applying to the Peace Corps, but due to unforeseen circumstances she had to defer to take care of her grandmother. So, in keeping her options open she looked to the military. She said her sister, who served as a corpsman in the Navy, was her inspiration.

“I was always pretty enthralled with her whenever she came home. I was the geek who was putting her combination cover (uniform hat) on, so I thought, ‘Well maybe I’ll do the Navy,’” She said.

Being interested in aviation, she decided to look into the naval aviation officer candidate school. But later, as luck would have it, her sister would once again influence her into looking into something else.

“She went to a bar in Cherry Point, N.C., and met a group of Coast Guard aviators who were down there, and she starts talking to them saying, ‘Oh my sister is looking at Navy OCS’ and they were like, ‘No, no, no, don’t do it. Go Coast Guard.’ So my sister calls me up and she says, ‘Don’t join the Navy, join the Coast Guard, they’re so much fun,’” Hill said.

Intrigued, she began looking into the Coast Guard and what they stood for and found that the humanitarian aspect she was looking for in the Peace Corps she could also find in this service, so she submitted her application. But once again, her plans were delayed.

“When I initially applied for OCS I applied six months after I graduated college…I was ready for that next change in my life to begin,” she said.

The first class that Hill applied to was cancelled due to budget cuts, the second she missed by one slot.

“I was seriously considering if the Coast Guard was the way forward for me,” she said.

Finally, after the third try, her application was accepted. However, even after all the waiting, she found out she would not be able to go to flight school like she had planned because her recruiter forgot to include her qualifying flight test scores in her documents package. So, in a moment of desperation, Hill decided to retake the test, almost two years after the first time, in hopes that she retained some of the information so she could continue on toward flight school. Much to her dismay, she didn’t pass, being only a few points short. Once again, Hill was forced to make a hard decision: what now? She couldn’t go to flight school like she had planned, so now she had to choose another route.

“I was going to a ship. I could have taken that test another time but I never ended up taking it,” she said.

There she found a new passion she never thought she’d find, the sea.

“If I had known that you could go to back-to-back cutters like the amazing Master Chiefs here do I would have choosen that immediately. It’s just awesome what they get to do,” she said.

As Hill served aboard cutters and made her way up the ranks, she admits that it wasn’t always easy as she found her own obstacles to overcome, but by keeping at her determination to be a hard working member of the service, she was able to find her own strengths and weaknesses as well as helping others recognize theirs.

“If you want to come to work everyday and pick out what’s wrong about something or someone, that’s all you’re going to focus on. So, sometimes, recognizing the positives and the challenges makes it better.”

One thing Hill has learned in her career is the importance of education, especially for military members. She encourages maximizing the use of the tuition assistance and funded education programs available to every military member because it helps you to build a foundation for a life and passion both in and outside of your Coast Guard career. She said that since she was able to take advantage of the schooling opportunities provided by the Coast Guard, she put in for, and was selected to the funded law school program which opened up additional opportunities as a Coast Guard Judge Advocate General and allowed her to assist her service by providing guidance in matters of legality and justice. In turn, both her years as a Cutterman and a JAG officer, gave her the tools and leadership background to serve as the Deputy Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego.

“Many people say I’m a demanding boss, but I think that we frequently don’t recognize our own capacity. So my goal is to push people to their capacity and exceed it and watch them grow. That’s just what is amazing to me,” she said.

It’s safe to say that Hill has taken every accidental situation into stride and turned them into an opportunity to flourish. She discovered a new passion from switching from aviation to working on cutters and is aiding her country with her knowledge and skills that she likely may not have acquired had she not joined. She will admit it helps to surround herself with those who want to see her succeed.

With the constant support of her husband, who serves in the Marine Corps, and the support of her friends and family, leaves her feeling immensely blessed to have gotten this far.

“I’m fortunate to have a husband who understands the service and my passion for the Coast Guard…So he’s as excited about me being in the Coast Guard as I am.”

After almost 22 years of service, Hill is the perfect example of someone who, despite hurdles, barriers and unforeseen circumstances has come out on top.

SAN DIEGO – Capt. Patricia Hill sits in her office aboard U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego March 15, 2012. Hill serves as the Deputy Sector Commander where she is second in command. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alexis Motley.

