Ensuring Mission Readiness

In January 2019, Base Cape Cod’s Facilities Engineering Department expended over 120 hours to remove snow and ice from AIRSTA Cape Cod’s airfield.  Base Cape Cod provides snow removal during every winter event, as a Search and Rescue case can occur at a moment’s notice and requires a clear runway. In 2019 there were several life-saving SAR events in which icy conditions could have hindered the mission.

Recruiting Experts in Their Fields

The Coast Guard is fortunate to have many world-class chefs serving as Culinary Specialists, sustaining the men and women of the Service with nutritious and delicious meals. Maintaining a steady flow of bright, motivated, and skilled recruits starts with exposure of men and women to careers in the Coast Guard. Shown here is a culinary demonstration by CSCM Justin Reed, Base Miami Beach Galley, to students at the Boynton Beach South Tech Academy in February of 2020.

Maintaining Coast Guard Assets

Maintenance Augmentation Teams (MAT), part of the Naval Engineering Department at a Base, provide maintenance support and casualty response.  MATs are responsible for tasks that go beyond the capacity or capability of a unit’s resources and require more extensive or specialized facilities, tools, equipment, or expertise. This type of maintenance is  referred to as “depot-level” maintenance.

Shown here, MAT Sault Ste Marie members complete a quarterly maintenance visit on CGC NEAH BAY in Cleveland, OH in February of 2020.

Partnering with the Community

Finding affordable childcare can be an issue for many Coast Guard members. Sector North Bend resolved this issue by bolstering relationships with community partners and increasing the number of family childcare providers in base housing. Interested spouses were trained through Base Seattle Health Safety and Work-Life staff, and received Coast Guard certification to run in-home childcare.

Sector North Bend also reached out to the local community college, hospital, and area businesses whose community members faced similar struggles in finding childcare. While bases in metropolitan areas sometimes have access to government funded facilities such as Child Development Centers, units in remote areas can partner with their  local community to pool their resources to help ensure childcare needs are met.

Ensuring Connectivity

These hard-working members at Base Ketchikan in Alaska are repairing a mast on a 110’ Patrol Boat. This repair will ensure the patrol boat has the connectivity it needs to conduct the mission.

Following a 5-year effort to increase salaries and eliminate a pay gap for wage grade members working throughout the state of Alaska, these workers received a pay increase, helping Coast Guard remain an employer of choice in a competitive labor market.