Women In Today's Coast Guard

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Guardian of the Week – Christine Greiner
Friday, November 19, 2010
Written by: LT Connie Braesch


Above left, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael Leavitt and Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Bob Papp present the 2009 Wanda Allen-Yearout Ombudsman of the Year Award to Christine Greiner at Coast Guard Headquarters Nov. 17, 2010. Greiner was honored for her diligent efforts to ensure the families of those serving aboard the CGC Jarvis were always taken care of, whether the ship was in port or at sea.  Above right Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant of the Coast Guard, talks with Christine Greiner and her husband OSCS Matt Greiner after Christine earned the 2009 Wanda Allen-Yearout Ombudsman of the Year Award   U.S. Coast Guard photos by PA2 Patrick Kelley.

WASHINGTON D.C. — This week, we are honoring the services of Mrs. Christine Greiner, Ombudsman for the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii. As Ombudsman, Greiner is quite literally the key link between the crew of the 378-foot cutter and the family members left behind when the ship deploys.

Since the inception of the program in the 1980s by Ms. Wanda Allen-Yearout, wife of retired Captain Tom Yearout, Coast Guard Ombudsmen have played many roles. They help young families adapt to military life. They welcome new families to units. They are a voice for family members to unit commands. They are a source of information for family members when their loved ones are deployed. And, perhaps most importantly, unit members can be sure that when they are far from home, there is a Coast Guard Ombudsman keeping watch over their family.

“Ombudsmen volunteer their time and talents to create a community for unit family members left behind,” said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael Leavitt praising the efforts of all Ombudsmen. “Their hard work and dedication allows members of the Coast Guard to continue to focus on mission execution while being secure in the knowledge that things are running smoothly on the home front.”

Earlier this week, Greiner was recognized as the Coast Guard Ombudsman of the Year. Her selfless service to the Jarvis family included little things – like updating the contact information for crew members and their dependents. A seemingly small action paid significant dividends down the road and ensured family members were accounted for and moved to higher ground during the 2009 tsunami season.

She also dedicated countless hours helping families adjust to island life by hosting briefs and spouses meetings in her own home. When a crewmember’s father passed away, Mrs. Greiner contacted the ship immediately then facilitated his return to his grieving family. At the end of the ship’s deployment the Ohana Committee she coordinated arranged for a patrol boat to deliver an enormous, beautiful, homecoming lei to wrap around the bow of the ship.

“Enthusiastically driven to provide the best possible services to the Jarvis’ extended ohana [family], Mrs. Greiner worked unceasingly to provide exceptional coordination between families and the command. I offer a hearty mahalo [thank you].” said Jarvis commanding officer, Captain Webster Balding, when nominating Greiner for the honor.

Starting with this year, the Coast Guard Ombudsman of the Year will be recognized as the Wanda Allen-Yearout Ombudsman of the Year in honor of her 35 years of service to the Coast Guard.

Original Article

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Gulf Deployment: YN2 Bonnie Wysocki
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Written by: LTJG Stephanie Young


In the photo above left YN2 Bonnie Wysocki, bottom left, and RAID Team XI at pre-deployment training.  In the middle photo above, during the deployment, RAID teams were trained to assist redeploying Army units with the shipping process. Here, YN2 Bonnie Wysocki is discussing the structural soundness of a container that is getting ready to ship.  In the photo above right, YN2 Wysocki stands with LT Cullen, the Officer in Charge of RAID Team XI, after an awards presentation.    Photos courtesy of YN2 Bonnie Wysocki.

MIDDLE EAST — Soldiers overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom may find themselves carrying out raids as they provide safety and security for the Iraqi and Afghan people. As they get ready to leave the combat zone, soldiers will breathe a sigh of relief when they encounter Petty Officer Second Class Bonnie Wysocki and her RAID…it means they are heading home.

Wysocki recently returned from a ten-month deployment as an inspector with the Coast Guard’s Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID). While overseas, her team was trained to assist redeploying Army units with the shipping process in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Wysocki and her team were attached to Army transportation battalions and worked with the Army assisting in the drawdown in Iraq as well as the redeployment of troops in Afghanistan.

The opportunity to serve with RAID was a rare opportunity for Wysocki, who is a reservist at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo. In fact, Wysocki did not even know about the opportunity until she received a call from her Chief who knew of her desire to serve.

What was unique, and perhaps most beneficial to the team, was its composition of Coast Guard Reservists from different rates and specialties. This proved valuable for operations and camaraderie that started the moment they met each other for their six weeks of pre-deployment training.