Peer pressure is something that every person struggles with. Are you cool enough? Will you be accepted into a certain group or 'clique'? Are you too skinny, too fat, too short, or too ugly? The desperation in the need to be accepted and liked is not just limited to people outside of the military, or just strictly to young women, but to both genders and in the service as well. For Chief Petty Officer Joan Tedeschi, her way of dealing with the pressures was to just be herself.

To Tedeschi, joining the Coast Guard was a no-brainer. In addition to her family owning and operating a small boat store, her grandfather was in the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

"I grew up in a family where we as kids would go out and flip the boat over and right it. And we would have all these drills," she said.

In addition to her family background Tedeschi worked different jobs, but as the years drew on, she knew that she had to make a change.

"I was a watch maker before I joined, and I enjoyed that, but I knew I was getting a little older and that I needed to decide soon whether to stay with that or switch over," she said.

So, in 1990, she enlisted in the Coast Guard and served as a seaman at Station Cape May, N.J., and from there she went on to class "A" school to become a Quarter Master. She was later assigned as a search and rescue responder in Cape Hatteras, N.C., served a tour a board the Coast Guard Cutter Rush out of Hawaii and was the first woman to report aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tybee in 1997, a 110-foot cutter out of Point Loma, Calif.

When transferred to one of the many cutters she worked on, Tedeschi found herself at one point in a uniquely challenging position.

"When I was on the Tybee, I was the first woman to report. The poor crew had been beaten to death with training ahead of time and was almost afraid to even speak to me," she said with a laugh, "I had to tell them it was ok.”

She went on to explain that throughout her career she avoided most drama through maintaining a separation between work and home and not allowing the two to co-mingle, even if this meant not sharing simple details like people asking her what she did this weekend. She would just tell them respectfully that it wasn’t any of their business and that she was someone who liked to keep her private life private. Her direct approach, she found, tended to work to her advantage.

To other females, she advises that even though it is tempting to pretend to be like someone else to be liked, they should just be themselves instead.

“Try not to be one of the guys,” she said, “I don’t need to be one of them, I just need to be me. I find that for me, it’s worked that I’ve always shown people how I wanted to be treated.”

After serving nine years on active duty as a Quarter Master, instead of retiring, she joined the Coast Guard reserves as an Operations Specialist and got a job as a civilian in Sector San Diego’s Command center. Although her job outside the military is here in California, her job in the military is on the opposite coast.

“I get three weeks of extra leave a year to fly back east and drill, and I do that about six times a year,” she said.

But despite the distance between jobs and the traveling, she says she enjoys it. Not having the same chain of command in her civilian job as in the reserves allows her to meet new people and visit her family who live there. The change of scenery, she adds, is always nice as well.

Now, close to retirement, Tedeschi seems to be satisfied with the way her career has turned out. She’s happily married and enjoys hiking, camping and volunteers to raise puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit agency that helps to raise dogs to assist disabled people.

“I’m fortunate that the command here lets me raise the dogs and bring them to work. We take on the puppies at two months old and give them back at 18 months. The agency trains them for another six and if they make it at two years old, they go to work and do one of four jobs: hearing dog, skill companion, a facility dog or a service dog. Two-thirds of the dogs don’t make it, so I’m fortunate that two out of the three I’ve trained have,” she said.

She said that one of the dogs she raised was given to help a disabled Navy veteran here in California while the other went to a man in Colorado. She often jokes that since she and her husband have no kids, raising and training the dogs has filled that spot.

Because Tedeschi stayed true to who she was throughout her career and her life, she was able to set an example for other young women coming in behind her to not allow the peer pressures of trying to fit in determine who they are so they can not only grow stronger as a member of the Coast Guard, but help others to do the same.

SAN DIEGO – An instructor at the U.S. Navy Firefighting and Damage Control School explains hose handling techniques during a class at Naval Base San Diego attended by members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s crew March 14, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period, facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – Crewmembers of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf practice hose handling techniques at the Firefighting and Damage Control School aboard Naval Base San Diego, March 14, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego, designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – A Crewmember of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf dons firefighting equipment at the Firefighting and Damage Control School aboard Naval Base San Diego, March 14, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by the Afloat Training Group San Diego, designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – Crewmembers of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf practice firefighting techniques inside the burn house at the Firefighting and Damage Control School aboard Naval Base San Diego, March 14, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – Crewmembers of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf practice firefighting techniques inside the burn house at the Firefighting and Damage Control School aboard Naval Base San Diego, March 14, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – An instructor at the U.S. Navy Firefighting and Damage Control School demonstrates how to use a banding tool to hold a patch in place on a ruptured pipe during a class at Naval Base San Diego attended by members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s crew March 19, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – A student at the U.S. Navy Firefighting and Damage Control School places a patch on a ruptured pipe during a class at Naval Base San Diego attended by members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s crew March 19, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – Students at the U.S. Navy Firefighting and Damage Control School support members of a damage control team as they place a box patch on the ceiling to stop flooding during a class at Naval Base San Diego attended by members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s crew March 19, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

