Minority recruitment creating 'a new Coast Guard'

Minority recruitment creating 'a new Coast Guard'
By JENNIFER MCDERMOTT
The Day
New London, Conn.
Published: September 17, 2012

A year ago Ellis James had never even heard of an alidade, much less imagined he'd be peering through one on the deck of a Coast Guard ship.

No one in his family has served in the military, and he planned to be an accountant.

Yet Sunday on the bridge of the Coast Guard barque Eagle, James was using the instrument that determines bearings to spot fixed points on the Connecticut shoreline and calculate the ship's distance from them.

"I had no clue I would be doing this at all," said James, 23, of Jamesville, N.C. "But I've learned so much and I've seen so much already. It has me. It has a hold on me."

An academic standout at Fayetteville State University, James interned at the national professional association for certified public accountants and worked with the local chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants.

James' life changed course when he learned about a Coast Guard recruiting program that pays select juniors and seniors a salary and reimburses up to two years of tuition at historically black colleges and universities, as well as Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and schools in Guam, Hawaii and Alaska. No one could beat that offer, James said.
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'Military mom' of four in armed forces introduces Michelle Obama

Elaine Brye gave the best line of the night. Not that she is the Mom of 4 members of different military branches or that her 5th son may enter into the Coast Guard. It was when she said she is not a political person. Most people are not "political" and easy to understand when you have less than half of the eligible voters actually showing up to vote. While Brye addressed what is important to her as a military Mom, she made no political statement. That is the way it should be and the way it is for most people in this country but if you only listen to the 24-7 media, you may think everyone but you have picked sides and ready to fight anyone. Brye proved that theory wrong.

Most people would rather work together than take sides.

'Military mom' of four in armed forces introduces Michelle Obama
By Robin Abcarian
September 4, 2012

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “Wow!” said Elaine Brye of Winona, Ohio. “What’s a mom like me doing in a place like this?”

Brye was not planning a turn on stage at the Democratic National Convention when she sat down last December to write a Christmas card to First Lady Michelle Obama. It was “just a mom-to-mom note to say thank you for caring,” Brye said Tuesday night as she introduced Obama. “The first lady not only read my letter, she invited my husband and I to the White House. It was an amazing experience."

Brye may think of herself as just a mom, but she is in fact a rather special mother. Four of her five children are military officers, one in each branch — Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. “Our youngest is still in high school,” Brye said. “And yes, we’re hoping he’ll join the Coast Guard.” On the lapel of her purple dress, she wore four rhinestine pins representing each branch.

As she introduced the first lady, Brye said, “I’m not even a political person. But what I am is a military mom. … I don't know when I'm going to get them all together again because someone's always deploying. But because of Dr. [Jill] Biden and the first lady, our lives are a little bit easier. Along with President Obama, they have made helping military families a top priority….It is honor and respect in action and it warms this mother's heart.”
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Army sergeant still missing after jumping off Carnival cruise ship

UPDATE September 2, 2012
Army investigating Fort Stewart soldier missing at sea

Army sergeant still missing after jumping off Carnival cruise ship
By Arelis R. Hernández and Susan Jacobson
Orlando Sentinel
August 29, 2012

Military officials today identified the man who jumped off a Carnival cruise ship Tuesday as an Army soldier stationed in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Sgt. Ronald Kemp, 31, is assigned to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, according to Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force reservists are still searching for Kemp, who was last seen by Carnival security jumping off the top deck of the ship Tuesday into the waters off the Volusia County coast.

Larson said Kemp's family was notified immediately and Army officials are providing support.

Officials wouldn't speculate on the possible reasons Kemp jumped.

Kemp is an Iraq war veteran, having served two tours overseas. He was assigned to the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield in September 2010 and has been stateside ever since, officials said.

A security guard said he saw Kemp leap from the 10th deck of the into the water 87 feet below at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard said.
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Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July

Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July
By KVAL News
Published Jul 9, 2012

FLORENCE, Ore. - Ron Mossholder, a veteran of four different armed services, died on the Fourth of July from lung cancer.

He would have turned 85 on July 14.

Services for Mossholder are planned Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Three Rivers Casino.

Tom Adams from KVAL News interviewed Mossholder in May after a caregiver discovered Mossholder's interesting past.

Mossholder was honorably discharged from the Navy, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and Army; once sparred with Muhammed Ali; and helped manage the cleanup after the Exxon Valez oil spill.
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FBI investigating deaths at Alaska Coast Guard Kodiak Island

AK island residents worry after C. Guard killings
Published April 14, 2012
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska


Law officers assured residents of Alaska's Kodiak Island that they aren't in immediate danger following the shooting deaths of two workers at a Coast Guard communications station, but the fact that no one had been arrested left people on edge.