“Some of my most memorable experiences were training with my team in preparation for the mission,” said Wysocki. “It was a wonderful experience to have reservists from all Coast Guard walks come together to train and bond as a team in support of an important mission to support U.S. troops.”

Wysocki, a career yeoman, was mobilized as an inspector for hazardous materials and containers, but was able to lend her team yeoman support while deployed. Her expertise was especially beneficial in remote bases, where access to the internet or computers was incredibly limited.

RAID teams are broken up into smaller units to serve as inspection teams throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Wys****i’s team was stationed at Forward Operating Base Balad, Iraq, and on a typical day, would take calls from the field and coordinate hazardous materials shipping documentation.

Her daily work wasn’t isolated to just base operations though, as RAID is a mobile force with the teams spending days and weeks flying from place to place for inspections. On these days she would travel to remote bases to inspect and seal containers for redeploying units, inspect the actual cargo for compliance with international shipping standards and perform structural inspections on containers to determine their serviceability.

The constant travel around the region to meet with departing Army units was one of the highlights in Wysocki’s deployment as she flew in Chinooks, Black Hawks, C-17s and C-130s.

“It was a breathtaking experience to fly in the back of a Black Hawk with the doors wide open above Iraq,” said Wysocki.

The only woman on her team, Wysocki admitted that being a female in a war zone came with its own trials, but she faced them head on, and with honor.

“It was a challenge at times, but one that I gladly faced because the Coast Guard prides itself in giving the same opportunities and treatment to males and females alike,” said Wysocki.

Wysocki and her team made a difference to the hundreds of troops that were leaving combat zones and were homeward bound. The RAID team quickly realized that when they interacted with other services, it would sometimes be the only exposure they would have with the Coast Guard. As representatives of the service, Wysocki and her team performed their mission with professionalism and pride.

“It made it all worthwhile when a soldier would vigorously shake our hands and tell us how grateful they were that ‘the experts’ had come in and made their already hectic trip home a little easier,” said Wysocki. “That’s why we serve, and its especially gratifying when we get to serve our brothers and sisters in arms who also serve our great nation.”

Original Article

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Feature Story Release
Date: December 7, 2010
Contact:  District 5 Public Affairs
Story and photos by PO2 Crystalynn A. Kneen

From the farm to Philly: A young
woman's transition to the Coast Guard

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — She poked her thick brownish-blonde hair out of the non-skid covered deck of the dull gray 41-foot boat where she had been working inside an engine room. Her wide, faithful grin in place as she waved animatedly from her area of obligation.  Her petite green eyes were illuminated with a child-like gaze. Her face still showed the roundness of her cheeks like most 18-year-olds. Her lengthy frame carefully maneuvered off the boat with two small red-capped oil samples in her slender hands.

She was only 18-years old, but Fireman Kira Ayoub walked with a sense of gratification and dignity. Her uniform was neat but showed signs of drudgery. There was no evidence of shyness or insecurity as she bantered alongside her co-worker at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. Ayoub has transitioned to a completely different life than what she had before she joined the Coast Guard.

Ayoub’s life before was opposite from her military calling. She is from a small 6,000 resident town called St. John’s in Central Michigan. Her parents operate a livestock farm. She has never boarded a boat, was homeschooled and she journeyed to church almost every Sunday.

This Sunday ritual is how her Coast Guard life began.

“My recruiter was a member of my church,” said Ayoub. “He took me to an air station and a small boat station to show me how the Coast Guard works because I didn’t even know what it was.”

It was these tours that sold Ayoub on the Coast Guard.

 
Fireman Kira Ayoub above left, a crewmember at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia, simulates a frisking technique on a classmate during boarding team member training held at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia.  Above right Fireman Ayoub uses a Honda diagnostic tester to check for bad sensors on a 25-foot Response Boat at the station. 

“Seeing so many different insights with such positive reflections of the Coast Guard are what persuaded me to join,” said Ayoub.

Ayoub never pictured herself in the military before so she asked her recruiter a million questions and began preparing for boot camp.

“I was nervous, and scared to death,” said Ayoub. “I wanted to fully understand everything, and I prepared by studying and working out before I left.”

For Ayoub, boot camp really started with the formation of her new family.

“My Company was Tango-183,” she said with pride.

Ayoub was a normal recruit; she kept quiet and moved quickly. By week five, boot camp had become routine and she was familiar and comfortable with the people around her.

