Finally...After All The Years. We're Here, We're Real, and We're A True Military Service
Submitted by cjm3fl on 13 November 2007 - 1:46am.
Back when I was serving in the CG, we weren't considered a real, or true, military service. It's nice to see that it's finally changed.
I see some of the young persons that man the local CG stations in the area here (we have alot of CG members in Florida), and the old pride returns with what I see in them.
After 9/11, the USCG's move to the Dept of HLS, and the work done after Katrina hit, units working alongside others in Iraq...the USCG has moved up to join her sister services as a 'full-time' branch of the US military in the eyes of everyone.
But if you are/were a member, you always knew that you WERE. It just took longer for the rest to notice.
Back when I served, in the late 70's and early 80's, we were the butt of many jokes. And yeah, maybe we didn't also feel like we really fit with the "big 4". But we were. And we showed it, every chance we got. The pride people saw in our eyes, the way we stood, or walk...just like those of the "big 4", they new we 'belonged', we were "military".
But these are new days for those members of the USCG. The job has gotten tougher, the needs have gotten more demanding.
Not only are there the SAR missions, ATN work, and Boating Safety. But there's the deeper missions with Port Security, Maritime Safety, and Homeland Security.
Some of the best memories I hold, are the 6 years as a 'Coastie'.
The equipment (then) was old, hand-me-downs stuff. The missions were numerous and costly. The lost members.....
The men and woman I served with had a purpose....almost a higher calling.
When there was a life in danger on the water....Semper Paratus (Always Ready).. took on a new meaning the moment you jumped onto that boat, into that copter or plane....You had a new focus. It wasn't a saying anymore. It wasn't practice.
From that moment...it wasn't your life that you thought about...it was the life of that person, calling out from the darkness...."Help me, please".
I was there for some SAR missions that didn't end well.
But I was also there for so many more missions that I can think back on and remember....people are alive....because of the work that I was involved with....but only because of the work and help of my shipmates.
I couldn't do anything without those well trained, dedicated friends/family members...without my fellow Coasties.
I never knew..
I never knew anything about the Coast Guard until I went to Haiti in '95. I always thought the Coast Guard was always at home, sitting in the bars and the beaches while we Soldiers were deployed everywhere. Well, I'll tell you, Haiti opened my eyes. When I talked to those guys, I found out how often they were away from their families, and out on missions all over the world. Not just sitting on the beach, but in some really nasty places. My hat's off to you guys - Coasties are real members of the U.S. Military!