SAN DIEGO – Students at the U.S. Navy Firefighting and Damage Control School pull another student through a hatch from the flooding compartment below during a class at Naval Base San Diego attended by members of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf’s crew March 19, 2012. This school was part of the Bertholf crew’s Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, an intensive training period facilitated by Afloat Training Group San Diego designed to develop cutter crews’ performance in shipboard operations and emergency procedures. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy.

The world is full of people spewing from their mouths excuses or reasons why they or, someone else, can’t do something before they have even tried. It almost comes as a second nature, something that starts when we are young and grows more elaborate over time. For Seaman Erica Pranke, someone telling her she can’t and why, doesn’t stop her.

Three years ago if you had asked Pranke where she saw herself in two years, the military, much less the Coast Guard, would have been the furthest thing from her mind.

“I grew up with military parents,” she said. “My mom, my dad and my step-dad were all in the Air Force. I swore off the military because I didn’t want that life-style, or to move around all the time. My mom didn’t get to come see every single swim meet that I was at. She didn’t get to come see every school event.”

After graduating from Niceville Senior High School in Niceville, Fla., she worked at a taco shop across the street from the high school and enrolled in college, but for some reason none of it felt right. She never really enjoyed school, despite making passing grades, and she felt that college was just a repeat of high school since she was attending with all of the same people. She said that after talking to a friend of hers who was looking into joining the National Guard to help fund his way through medical school, she began to seriously look into other options. She sat down with her mother one night and brought up the idea of joining the Coast Guard. They went online, and the next day a recruiter contacted her.

She chose the Coast Guard out of her great respect for the ocean, but it wasn’t her only reason.

“Looking back on it, it was just something I wanted to do,” she said. “It wasn’t something that my mom pushed on me, it was my choice. It was never ever my mom saying, ‘Oh, you should do this.’ She never hinted at that. It was something I came to terms with for myself. I still think it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

After going through the screening process, she left for basic training and eight weeks later on January 22, 2010, she graduated. Finally, she knew she was doing something that not only felt right, it was something both she and her mom could be proud of.

“I’ve never ever seen my mom cry. I think the Air Force made her as tough as rocks,” she laughs, “but, I remember graduating boot camp and seeing her come up, her face all red, tears pouring down her face, and she gave me the biggest hug and she just whispered to me, ‘I’m so proud.’”

With great respect for the ocean and her background in swimming she became interested in the role of an Aviation Survival Technician (AST) because she wanted to be directly involved in serving and protecting the community. She also jokes that watching the movie “The Guardian”, which centered on the job of an AST, may have been a bit of an influence on her as well.

However, after graduating from basic training, she was placed on the waiting list and spent the next 18 months working for the Master at Arms shop at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego maintaining the base. She admitted that when she first came in, she had issues with adjusting to the military at times because of the way people are addressed outside the military and the way you address people in the military are vastly different. She found that she often had to rephrase her words or check her tone when she wanted or needed to express her views so that she wouldn’t come across disrespectful or rude.

“It’s hard when you have someone get on you about something you did wrong and then they would turn around and do the opposite of what they just told you. It makes you stop and say, ‘no, wait a minute,’” she said.

She went on to say that sometimes it’s hard to be able to take orders because you didn’t understand why you had to do it a certain way, but you just had to learn to trust that sometimes you weren’t going to understand everything and that sometimes you didn’t need to. This was a lesson that she later understood in full when she was the one placed in the position of authority.

“They made me leading seaman while I was over there and, at first, I didn’t really have an issue with it. The group that was there at the time … they were awesome.” she said.