“It was totally different than I’ve ever known,” said Ayoub. “Nothing was similar; I came from working in a small town hardware store to complete madness, but I volunteered for everything I could and put myself out there.”

After boot camp, Ayoub was allowed a week to go home and visit her family as a new Coast Guard member.

The hardest thing I had to do was get on that plane after that week and go to my new duty station she said.

With Yukon, her stuffed lamb, in tow she boarded the plane to where her new life would begin in Philadelphia.

Ayoub arrived at station Philadelphia with the outlook of taking everything in stride.

“I am the only girl at the station, but it does not intimidate me,” she said. “I was sat down and given ground rules by my supervisors. I guess you can say they laid down the law on what they expected from me as a Coast Guard member.”

The expectations of Coast Guard members require you to perform as a team and individually to your full potential.

Her performance reflected positively to her supervisors and co-workers.

“Fireman Ayoub is a good worker,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Lonny Burris, her supervisor at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. “She is willing to work very hard. She even studies for her qualifications on her off time.”

Being a fireman at a small boat station requires her to be qualified on certain equipment and boats. She must get boat crew qualified as well as boarding team member and engineer. All these qualifications make up what it takes to respond to the Coast Guard’s daily challenges such as search and rescue, law enforcement and safety on the water.

“The qualification process here is not what I expected, but I’m adjusting well and adapting to what I have to do,” Ayoub said. “At least once a week I stop and think to myself, I’ve never pictured myself doing this.”

Her smile and positive attitude also reflects on her co-workers and supervisors in daily activities.


(LEFT) Fireman Kira Ayoub, a crewmember at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia, checks the oil daily aboard a 25-foot Response Boat. (MIDDLE) Fireman Ayoub relieves the stinging in her eyes in front of a fan after being sprayed with pepper spray, a chemical compound, which irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain and temporary blindness which is a requirement to pass boarding team member training in order to conduct law enforcement boarding’s on the water. (RIGHT) Fireman Ayoub draws her weapon after being sprayed with pepper spray during boarding team member training at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay.

“She is really intelligent,” said Petty officer 1st Class Robert Panish, the engineering petty officer at the station.  “She seems happy to be here and is responding well to this transition and lifestyle.”

Ayoub said she believes she is transitioning so well because of the people she works with daily.

“The crew here has made it an easier process,” said Ayoub. “They have good morals and are passionate about the Coast Guard. They care about each other and help whenever they can. Everyone is willing to help, explain or teach me something.  I had to just jump right in and get my hands dirty.”

The help Ayoub receives does not come without jokes or teasing.

“All the guys think I’m sheltered,” said Ayoub. “I get teased all the time about it. The other day, they sent me to go look for a flux capacitor and plutonium. It’s all in good fun.”

Ayoub’s so called sheltered life reflects in her barracks room located in the small dark brick building not 50-feet away from the station she works at daily. Her bed is covered with a purple blanket given to her by her grandmother. She also brought with her a wood framed needle point lamb with the words ‘the Lord is my Shepherd’ embroidered on it.  Showing signs of the values and faith she has instilled in her.

 “Although nothing else is familiar, the values here are,” said Ayoub. “The only thing that has made the transition possible is the people in the Coast Guard. They have a great outlook.”

All in all, Ayoub says her development as a Coast Guard member has been full of experiences and life.

“She is a sharp kid,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Stoltzfus, the executive petty officer at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. “She is good spirited and wants to work and do well. She has jumped right in and has made herself available. I am really happy to see that. We are lucky to get such a smart kid out of boot camp.”

Ayoub is now going through boarding team member training. This training includes law enforcement and tactical skills, which are one of the other qualifications she must have for Coast Guard missions besides her boat crewman and engineering demands.

"It’s a challenge everyday here,” said Ayoub. “From beating someone up in tactical training to replacing a turbo charger in an engine room, you have to adapt to everything and make the best of it. I enjoy it.”

Another Coast Guard mission Ayoub is excited to be a part of is search and rescue.“My first search and rescue case was an overturned kayak in the Schuylkill River,” said Ayoub. “I thought to myself, this is it; this is the day I save someone in the Coast Guard. When we got there, it was a piece of blue Styrofoam. I was a little disappointed.”

Even though this particular case was a false alarm, she says her goal is to get qualified so she can make a difference. To save someone in need would make it all worthwhile she stated.

