ME List Is Out

Well, the ME list is out and you can find it HERE. It's on the internet, so you don't need a CGWS to view it.
Naturally I was expecting to be on this list, but apparently people had other ideas. Good luck to everyone who made it...although I'm jealous of you. Stand by for changes to this site.

Book Update: Not Your father's Coast Guard

Hello MK's. A few weeks ago I wrote about a new book coming out called Not You Father's Coast Guard, that tells the story of a bunch of Coasties that executed a pretty awesome mission destroying Colombian coke labs. Well, through my travels I have been in contact with the author of the book and he passed some MK related information my way that I thought was pretty cool and I figured you all may enjoy. From Matt Mitchell:

In the late 90s the DEA and a bunch of mercenaries were dug in at a fire base in Northern Peru. They were surrounded by a group of narcoterrorists and under siege. It was illegal for the DOD to help because of various legal restrictions (Mansfield Amendment, Posse Commitatus, etc.). So, it was the USCG to the rescue. The plan was to resupply the fire base with a modified C-130 but there was a problem. The narcoterrorists had SAMs and USCG C-130s didn't have flares and chaff to ward them off. What to do? The answer, strap a MK2 in a gunners belt, hang him out of the back of a C-130 with a flare gun and if he saw a SAM approaching he was to shoot a flare at it! (take a moment to think about that). Yes, we actually did this. But as crazy as that sounds, the situation on the ground was far wilder...

...one more note, believe it or not, MKs played THE crucial role in most of these specialized missions and that fact is clearly laid out in the book. Often, the MKs had to be both tactically proficient and able to tackle the maintenance of the fleet at the same time. Operation Snowcap, for example, didn't really take off until we were wise enough to send a couple high speed MKs down south. Once the MKs hit the ground, the missions really started taking off.

I think that pretty much seals the deal on me getting the book, how about you? This type of mission is so rare in the USCG, and it's definitely going to be a pretty cool read. The book is tentatively scheduled to be released on Nov. 20th, but it may change. You can check out a few chapters and see some pics on the books website www.notyourfatherscoastguard.com for more info.

Our Rate

So I was pondering this the other day while at my newly stood up Station Houston. Where does our rate go from here? I have seen the ST, TT, SS, and least we forget QM rates go by the wayside (I know I am showing my age) as well as a lot of other rates being "absorbed" by other rates (they call it merged). So where do we go from here? I know I have brothers on big cutters as well as those at small boat stations and everywhere in between, and with a new L/E rate (good luck to those"jumping ship") and us MK's doing more electrical work, more damage control, as well as having to understand all this computer stuff , but our hands being tied thanks to contracts and warranties,what is an old dog supposed to think? Will someday our rate be just over site to contractors, like as if we don't watch over everything anyways, but, and this is a big but , are we going to become so specialized that those with big boat expertise will only be around that platform and so on and so on. Those that know me, know I have done and seen a lot. But, as much as I love the USCG and its way of life, I do not want our rate, the best rate, to be sent to the moth ball fleet in the future as my grandfathers rate did (EN). Now I might be way off base, but think of all the changes you have seen........

Keep Hope

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento has released photos and background information on the missing C-130 airplane crew that is the subject of a joint agency search operation off the coast of San Clemente Island, Calif.

The search for the missing crew has saturated an area totaling more than 644 square-miles and has included surface and air assets from the Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps and Customs and Border Protection.

The missing crew members from the C-130 are:

Lt. Cmdr. Che J. Barnes, age 35, Capay, Calif., Aircraft Commander.

Job Description: Flight Safety Officer, C-130 Aircraft Commander, and Operations Duty Officer (ODO)
Age: 35
Hometown: Capay, Calif.
Gender: Male
Relationship: Single
Awards/Accolades include: 2009 CDR Elmer F. Stone Awardee, Coast Guard (CG) Commendation Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, three CG Achievement Medals, six Meritorious Unit Commendations, CG Meritorious Team Commendation, two Commandant’s Letter of Commendations, CG E Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, two CG Special Operations Ribbons, CG Presidential Unit Citation, Dept. of Transportation (DOT) 9-11 Ribbon.

Lt. Adam W. Bryant, age 28, Crewe, Va., Co-Pilot.