Wendy Cavender, a bartender at the B and B bar in Kodiak, a city about eight miles from the Coast Guard base, said residents are getting jumpy because they have few details about what happened.

"I just think they need to release all the information they have so people don't get crazy and paranoid, which might lead to violence," Cavender said.

"All anybody knows is that there is a shooter and that person might still be at large," Cavender said.

The Coast Guard on Friday identified the two victims as Richard Belisle and Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins. Belisle, 51, lived in Kodiak and was a retired Coast Guard chief petty officer working at the base as a civilian employee. Hopkins, 41, was an electronics technician from Vergennes, Vt.

Another Coast Guard member found the victims Thursday morning shortly after the two would have arrived for work at the station, which monitors radio traffic from ships and planes.
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Blue Water Ship list for Agent Orange

VA Posts Online List of Ships Associated with Presumptive Agent Orange
Exposure



WASHINGTON (Sept. 2, 2011)- Veterans who served aboard U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships operating on the waters of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, may be eligible to receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation for 14 medical conditions associated with presumptive exposure to Agent Orange.

An updated list of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships confirmed to have operated on Vietnam's inland waterways, docked on shore, or had crewmembers sent ashore, has been posted at
Exposures Agent Orange to assist Vietnam Veterans in determining potential eligibility for compensation benefits.


"Posting of the ships list is an important recognition of the sacrifices U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans made for this Nation," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "It provides an easier path for Veterans who served in Vietnam to get the benefits and services they are entitled to under the law."

VA presumes herbicide exposure for any Veteran with duty or visitation within the country of Vietnam or on its inland waterways during the Vietnam era. Comprehensive information about the 14 recognized illnesses under VA's "presumption" rule for Agent Orange is also located on the webpage.

In practical terms, Veterans with qualifying Vietnam service who develop a disease associated with Agent Orange exposure need not prove a medical link between their illnesses and their military service. This presumption simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.

For questions about Agent Orange and the online list of ships, Veterans may call VA's Special Issues Helpline at 1-800-749-8387 and press 3.

When a claim is filed by a Veteran, surviving spouse or child, VA will determine whether the Veteran qualifies for the presumption of exposure based on official records of the ship's operations. Ships will be regularly added to the list based on information confirmed in these
official records.

Even if a Veteran is not filing a claim, a Veteran may conduct his or her own research and submit scanned documentary evidence such as deck logs, ship histories, and cruise book entries via email to 211_AOSHIPS.VBACO@va.gov.

Service on board ships anchored in an open water harbor, such as Da Nang Harbor, or on ships on other open waters around Vietnam during the war, is not considered sufficient for the presumption of Agent Orange exposure. For Veterans interested in obtaining deck logs, contact the National Archives at College Park, Md.

The Agent Orange Claims Processing System website located at https://www.fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/
may be used to submit claims related to the three conditions added to the list of Agent Orange
presumptives last year (Parkinson's disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease).

This website makes it easy to electronically file a claim and allows Veterans and their physicians to upload evidence supporting the claim. It also permits online viewing of claim status.

Veterans claiming other conditions may file online at VA's My-eBenefits web site at:
My-eBenefits.
They can check the status of their claim with a premium account (confirming their identity), and use a growing number of online services.

Servicemembers may enroll in My-eBenefits using their Common Access Card at any time during their military service, or before they leave during their Transition Assistance Program briefings.

Veterans may also enroll through their myPay or MyHealtheVet accounts, by visiting their local VA regional office or Veteran Service Organization, or by calling 1-800-827-1000.

Authorities link shooting at Coast Guard center to 4 others

Authorities link shooting at Coast Guard center to 4 others

By Maria Glod and Josh White
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Cleaners at the Marine Corps museum near Quantico noticed spots on windows they thought were bird droppings one recent Sunday. They turned out to be bullet holes.

Since that discovery, the same weapon has been used four more times to fire at U.S. military facilities in Northern Virginia.

The gunman has taken aim only at night or early in the morning, when the buildings would be vacant or sparsely populated, and authorities said they don't think he or she is out to hurt anyone. The shooter might be trying to send a message, officials said, but they don't know what the message is. As they search for the person, the questions remain: Who and why?

"Sometimes it is just for the thrill," said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. "Sometimes it's for the sake of power and control. Or maybe he just wants to wreak havoc on the military."

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Authorities link shooting at Coast Guard center to 4 others

Police say shots fired at Coast Guard recruiting station in Virginia

Police: Shots fired at CG office in Va.

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 2, 2010 11:14:57 EDT

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Police in northern Virginia say shots were fired overnight at a Coast Guard recruiting station, the latest case of someone shooting at military-related buildings in the Washington area.