Ayoub says she does not know what her long term goals are yet in the Coast Guard. After she gets qualified, she will start looking into a Coast Guard rating. As of right now, she says she is happy and content with her life.

“It’s exciting to me and neat how all this good in my life has led me to the Coast Guard,” said Ayoub. “The experience has changed my life so much, and I will take everything I’ve learned and will learn, with me, whatever I do.”

Feature Story Release

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"Petite green eyes"?  She has small eyes?   

These folks either need to act like journalists or like novelists, not both!   

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Guardian of the Week – SN Kristin Reger
Friday, December 10, 2010
Written by: LT Connie Braesch
Post Written by PO3 Pamela Manns, public affairs specialist


Rear Adm. Joseph “Pepe” Castillo, 11th District commander, applauds Kristin Reger Lunkley, a former crewmember at Coast Guard Station Golden Gate, after presenting her with the Coast Guard Medal, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA3 Pamela J. Manns.

SAUSALITO, Calif. — Swimming out to an overturned sailboat Seaman Kristin Reger was not thinking of anything except the man trapped beneath the hull. With a polypropylene line connecting her to the Coast Guard Station Golden Gate 47-foot Motor Lifeboat, her training kicked in as she battled four-foot seas to reach the boat.

The warm July day in 2008 and her dry suit did nothing to negate the ever frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay and the 25-mile an hour whipping winds pushing the overturned sailboat, Wing It, closer toward Hurricane Rock near the cove at Line Point. In a few short strokes, she reached the capsized boat and while talking through the hull she tried to reassure the panicked and trapped man.

Unable to swim out on his own, Reger devised a plan in which she disconnected her lifeline and attached it to an extra life jacket. Using a boat hook her crew handed her, she wedged the life jacket under the boat and directed the man to swim to her voice.

As she pulled on the line, attempting to free the man, his foot became trapped in the rigging from the upside down sails. Reger maneuvered the rigging, cut lines, and pulled him to safety as a Coast Guard 25-foot response boat recovered Reger and the man.

The rescue not only saved the man’s life but also changed Reger’s.

After her service in the Coast Guard she started pursuing a career in nursing, married the man and crewmember – Petty Officer 2nd Class Wesley Lunkley – who tended the lifeline and watched over her that fateful day, and was just awarded one of the highest medal the service can bestowe, the Coast Guard Medal, Dec. 8.

Reger, who prefers to go by her married name Lunkley, is petite and willowy. The 29-year old spent almost two years at Station Golden Gate, and was humbled, by not only that rescue and receiving the prestigious and rarely awarded Coast Guard Medal, but her entire Golden Gate experience. She said she does not feel worthy of such a prestigious award, and added the award belongs to the whole crew.



“The whole crew deserves this award,” said Lunkley. “I was just the one who went in the water.”

“I wasn’t surprised that Kristin volunteered to go in the water,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Brett Bonner, the 47-foot MLB coxswain from that case. “I had to deploy a surface swimmer because of the all the rigging. We had an extra boat on scene to create a controlled environment, and I had no doubt that Kristin was the most capable and qualified surface swimmer that we had on board for that case.”

Lunkley credits the rescue to her training rather than her efforts.

“We either could have done something wrong or something right that day,” said Lunkley. “However, it is because of all the training we receive that when it came down to it, no time was lost,” she said.

“The Coast Guard Medal was created in 1949, but it was 1958 before anything was worthy of awarding the first one. In all the time since then, there have only been just over 300 awarded,” said Rear Adm. Joseph “Pepe” Castillo, 11th District commander, during the award ceremony Dec. 8. “It is really at the very top level of extreme daring heroism and putting yourself out there to save others.”

Original Article

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Coast Guard names 1st
woman to lead Conn. academy
Tuesday, 14 Dec 2010, 9:58 PM EST



NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The Coast Guard on Tuesday named the first female superintendent of its Connecticut-based academy and said she will be the first woman to lead a U.S. military service academy.

Rear Adm. Sandra Stosz, who graduated from the academy in 1982, said she has gotten used to being the first woman in several roles since the early days of her career when she was the first woman on many cutters.

"It's normal to be seeing another first at this stage of the game because it takes a whole career to go from ensign to admiral," Stosz said in an interview.

Stosz, who is based in Washington as the Coast Guard's director of reserve and leadership, will become the New London academy's superintendent next summer after Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe retires.

She commanded two cutters during her 12 years of experience at sea and officials say she is the first woman among academy graduates to hold the rank of flag officer.

