They Had to Go Out

For this episode we welcome our first ever Yeoman to the show and he does not disappoint. CAPT John Marks (Ret.) talks adventures in the South Pacific including visits to the leper colony on Molokai and a murder at a remote LORAN station, running a Miss Ocean Station contest with flight stewardesses from the middle of the North Atlantic, how the concept of “member’s responsibility” developed along with the Yeoman correspondence course, the punches and sponges of the first ever Servicewide Exam, becoming a Chief Petty Officer, Officer Candidate School, surviving the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, developing NORTHCOM, and rising from an E2 to an O6 to lead the post 9/11 port security grant program. You don’t want to miss this one.

#uscg #coastguard #military #veteran #veterans #armedforces

Chief Boatswains Mate Jeff Rusiecki (Ret.) talks being at the helm for the attempted rescue of the fishing vessel Sea King as she foundered on the Columbia River Bar, how that case connected him to the survivor of a similar tragedy from the 1960s involving the loss of three motor lifeboats and several crewmen; servicing aids to navigation along the remote Alaskan coastline, seizing the first go fast under the Zero Tolerance policy, and training a new generation of surfmen at the National Motor Lifeboat School.

Former MK Jim Morphew talks a near decade of service on the Gulf Coast, two tours at one of the service’s least requested duty stations in Grand Isle, Louisiana; interdicting tons of marijuana in the opening days of the War on Drugs; the sights, sounds, and emotions of the mass migration from Cuba known as the Mariel Boatlift; cruising aboard a prototype Surface Effect Ship (SES); and overcoming post traumatic stress with the help of Veterans Affairs.

Vice Admiral William “Dean” Lee (Ret.) talks the most impactful case of his 36 year career - the courageous effort to save a life from inside a capsized fishing vessel hull, the most important lesson learned from seven tours as a commanding officer, group versus sector organization, servant leadership, and the importance of humility.

Commander Steve Love (Ret) talks 34 years of active service, his first patrol out of basic training aboard CGC Cherokee, white knuckling the helm and being lashed to the mast during the search for a distressed sailboat in a hurricane force storm, deploying as a cutter swimmer to rescue the crew of a downed Navy mine sweeping helicopter, searching for stowaways in Panama City, the origins of fatigue limits, his first command at Station Cape May and the tough personnel and operational decisions he was called on to make, how the Response Boat - Small II came to be a part of the fleet, and commanding a Maritime Force Protection Unit whose mission is to protect the nation’s nuclear submarine fleet.

BOSN Erin Stapleton (Ret) talks service as the Sailmaster aboard the Tall Ship Eagle during a crossing of the Atlantic, recovering a man overboard under sail, training and mentoring Academy cadets underway, qualifying as a diver in the early days of the service’s program, diving on piers and ships in support of the port security and drug interdiction missions of Maritime Safety and Security Teams, a close call during a cruise ship hull inspection, investigating sea mine blast sites, attending the US Air Force Non Commissioned Officers Academy, his experiences with good and bad command climates as the Executive Petty Officer of a patrol boat and station, and taking command of Station Maui where he applied the lessons learned throughout his career to lead heavy weather and tactical boat crews and create agency partnerships that saved lives.

Boatswain Kurt Strauch (Ret.) talks Coast Guard firefighting, including the rescue of a commercial fishing crew aboard an 80 foot scalloper on fire off Montauk, New York, the massive effort to save a 180 foot freighter on fire in the Florida Straits, saving the Cutter Gallatin after a fire broke out in dry dock, and extinguishing flames aboard the Polar Star during a voyage to the Antarctic. He also tells of operations at McMurdo Station, serving as an arctic pilot during the tow of a disabled 400 foot cargo ship from the Southern Ocean to New Zealand, migrant interdictions in the South Pacific, and commanding an IMARV on the Potomac in the aftermath of 9/11, a station, and an 87 foot cutter as an enlisted Boatswain’s Mate and Officer in Charge.