Prince William County police say they're investigating multiple bullet holes at the building.

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Shots fired at CG office in Va

Coast Guard defends response to Gulf oil spill

The Department of Defense, the National Guard and the Coast Guard have all been called in to clean this up. The question is, will BP pay for what the government (tax payers) has to do to take care of what they failed to do? Will they cover the risk to our first responders? Will they take care of the families of the missing and take care of the wounded? What about the way this will hurt the natural world?

Coast Guard defends response to Gulf oil spill

By Cain Burdeau - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 2, 2010 10:14:54 EDT

MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER — Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico oozed into Louisiana’s ecologically rich wetlands Friday as storms threatened to frustrate desperate protection efforts. The White House put a hold on any new offshore oil projects until the rig disaster that caused the spill is explained.

Crews in boats patrolled coastal marshes early Friday looking for areas where the oil has flowed in, the Coast Guard said.

The National Weather Service predicted winds, high tides and waves through Sunday that could push oil deep into the inlets, ponds and lakes that line the boot of southeastern Louisiana. Seas of 6 to 7 feet were pushing tides several feet above normal toward the coast, compounded by thunderstorms expected in the area Friday.

As the sun rose over Venice, dozens of boats, some carrying booms that will help hold back the oil, sat ready at Cypress Cove pier. Fishing guide Mike Dickinson, 56, was taking out some fishermen from Georgia in hopes of making money before more oil washes in.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/ap_gulf_oil_spill_043010/

Third day of searching for survivors of Coast Guard-Marine crash

UPDATE
Search ends for missing after midair collision
November 1, 2009 1:02 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesman: Search halted because "hope is no longer viable"
Coast Guard plane and Marine Corps helicopter collided Thursday
Coast Guard craft had been on search for missing boater

(CNN) -- Authorities have decided to call off a search-and-rescue mission for nine people who may have plunged into the Pacific Ocean off southern California after a Coast Guard C-130 plane and a Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter collided Thursday night.

"I've reached the conclusion that hope is no longer viable," Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Castillo told reporters Sunday. "We no longer believe there is any chance somebody could still be alive."
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/01/california.midair.searchends/index.html

Post-crash search extends into 3rd day

By Gillian Flaccus - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 1, 2009 9:00:44 EST

SAN DIEGO — Hope was fading but a search for survivors was set to continue into a third day Sunday for nine people who went missing when a U.S. Coast Guard plane collided with a Marine Corps helicopter over the Pacific Ocean.

Rear Adm. Joseph Castillo said at a news conference Saturday night that there was still a chance of finding survivors among the seven military personnel aboard the Coast Guard C-130 and the two in the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter because all had access to heat-retaining drysuits and were in excellent physical shape.

A Pentagon official said Friday that the crash likely killed all aboard. But Castillo said Saturday the search was ongoing, and Coast Guard officials were still classifying it as a rescue mission.

The aircraft commander, Lt. Cmdr. Che Barnes, 35, is from Capay, Calif. His co-pilot, Lt. Adam Bryant, 28, is from Crewe, Va.

Also aboard the C-130 were Petty Officer 2nd Class Carl P. Grigonis, 35, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio; Petty Officer 2nd Class Monica L. Beacham, 29, of Decaturville, Tenn.; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason S. Moletzsky, 26, of Norristown, Pa.; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny R. Kreder II, 22, of Elm Mott, Texas.

The missing crew members from the Marine helicopter are Maj. Samuel Leigh, 35, of Belgrade, Maine, and 1st Lt. Thomas Claiborne, 26, of Parker, Colo.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_marine_coast_guard_crash_110109/

10 people hurt in Staten Island Ferry Crash

Staten Island Ferry crash injures 10
Story Highlights
Ferry loses power and hits a pier at full speed, Coast Guard says
1 person injured seriously, 9 others hurt
Accident happens at St. George Terminal on north shore of Staten Island
Impact did not send any passengers overboard, spokesman says

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Staten Island Ferry lost power and hit a pier Wednesday at full speed, resulting in one serious injury and nine minor injuries, a Coast Guard spokesman said.


The New York Fire Department estimates that 750 to 800 passengers were aboard the Staten Island Ferry.

Coast Guard boats were on the scene, the St. George Terminal on the north shore of Staten Island.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/01/ferry.crash/index.html

At least 10 dead after apparent human-smuggling boat capsizes

At least 10 dead after apparent human-smuggling boat capsizes
Story Highlights
Coast Guard rescues 26; searchers unsure how many others missing

Almost all of the victims are believed to be from Haiti and the Bahamas

Boat capsized about 15 miles east of Boynton Beach, Florida

(CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed, and an unknown number remained missing Wednesday, after a boat authorities believe was used for human smuggling capsized off the coast of Florida.