With an enrollment of about 1,000 cadets, the Coast Guard Academy is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies. It was the first academy to accept women as cadets in 1976.

Stosz said she benefited from a Coast Guard policy that allows women to pursue any career path, unlike other service branches that have combat-exclusion laws.

"All I asked for was a chance, and the Coast Guard gave me that chance," she said.

Stosz said that when she entered the academy in 1978, she was among about 30 women in a class of 310. In recent years, women comprise more than 30 percent of the graduating classes, she said.

Original Article

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Feature Story Release
Date: February 16, 2011
Contact:  District 5 Public Affairs
Story and photos by PO2 Crystalynn A. Kneen

Black History Month celebrates
a leader, a mentor a comrade


LTjg Karin Evelyn, the pollutions branch supervisor
at Delaware Bay in Philadelphia, reads over paperwork
Jan. 31, 2011. Evelyn also conducts vessel boardings
as boarding officer at the sector.

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — In all services there is diversity. People come from different backgrounds, religious beliefs and cultures to defend America. With many different people from all over the United States, it is fair and rewarding to celebrate different cultures so everyone can learn and understand the people they work with daily.

February is a month of culture and pride. It is Black History Month, and Lt. j.g. Karin Evelyn, a crewmember at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia, has put forth an extreme amount of training, hard work and faith to become an outstanding officer in the United States Coast Guard.

Evelyn joined the Coast Guard as a result of influence from her parents’ careers.

“What influenced me to choose the Coast Guard over the other military services is because my father is a retired Coast Guard chief storekeeper and now works in contracting at the Uniform Distribution Center in Woodbine, N.J., and my mother teaches recruits at Training Center Cape May in Cape May, N.J.,” said Evelyn.  “My parents are actually my biggest influence.”

Due to her parents’ career paths, Evelyn has been a part of the Coast Guard experience as long as she can remember.

“My experiences at boot camp in Cape May were different from other recruits, simply because I was home,” said Evelyn. “At one time we lived in base housing, my parents work at the training center and I went to school with just about everyone’s children. However, these factors did not make my experience easy.  I had to work harder than everyone to prove myself and not embarrass my parents.  Plus, I was an easy target.  Everyone knew me.”

Not only did Evelyn experience recruit training, she also completed Officer Candidate School to become a Coast Guard officer after her degree.

“I enlisted under the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative, so upon college graduation I knew I would be heading to OCS,” said Evelyn. “CSPI allows you to view many aspects of the Coast Guard.”

After OCS, Evelyn reported to her first unit as a new officer at Sector Delaware Bay.

“Sector Delaware Bay was my first choice and it wasn’t all that new to me,” said Evelyn.    “I wanted to go to a unit whose mission is search and rescue and law enforcement. After being underway on cutters, both a 378-foot High-Endurance Cutter and an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat, and having spent time in sectors, I knew that sector response would be my career path. I had visited the sector prior to reporting and learned the job was a lot different coming in as an ensign instead of a seaman.  Nevertheless, I was welcomed and I am still enjoying it.”

Serving in the Coast Guard allows Evelyn to reflect on her achievements as a person and allows her to be a part of something bigger and greater than herself.

“Up to this point, my greatest achievement is receiving my commission and becoming an officer,” said Evelyn.


LTjg Karin Evelyn, the pollutions branch supervisor at CG Sector Delaware
Bay tests her dry suit for leaks prior to conducting a boatcrew training at
CGSTA Atlantic City in March 2009. Evelyn went to the station for temporary
duty to receive her boatcrew qualifications on a 47-foot Motor Life Boat and
25-foot Response Boat-Small.

In addition, to her daily Coast Guard work, Evelyn is also on the human relations committee at sector and is involved in Black History Month this year.

“I believe being a part of the committee helps me influence the people who work with me,” said Evelyn. “People see me taking part and are more inclined to do the same.”

This year Sector Delaware Bay is celebrating Black History Month with speakers from the Tuskegee Airmen and food from the African Caribbean Islands.

Being a Coast Guard officer is a rewarding and fulfilling career to Evelyn. Her accomplishments in the Coast Guard have set an example for other crewmembers and show what hard work and dedication can do.

“The most rewarding aspect of working for the Coast Guard for me is being able to do a job that allows me to be a leader a mentor and a comrade all at the same time,” said Evelyn.  “It also allows me to be able to walk in the footsteps of both my parents and please both parents.  It allowed me the opportunity to graduate from college and serve in the Coast Guard.”

Feature Story Release