Part I. Retired Chief Aviation Survival Technician (ASTC) Claude Morrissey talks his first case as a rescue swimmer, saving fishermen washed from a jetty during Hurricane Claudette, refining his greeting to survivors, flying hundreds of miles into the Atlantic to rescue the crew of a demasted luxury catamaran, earning a rescue swimmer T-shirt, life and death in the Bering Sea, rituals prior to leaving the runway, 60s vs 65s, and starting his own business - Morrissey Stump Grinding and Tree Service in Camden, North Carolina.

Former Quartermaster Chris Campbell talks being recalled to the CGC Sedge in the midst of a violent winter storm in an effort to save the crew of a foundering fishing vessel off the Alaskan coast, the effort to clear ice and keep the cutter afloat, an inspiring speech from his CO explaining why Coast Guard crews have to go out, ATON, mailing beards to Washington after facial hair was outlawed by the uniform regs, lasting leadership lessons from a BM3 in charge of Deck Force, simulated liberty, patrolling the Florida Keys aboard CGC Thetis, QM ‘A’ School and pre-GPS navigation, and quelling a near riot of migrants detained on deck.

Chief Boatswains Mate Steve Denning (Ret.) talks the nighttime race to rescue nineteen people, fourteen of them children, from a capsized boat at the entrance to the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, the struggle to conduct a search beneath an overturned hull, commanding a Coast Guard station as its Officer in Charge, rescuing and repatriating dozens of Haitian migrants after weeks at sea, breaking in coxswain at Station Barnegat Light and signing his letter as the crew runs to the sound of a SAR alarm, lessons in boat handling and seamanship from a Surfman mentor at Tillamook Bay, balancing risk to a boat crews with the demands of missions at sea, stopping a boat in a high speed and uncontrolled spin in one of his first cases, crewing black hulls and working CG-6P lanterns, deploying for counter drug patrols on more than forty naval ships with PACTACLET, managing the demands of family with those of military service, applying officer discretion during a boarding that didn’t feel right, meeting Davey Jones and Neptune’s court at the equator, and intercepting arms, munitions, and suspected mercenaries aboard a boat bound for South America.

Former AMT and HH60 Flight Mechanic Alex Mangum talks a massive effort to save three commercial fishermen after their boat grounded in a remote Alaskan Bay during the worst storm many at the airstation had ever experienced, his first case as a flight mechanic and its textbook MEDEVAC from the deck of a cruise ship, training to perform helicopter hoists in the severe weather, how operational crews deal with incidents that truly shake them, staring in the inaugural episode of Coast Guard Alaska, and how the benefits gained through service helped him to achieve his post Coast Guard career goals.

Former Engineman Rick Kunz talks life and service on Lake Ontario’s Galloo Island where the Coast Guard maintained both a station and a lighthouse, four decades of uniform, grooming, and protective equipment advances at Station Oswego, ranking the coasts on a scale of painful seas, picking the right boat for the right weather, taking a 30 footer with him as he left the service, and how the Coast Guard Auxiliary offers boat owners, pilots, and other volunteers a chance to make a difference.

Retired Maritime Enforcement Specialist ‘Thunder’ Dan Merrick talks standing up Maritme Safety and Security Teams (MSST) in the aftermath of 9/11, securing the Persian Gulf aboard CGC Monomoy, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID), and training the navies and coastguards of the world with the Mobile Training Branch.

Senior Chief Radioman Mike Kreynus (Ret.) talks a lasting lesson in leadership and open door policy from the CO of the CGC Comanche, his time as a plain clothes Coast Guard Intelligence agent, being Chief of the Boat for the last of the screaming sea captains aboard CGC Boutwell, running a west coast command center, the founding of the Chief Petty Officer’s Association, and his thoughts on the practices of the greatest leaders.

21st Commandant of the Coast Guard and former Acting Secretary of the Department is Homeland Security James Loy talks a lesson in leadership early in his career during a dangerous maneuver in heavy seas, commanding patrol boats on the Virginia coast and in wartime Vietnam, delivering a baby on the flight deck of an underway cutter, ending the pursuit of a drug trafficker with a well aimed fire hose, leading the service on 9/11, how flags and Commandants make decisions with servicewide and national impacts, and his experiences leading at the highest levels of government.

