The Last Two Years...

Last month I reached sixteen years of service in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of many others.

Of my time in service, the last two years have been the most challenging, but also the most rewarding. I advanced to Chief Petty Officer in August 2020, was recalled to active duty January through September 2021, completed Chief’s Call to Initiation January through March 2022, and last month I attended the Chief Petty Officer Academy … all while attempting to provide assistance to the team of reservists from which these processes required me to be away.

Advancing to Chief Petty Officer was not my initial career plan. Like many college students entering military service, our minds are immediately directed towards becoming a commissioned officer. Looking back, I think it took less than a couple of years to realize that becoming “The Chief” would be more rewarding… and fit my natural “style.” I was excited to have my anchors pinned on in August 2020, but we were feeling the impacts of COVID restrictions. A typical advancement is done in presence of the entire unit, which sadly could not be accommodated. However, I felt extremely lucky to have my closest family, friends, and crew in attendance.

Around this time, we started feeling the financial impacts of COVID, and at CISD Marine we had serious concerns about supporting everyone’s income level with the small amount of work we were receiving. COVID cases were rising, and no one knew when it would stop. At the same time, there was a concern that COVID was impacting the performance of the USCG. Incident Management Teams had been created to track mission and member impact, assist in implementation of policy, provide feedback on policy, and generally assist on all things COVID. I was offered a six month contract to join a team at Sector Houston–Galveston to assist with this emergency for which none of us had specific training. Throughout my career, I’ve always told myself that no matter how secure I thought my finances were, I needed to always keep the Coast Guard as a fallback for hard times. It was finally time to use it.

This was the first time I operated beyond the scope of my department, and had to work across job specialties, among multiple units, and work directly with Commanding Officers on a day-to-day basis. It was certainly intimidating, as a new chief. At times, I may have felt some “imposter syndrome.” Luckily, I was immediately welcomed into “the Chief’s Mess” and had the help and support of some amazing people.

Ultimately, my position was extended another three months. By the time my nine months completed, the backlog of steel imports were finally arriving in the country, and I needed to return to my “regular job” at CISD Marine. However, it was only a few months later that Chief’s Call to Initiation was slated to begin for the first time since I advanced. While (officially) it is not a mandatory program, I felt it necessary to complete the process. However, I wouldn’t be on orders to do so. I had to balance participation the program, requiring 10 -20 hours per week, while still maintaining my full-time job, at what appeared to be the busiest period of imports in over ten years. The understanding of my family and friends cannot be overstated; for ten weeks I was completely distracted.?I also couldn’t have done this without everyone at CISD Marine stepping up to cover me in my absence. While I certainly hope none of our customers and partners realized I was “absent,” I truly appreciate any leeway I was given during this time.

Last month I capped off the final piece of advancing to Chief, by attending the Chief Petty Officer Academy in Petaluma, California. This senior enlisted leadership course was a valuable experience that gave me some excellent tools to become a better leader, and for complete transparency, was a welcomed reprieve from the heat and humidity of a summer in Houston.

While my initial enlistment of six years seemed to drag on forever, the following ten years passed all too quickly. I’m hoping the next four years to retirement (or as long as they’ll keep me) don’t pass as fast. I look forward to what the next several years will bring. Amazing growth has occurred during my time at Sector Houston – Galveston, the USCG is doing an remarkable job of evolving with the times, and I’m proud to be part of an impressive service. I’m also proud to be part of CISD Marine, where my military service has been valued and supported.?