The Coast Guard rescued 24 people from a capsized boat off the coast of Florida. Searches don't know how many others are missing.

Almost all of the victims are believed to be from Haiti and the Bahamas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard -- which said a dangerous number of people was packed onto a small pleasure cruiser.



"You don't put 26 people on a small boat. It was way overloaded, completely unsafe," said Capt. Jim Fitton, the Coast Guard's sector commander in Miami, Florida. "With smugglers, you have the potential for this because smugglers aren't interested in people's welfare. They're interested in making money."
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At least 10 dead after apparent human-smuggling boat capsizes

Search suspended for soldier who fell overboard near NC

Search suspended for soldier who fell overboard near NC
The Virginian-Pilot - Norfolk,VA,USA
By Lauren King
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 23, 2009
DRUM INLET, N.C.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search today for a U.S. Army soldier who fell overboard Sunday morning off the North Carolina coast.

Coast Guard and Marine Corps search crews were helping to search for a crewmember of the Army tugboat Major General Winfield Scott, which is homeported at Fort Eustis, according to a Coast Guard news release.
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Search continues for 2 missing fishermen off Alaska

Search continues for 2 missing fishermen off Alaska
Story Highlights
Four fishermen rescued after boat goes missing in Alaska waters

Five bodies have been recovered; search is under way for two other fishermen

The Katmai, a 93-foot fish vessel, hasn't been found, officials say

CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday is searching for two fishermen missing after a commercial fishing vessel went down in remote, treacherous waters off the Aleutian Islands about 1,400 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

Four of the boat's crew members were rescued and five bodies retrieved Wednesday near the Amchitka Pass, a strait that connects the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

The names have been withheld pending the notification of families, a Coast Guard statement said.

The search began at about 1 a.m. Wednesday when the Coast Guard received an emergency signal from the Katmai, a 93-foot fishing vessel that had been battling 50-knot winds and nearly 20-foot waves.

The signal originated from a wall-mounted satellite positioning device on the Katmai that reacts when it's touched or splashed with water, Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read said.
Watch a "Deadliest Catch" captain talk about what may have happened on the rough seas »

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/23/alaska.fishermen/index.html

At least 3 killed in Coast Guard Helicopter Crash

At least 3 killed in Coast Guard helicopter crash

The Associated Press


Published: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
HONOLULU -
An official says at least three U.S. Coast Guard crewmembers were killed when their helicopter crashed in waters about five miles south of Honolulu, and another crewmember is missing.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080905/APA/809051299

Richard Stecher died, VA hospital "short on personnel"

[DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD Times]
Mary Nicholl, 63, holds pictures memorializing Richard Stecher, 64, in their back yard in Tarpon Springs, which she said was his favorite spot for relaxing. Stecher died in VA care June 30, and Nicholl blames Haley VA Medical Center for his death.

Apology not enough after a death at VA
Records show multiple lapses in care, and a companion is angry.

By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer


TAMPA — The chief of staff at the nation's busiest veterans' hospital met last month with a woman whose longtime companion died at the facility. Then Dr. Edward Cutolo did something she found extraordinary.

He apologized.

Richard Stecher, 64, of Tarpon Springs died June 30 at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center after several "missed opportunities" to treat him, Haley documents show.

Stecher, a Coast Guard veteran, died primarily from complications caused by a perforated bowel obstruction. Minutes after emergency surgery, he suffered a heart attack and never regained consciousness.

But to Mary Nicholl, Stecher's live-in companion of 19 years, the care Haley provided before surgery amounted to gross inattention by a hospital where, she said, care was often chaotic and substandard.

"No veteran," Nicholl said, "should endure what Richie endured."

On Thursday, the Department of Veterans Affairs refused to discuss the case or its medical files on Stecher, given to Nicholl by Haley at her request.

"I am not going to rebut anything she says," Cutolo said Thursday.

A surgeon, a primary care physician and a gastroenterologist failed to adequately treat Stecher over two months, according to VA minutes of Cutolo's meeting with Nicholl.

VA records say Stecher should have been admitted after an April CAT scan but was not admitted until June 27, when the emergency surgery was performed.

Cutolo told Nicholl in a July 23 meeting that doctors were "misled" by his atypical symptoms, records show.

Short on personnel, the VA sent Stecher to a private company in April for a CAT scan. The results were viewed by a non-VA radiologist without access to previous VA scans for comparison, according to a VA document.

That communication gap, Nicholl said, may have led to the failure of Haley to recognize how seriously ill Stecher was. His primary care physician at the VA, located at a VA clinic in Pasco County, strongly suspected an obstruction, records show.
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