After you listen, read Admiral Loy’s books, “Character in Action: The US Coast Guard on Leadership” and “The Architecture of Leadership: Preparation Equals Performance”

CDR Gary Thomas (Ret.) talks deploying into heavy seas as a cutter swimmer to rescue a man overboard, commanding a Key West patrol boat during the tragic sinking of a Haitian ferry, working to support LORANimals, and how these events illustrate the servicewide impacts individuals can have in the Coast Guard. He also discusses his work with the National Coast Guard Museum Association and the Association for Rescue at Sea, both partners of They Had to Go Out Podcast.

Retired Aviation Electronics Technician (AET) Gina Panuzzi talks a decade of service in Coast Guard aviation, the crash of CG-6028 in the Utah mountains that nearly claimed her life, and her road to recovery in the aftermath.

Former AET2 Todd Ebner talks his decade of service in Coast Guard aviation, locating 17 survivors of a fishing trip gone wrong off the Alaskan coast, transporting a dead whale in the cargo hold of a C-130, tracking Russian and Chinese poachers, taking down a corrupt government official in American Samoa, rights of passage at ‘A’ School in E City, and coping with the loss of so many who have died in the line of duty.

As we continue to celebrate the centennial of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers we talk with Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jim Rambus (Ret.) who tells of the dangers of logistic runs to the shoals and reefs of the Great Lakes where manned lighthouses once stood, including a lesson in confidence for a new coxswain after swamping a 40 footer during a personnel transfer and the near loss of a crew when their boat’s engines died in icy waters, the dangers of lightship duty during hurricanes and heavy fog, commanding three boat stations as an enlisted Officer in Charge, a fatal snap back after the service’s boats first transitioned from manila to nylon towlines, the service’s move from Treasury to Transportation, and what it means to be a Chief Petty Officer.

Chief Health Services Technician Adam Cravey (Ret.) talks a Coast Guard Medal case that demanded he deploy into a raging sea as a boat swimmer in an effort to save the crew of a burning tug and barge, serving as an independent duty corpsman aboard a Coast Guard cutter, treating the most common complaints of patients visiting an underway sick bay, and coordinating the medical evacuations of severely sick and injured crew members at sea.

Retired Senior Chief Boatswains Mate Jon Ostrowski talks deploying for Operation Iraqi Freedom with a Reserve Port Security Unit, the centennial of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers, the unique role of Chiefs in the service, leading the Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA) at the national level, the volunteer work of the CPOA’s local chapters during recent crises including the federal government shutdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, and his dramatic introduction to Coast Guard operations aboard his first cutter.

BM1 Dara O’Malley, Surfman 111, tells of a dangerous nighttime escort across the Humbolt Bar, the capsizing and breakup of the involved cabin cruiser, and the efforts to rescue survivors from the surf that followed. He also talks what it takes to maintain boats and train crews to the levels needed for Coast Guard operations, and the responsibility of coxswains and surfmen not only to go out, but to bring their crews and those in peril back to shore.

Crossover episode with Jeff Bayless, a Chief Boatswains Mate in the US Navy and host of ‘The Evolution Podcast’, who talks his journey to resiliency and how he’s working to share his story and the lessons learned to the benefit of the fleet and beyond. Listen to other stories of resiliency on the ‘The Evolution’ now on your favorite podcast platform.

23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard Thad Allen (Ret.) talks being trapped by fire in the radio room of his first cutter, responding to his first mass casualty event when a plane went down in the Florida Everglades, a surf rescue in blizzard conditions off the New Jersey coast, playing a leading role in the national response to 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, and the leadership lessons he considers most important for those who now serve.

Retired Boatswain’s Mate First Class Mike Underwood talks leading a boat crew into 30 foot seas, 80 knot winds, and dense fog to rescue those aboard a burning tug and barge in a case that earned him the Coast Guard Medal, running jet drive lifeboats across the Chatham bar, and the leadership lessons gained from his time as command cadre.