She went on to explain that she could assign them to work on a project or do a certain job and they wouldn’t argue, they would just do it. But, when that group left and a new one came in, she was posed with a new challenge. The new group was fresh from basic training and some struggled with authority just as she had.

“I got people who thought they knew everything straight out of boot camp and that they knew exactly what they were doing,” she said. “Even if a supervisor assigned them to work with someone else, they would just go off with whomever they felt like working with and do the job and leave the other person there,” she said.

Because of these frustrations she had to learn to show patience as she taught and showed them the same things that she herself had to learn when she came into the Coast Guard. One valuable thing she says that she did take away is that even when she may have had a hard day, she didn’t let it follow her home to her personal life and vice versa.

“It’s like having a split personality. Outside of work you live your life, but the second you come on base you become stone faced,” she said.

She said that having that separation helped her to not complicate her work or home environment and allow a sort of release.

Despite her reservations about joining, conflicts with co-workers and authority, and her struggle finding her balance, she said that the most important thing she learned after her two years in the service is perseverance. It is always better than just giving up she says. By doing her job and doing it to the best of her ability, she was finally given an opportunity to work in aviation with the helicopters, something she had been working towards since she had joined.

Her struggles with being under authority as well as being the one in authority has made her skin a bit thicker and easier to let the mean or discouraging things people say roll off her back, such as people telling her that she would never make it as an AST, a job that requires a tremendous amount of not only physical strength, but mental and emotional as well. Not every applicant that goes to train as an AST is fully capable of this amount of strength resulting in many people dropping out.

“People have said to me that I won’t make it because they never see me in the gym working out. But I will become a swimmer if I have to go back two, three or four times. And if for some reason I really can’t do it, I’ll still be in a field that involves aviation,” she said.

Pranke has learned that as long as you believe in yourself and push through to reach your goals nothing can keep you from achieving your dreams and bettering yourself and your service.

	SAN DIEGO – Seaman Erica Pranke sits in the cockpit of an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego March 13, 2012. The sector’s airman program allows for non-rated members to get hands-on training on the inner workings of rates that involve aviation. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alexis Motley.
	SAN DIEGO -- Seaman Erica Pranke preforms maintenance on the MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter as part of the airman Program at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego March 13, 2012.  The sector's airman program allows for non-rated members to get hands-on training on the inner workings of rates that involve aviation. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alexis Motley.

SAN DIEGO -- A boat crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station San Diego rescued a woman and two dogs from a sail boat that was flooding and in danger of running aground due to rain and rough seas near San Diego Saturday afternoon.

The Coast Guard crew took the woman and dogs off their flooding boat and towed it to Shelter Island in San Diego Bay at approximately 1:20 p.m.

The woman made a distress call, stating her boat was flooding east of the Zuniga Jetty, drifting toward the shore and she was unable to control it.

The Coast Guard 41-foot Utility Boat crew was on scene with the sail boat within minutes and transported the woman, dogs and boat to safe harbor.

Boaters are urged to exercise caution during inclement weather, and to ensure they have proper safety equipment aboard their vessel for use in an emergency.

Strength. This word coupled with such words as bravery, hard working, mentor, and role model have been used to describe women who not only serve their country, but their families and loved ones as well. From Joan of Arc to Eleanor Roosevelt, women have been effectively changing the way the world views them and the roles they play. This is why in 1987 Woman’s History Month was introduced by the United States Congress as a month-long dedication of recognition to women, young and old, not only throughout history, but also to those who live their day-to-day lives as wives, mothers, and co-workers. The women of the United States Coast Guard are no exception to this.

Dating all the way back to the 1770s, women began as lighthouse keepers, often awarded the position full time after their husbands who operated them became ill or died, but they didn’t stop there.

In 1881, Ida Lewis became the first woman ever to be awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal. In February of 1976 the Coast Guard Academy became the first service academy to offer entrance to women. In 1974, mixed-gender basic training began which made possible the first mixed-gender crew in October 1977 when 24 women reported aboard the Coast Guard Cutters Gallatin and Morgenthau. More recently, in March of 2011, Chief Petty Officer Kristin Werner became the first female to make Chief Gunner’s Mate ever in the Coast Guard.

Remarkable women live, serve, and breathe all around us. In recognition of this, a story will be released during each week of March honoring the Coast Guard women of San Diego that we serve and come in contact with every day.

