#boatingadvice
In honor of National Safe Boating Week 2013, we asked our virtual friends and family – our followers on Twitter – for boating safety advice. Share, retweet or favorite the advice, or use #boatingadvice to share your own tips. We look forward to hearing how you stay safe on the water!
Coast Guard Role models: Inspiring the next generation
Take a moment to think back – can you remember the people who influenced you the most in your life? Maybe a special teacher, a talented athlete or even one of your parents? Role models are important – they challenge us, inspire us and help us become the best person we can be. Currently, more than 150 Coast Guard units actively provide role models for students in schools all across the nation through Coast Guard’s Partnership in Education programs.
Fly-fishing for a cause
Fly fishing can work wonders for those rehabbing injuries of the body and mind. It takes patience and skill to master. It also takes repetition and commitment, not unlike rehab exercises. Cmdrs. James Kammel and Cliff Neve volunteered at the 7th annual “2 Fly” competition in partnership with Project Healing Waters, a non-profit organization bringing wounded and disabled veterans together for therapeutic fly-fishing. “2 Fly” is literally a two-flies-only fishing competition where the most prolific angler takes the crown.
Representing the Coast Guard at the Warrior Games
The Warrior Games bring together more than 200 wounded, ill and injured service members from all branches of the U.S. military, as well as from international armed forces. The event includes competitions in archery, cycling, seated volleyball, shooting, swimming, track and field and wheelchair basketball. The goal of the Warrior Games isn’t necessarily to identify the most skilled athletes, but rather to demonstrate the incredible potential of wounded warriors through competitive sports.
Cycling for service
With more than 20 million veterans living in America today, Coast Guard members across the nation join together to honor their service. Whether attending a memorial service for a veteran who has passed or visiting local veterans’ hospitals to show gratitude, supporting veterans is a principal all servicemembers hold dear. While there are many ways to show support, one group of Coast Guardsmen took their support on the road – the road to Gettysburg, Pa.
Celebrating the resiliency of the military child
As the Coast Guard and the other military services celebrate the resiliency of the military child during the month of April, we’re putting a spotlight on the Coast Guard’s 7-year partnership with national youth organization Boys & Girls Clubs of America. By helping military kids cope, adjust and progress through the most formative years of their lives, BGCA’s youth programs strive to make happiness and well-being a priority for military families.
A battle to the soccer field
Marik Tucker and his family transferred from Louisiana to the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn., when his family learned that he had a rare bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. Ten months later, cadets from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy men’s soccer team in New London, Conn., “adopted” Marik after contacting Kelli through Team Impact, a program that matches sick kids with college athletic teams to provide a diversion from their medical realities and cultivate relationships.
A legacy lives on
Fireman Michael Bovill, 23, died nearly three years ago in an off-duty motorcycle accident while serving at Coast Guard Station Eatons Neck in Eatons Neck, N.Y. At the same time Roxanne Watson, 55, lay in a critical care unit for 78 days awaiting a heart for transplant at Montefiore Hospital in New York City. Bovill’s devotion to saving lives took a new turn as Watson successfully received his heart and became an ardent advocate for organ donor enrollment in New York State.
Shipmate of the Week – Amanda Wimmersberg
What does your family talk about at the dinner table? Search and rescue, oil spills and natural disasters? If those sound like strange dinner topics they are nothing but the norm for Amanda Wimmersberg. Wimmersberg grew up in a military family, both her parents serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.
These are my shipmates
I’ve been working with the Coast Guard almost my whole adult life and now my daughter also works for the Coast Guard. As part of the Coast Guard family, I maintain a unique bond with active duty members as I support them in performing the Coast Guard’s challenging maritime missions. I am a civilian. I am a shipmate. As a shipmate, I often ask myself, “What makes a good shipmate?” When it comes to sexual assault prevention and response, being a shipmate is about staying informed and taking action.