Captain Albert ‘Bud’ Buechler talks the heroic response of his cutter crew to the capsizing of an overloaded Haitian sailing freighter, the unique relationships between Chief Petty Officers, the deckplate and the wardroom, taking command of his first cutter, and the lessons learned while in commanding crews at sea.

Boatswain’s Mate Kevin Grant tells of his first assignment aboard a 378 High Endurance Cutter, responding to a devastating earthquake on Haiti and the potential mass migration in its aftermath, being recalled from a port call to interdict a drug sub in the Pacific, leading crews as a boat coxswain to rescue the crew of a foundering sailboat, and leading boarding teams over the gunwale to enforce laws at sea. He closes by sharing his own lessons learned on making the transition from active duty, from creating a financial safety net and finding a new career to paying for college and medical expenses.

Retired Chief Boatswain’s Mate Russell Burress tells making the decision to risk a boat in an attempt to save a life, serving on deck under the leadership of service legend BMCM Donald Horsley, setting a buoy to reopen a strategic port in the midst of a typhoon, towing a downed Coast Guard helicopter, and a tough decision during a mass rescue in the aftermath of a sudden thunderstorm.

Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate John Gagnon (Ret.) talks the search for a fisherman who fell overboard in monstrous surf off the Oregon coast, how towing and searching are performed in the surf by motor lifeboat crews, and the most impactful lessons learned from his years in command of Coast Guard stations.

Captain Steven Craig (Ret.) talks the dangers of walking a cutter’s deck in storm tossed seas, rising in the ranks from Seaman to mustang Captain, and being activated thirteen times as a reservist in response to major events and disasters including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, Deepwater Horizon, and the 7.0 earthquake centered on Haiti. He also talks the dramatic story behind his new book “All Present and Accounted For”, which tells how the USCGC Jarvis grounded then nearly sank in a storm off the Alaskan coast in 1972.

Former Boatswain’s Mate Dan Shirey talks pitchpoling a 44 ft Motor Lifeboat on the Chetco River bar, responding to a sinking fishing vessel despite knowing he lacked enough fuel to make it back to shore, escorting a listing cargo ship hundreds of miles to reach a safe port, qualifying as a diver, using the skills gained through his service to pursue underwater treasure hunting, and diving on the wrecks of the same whaling ships that were the cause of the 1897 Overland Relief Expedition where some of the earliest Coast Guard heroes earned their fame.

Former Radioman Mark Holmes talks heading out and into a storm so severe it forced the Navy into port, responding to a foundering sailing vessel with a skeleton crew aboard CGC Courageous, procuring a replacement deck gun for a cutter from the front lawn of a VFW, surviving waterspouts and tornadoes, and how his experiences in the service caused him to begin writing.

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Gerry Rohrer (Ret.) talks the lifesaving efforts to retrieve and MEDEVAC an elderly couple from a sailboat breaking apart on the rocks of a Michigan jetty, responding to hard water emergencies with an ice rescue team, deploying overseas to train Middle Eastern maritime forces with Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), and finishing off his career as an advisor to the Kiwis.

Former Boatswain’s Mate Doug Johnson provides a travelogue of exotic locations he served at throughout the Pacific, including his time at a remote LORAN Station on Marcus Island nearly 700 miles from the nearest point of land. He also tells of responding to the aftermath of a typhoon in Guam and a few highlights from leading crews on search and rescue and law enforcement cases as a coxswain on 30 and 40 ft wooden hull boats and on the brand new 41 UTB at stations in Honolulu and Kauai. For the most choice assignments in a single enlistment, Doug may have the record.

Commander and helicopter pilot Tim Schmitz talks the daring effort to rescue nearly fifty victims after their vessel, the ‘Alaska Ranger’, sank in the Bering Sea 180 miles west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A nighttime takeoff from the storm swept and frozen deck of the cutter Munro, a flight plan with no possibility of reaching shore and no margin of error to make it back to the cutter, only dim strobe lights to guide the crew to those treading water, the loss of a victim despite the determined efforts of all involved, and the triumph of saving lives at sea - it’s a story that is truly dangerous, daring, and epic.