In a juggler’s profession, the key to maintaining the awe of the crowd is the ability to keep the objects moving in a fluid, almost graceful, momentum. This takes precision, practice and quick thinking, because if one of the objects were to touch another, even barely, the whole act would fall apart. It’s all about focus. For the women of the Coast Guard who have families and lives outside of their career, trying to balance everything can become a juggling act.

Seaman Alyssia Veiga, like many others, did not join the Coast Guard right out of school.

“Because I’m 22, I’m still young,” she said, “I’m not fresh out of high school, but at the same time, I have experience in (the world). I was away from home and I didn’t join the Coast Guard right away.”

Veiga went on to explain that she decided on the Coast Guard because she wanted to help people and the Coast Guard seemed the most humanitarian out of all the services. Her face lit up as she talked about the possibilities and opportunities that the service has to offer her and laughed as she spoke about how she’d learned secrets of the trade that she can apply to her own life.

Originally placed on the Marine Science Technician “A” school list, she made the switch to Store Keeper and is working her way to becoming a petty officer through on the job training in Coast Guard Sector San Diego’s supply shop. In this position she still feels like she is able to help people and the role of customer service suits her.

“Even though I’m not like an AST (Aviation Survival Technician), jumping out of a plane and saving lives, I still get to help people,” she said.

On the role of being a woman and a future mother as well, she understands the struggle of trying to balance both, but it is just that, a balancing act. She explains that although she made a commitment to serve in the military, her budding family is very important to her as well.

“There has to be a balance,” she went on to explain, “There are some people who don’t know how to juggle at all. Basically, it’s a giant juggling act and I have to delegate time for my personal life and draw boundaries.”

Trying not to allow the lines to blend between life and work has been long struggle seen throughout the Coast Guard and other military services alike, but for women, it comes with its own set of unique pressures.

“It’s really hard, especially for women, even though guys have the same mindset. As women, we are supposed to be the head of the household and taking care of the kids, but at the same time, you are a career driven person as well, so you have to choose and (sometimes) decide between your family and work,” she said.

It’s common in this time to see women who are married member-to-member or service-to-service have to make that choice between their family and their careers, and for some who worked hard to get to the position that they have, it’s not an easy choice. For the women who decide to truck on through the struggles, Veiga said she has a great respect for their strength.

“I’m not ready to make that decision yet,” she said, “it makes you want to work that much harder. I have so much more respect for the people whose infant was keeping them up crying until 3 a.m., and they still came in on time.”

Besides being a future mother, there are other unique challenges of being a female in the service. Veiga, who was stationed on a 378-foot cutter prior to transferring to San Diego, said being a female amongst a sea of males isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

“You can’t just be one of the guys,” she said, “You can’t just be another worker.”

She explains that often times all it took was for one female to show up to quarters with scuffed boots or a wrinkly uniform for all the females to be lumped in as slackers. She said that sometimes you have to put in that extra effort to move past the ideas that people may have of you and how you work.

Although, sometimes things were rougher than others, overall she doesn’t seem to allow it to affect her or hinder her ability to advance forward. Instead, she moves toward a more positive outlook: setting as example as those before have. She said that often when people mention their boss out in the civilian world, people just assume that it is a man. This is precisely the reason why she loves the fact that at her job in the Coast Guard her shop supervisor is a woman.

“For me, I like having my chief be a female,” she said.

It was the first female supervisor she had since joining the Coast Guard and she said it makes her feel so good to know that one day she was going to be in a position of leadership like that.

She explained that the biggest thing she wants people to understand is that even though at times work can be hard, it’s always worth doing if you are willing to push on through.

So whether it is your Coast Guard family, your home family, your career or your life, finding the right balance and grace to allow them to flow in, around and over each other without it all falling on your head is the daily routine of a Coastie mother and worker.

SAN DIEGO – Seaman Alyssa Veiga files paperwork at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego supply center Feb. 2, 2012. Veiga provides assistance to the various units within the sector’s area of responsibility by ordering and receiving supplies needed. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alexis Motley.

PACIFIC OCEAN – A U. S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, deployed aboard a U.S. Navy frigate, apprehended three suspected smugglers and seized more than 900 pounds of cocaine from a vessel in international waters approximately 55 nautical miles off the coast of Colombia, Feb. 4.

