Photo By Chief Petty Officer David Micallef | Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Robertson, a boatswain's mate at Coast Guard Station...... read more read more
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Michael Robertson wasn’t your average pizza guy before joining the Coast Guard. While some drive door-to-door in a car delivering pizzas, Robertson would navigate Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, in his 16-foot boat full of pies, delivering them to fellow boaters and people at lakefront houses.
Delivering those pizzas prepared Robertson for a career in the Coast Guard as a boatswain’s mate.
“I had plenty of practice coming alongside boats as well as making sure all of my belongings were secured,” said Robertson. “I got a lot of practice towing boats on the lake, too, because my friends boats were always breaking down.”
Not to mention cultivating lifesaving skills as well. His childhood friend Dakota would help Robertson deliver pies on some of his shifts. One summer day, Robertson and Dakota were cruising around the lake delivering pizzas when a gust of wind caught the white board they used to display their specials. Dakota quickly grabbed the sign, but in doing so, it whisked her away, nearly sending her overboard. Luckily, Robertson’s intuition kicked in. He immediately grabbed Dakota and the sign just before they went into the lake, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Eventually Robertson decided it was time to pursue his maritime calling — sans pizzas — and became a boatswain’s mate aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba. After almost three years at sea, the then-boatswain’s mate 3rd class Robertson received orders to Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, where he immediately involved himself in the unit and the community. He volunteered his time at Habitat for Humanity, rebuilt a house on Lake Cuomo, set up first aid training for local fishing boat captains, conducted beach clean-ups and worked to train the auxiliary.
The initiative and diligence incubated by pizza deliveries has earned Robertson recognition as Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay’s Enlisted Person of the Year.
At the station itself, Robertson holds every qualification required and has taken on additional responsibility by developing and mentoring 10 boarding team members and four boarding officers. He has also been involved with 32 search and rescue cases in the past year, but none more daring than a 2016 rescue in a blizzard.
Robertson stopped to get snacks one morning when he noticed a 75-foot fishing boat wedged underneath a train bridge, tangled in electrical conduit. Robertson notified the boat’s owner of the situation and met him at the station. Robertson and his crew, along with the owner of the boat, developed a plan that involved using two 47-foot Motor Life Boats to pull the fishing boat to safety. With about 50 feet of visibility, 40-knot winds, and conditions deteriorating even more, the boat crews launched to save the fisherman’s boat and prevent any damage to the train bridge. As coxswain, Robertson and his shipmates connected lines to the bow and the stern of the fishing boat, carefully maneuvering the boat and its outriggers around numerous hazards.
“We had to simultaneously pull the boat’s bow and stern,” said Robertson “If we didn’t get this done immediately, the tides would’ve changed and the boat would’ve likely crashed into other fishing boats, which were moored up nearby.”
“Robertson’s work during that rescue was nothing short of amazing,” said Chief Petty Officer Zach Gray, the station’s executive petty officer. “From the planning aspect to executing the mission, there’s no doubt he helped save the fisherman’s boat and prevented a lot of property damage.”
Independently navigating waters and overcoming obstacles as a youthful pizza delivery driver provided Robertson with more than just a paycheck. He learned valuable life lessons like adaptability and self-reliance, all of which are paying dividends as a heavy weather coxswain in the U.S. Coast Guard. And as Sector Delaware Bay’s Enlisted Person of the Year.
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2017 09:55 |
| Story ID: | 221253 |
| Location: | MANASQUAN, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 180 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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