Servicemembers of Coast Guard District 17 travel to communities throughout Alaska to teach boating safety techniques to schools such as Hogarth Kingeekuk, Sr. Memorial School in Savoonga, Alaska, May 20, 2023. This program promotes awareness and safe practices to mitigate the risk of accidental injury in the water. (U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ilian Borrero-Aguirre)
KODIAK, Alaska — Some of the most overlooked and underpublicized programs in the military are ones keeping our sailors and soldiers mentally healthy. Life at sea in the Coast Guard can be at times depressing, overwhelming, exhausting and boring. Luckily, there are programs put in place to mitigate these issues. The Coast Guard recently announced its annual Morale, Well-being and Recreation (MWR) Program of the Year Award recipients for 2022.
Eileen Rose Nelson was a career Coast Guard member and an Alaska Native with a passion for helping people. She was raised in a Yupik family in the community of Igiugig, on the shore of Lake Iliamna, before she joined the Coast Guard in 1991. She served for nearly 23 years, retiring in 2014. Sadly, Nelson passed away in January 2022. But her legacy lives on in the Coast Guard, and among the fond memories shared by her family and shipmates.