The vessel was initially spotted by a U.S. Navy marine patrol aircraft after which, two Navy helicopters were launched to intercept the vessel. The suspects attempted to evade intercept, jettisoned several bales and altered their course.

A Navy helicopter and an interceptor boat chased the suspects’ vessel until it came to a full stop and the Coast Guard LEDET was able to conduct a boarding.  The LEDET searched the vessel, resulting in the discovery of a compartment underneath a false deck where the cocaine was hidden.

LEDETs belong to Tactical Law Enforcement Team South or Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team and are an armed deployable specialized force under the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deployable Operations Group. They were created to support narcotics interdiction operations aboard U.S. Navy and allied ships and are capable of supporting Department of Defense national defense operations. LEDETs provide specialized law enforcement capability and maritime security capabilities to enforce U.S. laws across a full spectrum of maritime response situations, maritime security augmentation and maritime interdiction anti-piracy operations.

120204-G-XX000-089 Eastern Pacific LEDET drug interdiction

PACIFIC OCEAN — A vessel spotted approximately 55 nautical miles off the coast of Colombia, sits in the water after suspected smugglers attempted to evade law enforcement authorities, Feb 4. An inspection of the boat performed by a U. S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment revealed more than 900 pounds of cocaine hidden under a false deck. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

120204-G-XX000-026 Eastern Pacific LEDET drug interdiction

PACIFIC OCEAN — Packages of cocaine totaling more than 900 pounds are packed inside a hidden compartment of a boat boarded by a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment operating from a U.S. Navy vessel off the coast of Colombia, Feb 4. The contraband was seized and two suspected smugglers taken into custody. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

WASHINGTON – A Coast Guard chief petty officer was honored Tuesday for his superior service while deployed in support of overseas combat operations.

Chief Petty Officer Lee Conroy, a maritime enforcement specialist, assigned to Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego, was presented the 2011 National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Award for his actions in support of the counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

This award honors one member from each of the five armed services who has distinguished him or herself while supporting special operations, low-intensity conflicts or irregular warfare.

“I am honored to be recognized alongside our DOD brethren,” said Chief Petty Officer Lee Conroy. “But the true recognition belongs to my shipmates at MSST San Diego. Without their dedication and sacrifice I wouldn’t be receiving this award.”

Chief Conroy was sighted for his leadership, superior judgment and operational knowledge. He successfully led an eight-person advanced interdiction team during a 120-day overseas deployment to Central Command for operations Enduring Freedom and Riptide. As part of the anti-piracy Task Force 151Chief Conroy instructed training sessions with 80 Navy Vessel Board, Search and Seizure team members in Close Quarters Combat and mission planning in anticipation of joint boardings. Chief Conroy’s professionalism and leadership resulted in the removal of 18 pirates from the Gulf of Aden during four joint Coast Guard and Navy counter-piracy boardings.

“We are extremely proud of Chief Conroy,” said Coast Guard Capt. Jeffrey Novotny, Deputy Commander of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Operations Group. “His accomplishments epitomize the capability and adaptability our deployable specialized forces bring to operational commanders at home and abroad.”

Conroy and his fellow honorees were presented the award Tuesday evening before a crowd of nearly 600 special operations soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and their families. The banquet featured a number of distinguished guests, including Adm. James A. Winnefeld, Jr., USN, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, who delivered the keynote address.

WASHINGTON – Chief Petty Officer Lee Conroy (center), a maritime enforcement specialist, assigned to Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego, was presented the 2011 National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Award for his actions in support of the counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden Feb. 7, 2012. Conroy was presented his award by Gen. James E. "Hoss" Cartwright (center), USMC (Ret), former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Ms. Irene H. Sanders, Chair, NDIA SO/LIC Division (right). Photo courtesy Scott Rekdal of NDIA.

GULF OF ADEN – Coast Guard and U.S. Navy Visit, Board, Search and Seize members (VBSS) members are shown enroute to a counter-piracy boarding, Feb. 5, 2011. The Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego (91109) detachment deployed for four months in support of Combined Task Force 151’s counter-piracy operations. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

GULF OF ADEN – Coast Guard and U.S. Navy Visit, Board, Search and Seize members (VBSS) members conduct training with U.S. Navy aerial assets, Feb. 4, 2011. The Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team San Diego (91109) detachment deployed for four months in support of Combined Task Force 151’s counter-piracy operations. U.S. Coast Guard photo.