Coast Guard’s 2nd in command mentors recruits, attends graduation

Photo By Lt. Donnie Brzuska | Vice Adm. John P. Currier, the vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, congratulates Seaman Wallace, one of the Coast Guard's newest members, at the graduation for Coast Guard Recruit Company Hotel 188 June 28, 2013, at 11 a.m. Currier and Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Isherwood (left), command master chief of Coast Guard Personnel Service Center, served as the mentors for Hotel 188. (Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Donnie Brzuska)  

CAPE MAY, NJ, UNITED STATES

06.28.2013

Story by Chief Warrant Officer Donnie Brzuska 

U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May

CAPE MAY, N.J. – The Coast Guard’s second highest ranking official attended graduation for its newest members at Training Center Cape May Friday at 11 a.m.

Vice Adm. John P. Currier, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, served as a mentor for Coast Guard Recruit Company Hotel 188 as the recruits strived to complete the service’s arduous basic training program. Every company is assigned a recruit company mentor, which are usually senior Coast Guardsmen, to help prepare them for life in the Coast Guard.

“The quality of our Coast Guard men and women never ceases to amaze me,” said Vice Adm. Currier. “We are receiving America’s best volunteers and preparing them to contribute to the world's best Coast Guard: protecting people on the sea, protecting people from threats delivered by the sea, and protecting the sea itself. The Class of Hotel 188 will soon be doing this very important work."

Over the course the eight week program, Vice Adm. Currier visited with recruits of Hotel 188 in their fifth and eighth week of training, and mentored them on everything from teamwork to the missions of their next unit. Vice Adm. Currier was assisted by Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Isherwood, the command master chief for Coast Guard Personnel Service Center.

Company mentors are an integral part in the development of Coast Guardsman by bridging the gap between basic training and a graduate’s first unit.

“We truly appreciate Vice Adm. Currier’s participation in the Mentor Program: his commitment and dedication to the development of his company are indicative of the vital role Training Center Cape May and its graduates play in shaping the future of America’s Coast Guard,” said Capt. Todd Prestidge, commanding officer of Training Center Cape May.

The 36 graduates of Hotel 186 will ship from Cape May to Coast Guard units across the country. Some as far as Homer, Alaska, or Key West, Fla. Most of the new service members will be conducting Coast Guard operations within a week of graduation. The training center regularly receives reports of graduates performing lifesaving CPR, steering cutters during high-speed drug chases or pulling a struggling survivor from the water.

Training Center Cape May is the Coast Guard’s only enlisted basic training center responsible for the accession training of more than 80 percent of the service’s entire workforce. The rigorous eight-week training program includes everything from basic weapons training to water survival.

• Date Taken: 06.28.2013
• Date Posted: 06.28.2013 15:33
• Story ID: 109492
• Location: CAPE MAY, NJ, US