Job Description: C-130 Pilot, Public Affairs Officer and ODO
Age: 28
Hometown: Crewe, Va.
Gender: Male
Relationship: Single
Awards/Accolades include: Armed Forces Service Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, CG Presidential Unit Citation, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, CG E Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, CG Special Operations Service Ribbon, CG Presidential Unit Citation, DOT 9-11 Ribbon.

Chief Petty Officer John F. Seidman, age 43, Stockton, Calif., Flight Engineer.

Job Description: Aviation Maintenance Technician, Shop Chief of Engine/Prop Shop, Qualified C-130 Flight Engineer, and ODO
Age: 43
Hometown: Stockton, Calif.
Gender: Male
Relationship: Married, no children
Awards/Accolades include: CG Commendation Medal, Global War On Terror Service Medal, Achievement Medal, six CG Unit Commendations, four CG Meritorious Unit Commendations, Bicentennial Unit Commendation, CG Rifle Marksman Ribbon, two CG Meritorious Team Commendations, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, five CG Special Operations Service Ribbons, CG Presidential Unit Citation, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, two National Defense Service Medals, Humanitarian Service Medal, CG Special Operations Service Ribbon, CG Presidential Unit Citation, DOT 9-11 Ribbon, seven Good Conduct Medals, and a DOT Outstanding Unit Award.



Petty Officer 2nd Class Carl P. Grigonis, age 35, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Navigator.

Job Description: Aviation Electronics Technician, Qualified C-130 Flight Navigator
Age: 35
Hometown: Mayfield Heights, Ohio
Gender: Male
Relationship: Married, with children
Awards/Accolades include: Global War On Terror Service Medal, Achievement Medal, two CG Unit Commendations, two CG Meritorious Unit Commendations, CG Pistol Marksman Ribbon, CG Meritorious Team Commendations, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, National Defense Service Medals, CG Special Operations Service Ribbon, CG Presidential Unit Citation, DOT 9-11 Ribbon, three Good Conduct Medals.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Monica L. Beacham, age 29, Decaturville, Tenn., Radio Operator.

Job Description: Aviation Electronics Technician, Qualified C-130 Radioman, Navigator Trainee
Age: 29
Hometown: Decaturville, Tenn.
Gender: Female
Relationship: Married, with children
Awards/Accolades include: Global War Terror Service Medal, two CG Unit Commendations, two CG Meritorious Unit Commendations, two CG Meritorious Team Commendations, National Defense Service Medal, two Humanitarian Service Medals, CG Presidential Unit Citation, two CG Good Conduct Medals, and DOT 9-11 Ribbon.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason S. Moletzsky, age 26, Norristown, Pa., Air Crew.

Job Description: Aviation Maintenance Technician, Basic C-130 Air Crew.
Age: 26
Hometown: Norristown, Pa.
Gender: Male
Relationship: Single
Awards/Accolades include: Global War on Terror Service Medal, CG Achievement Medal, CG Meritorious Unit Commendation, CG Rifle Marksman Ribbon, CG Pistol Marksman Ribbon, CG Meritorious Team Commendation, two Commandant’s Letter of Commendations, National Defense Service Medal, two CG Special Operations Service Ribbons, CG Presidential Unit Citation, two CG Good Conduct Medals.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny R. Kreder II, age 22, Elm Mott, Texas, Drop Master.

Job Description: Aviation Maintenance Technician, Dropmaster, Sensor System Operator
Age: 22
Hometown: Elm Mott, Texas
Gender: Male
Relationship: Married, no children
Awards/Accolades include: Cutterman Insignia, CG Unit Commendation Award, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation, CG Presidential Unit Citation, CG Sea Service Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal.

MK Critical Fill Solicitation

Happy Halloween to all of you. This was on the Military Boards.
From CWO Bopp:

Good Evening,

FYI, we have released an MKC Engineering Petty Officer (EPO) Critical fill Solicitation message, in addition to MK1, and MK2 Billets. Please note that the deadline is COB 6 Nov 2009.




CGC GREENBRIER_____MKC__EPO
CGC JARVIS___________MK1
STA CAPE DIS_________MK1
NMLBS_______________MK1_____MLB STAN
MFPU BANGOR________MK1
STA SUISLAW RIVER____MK2
STA GRAND ISLE_______MK2___PRI-3 Assignment
DD SANDY HOOK ______MK2
CGC MACKINAW_______MK2
STA GRAND HAVEN____MK2


v/r,

CWO Bopp

ENG3 Keith Bopp
MK CENTRAL Assignment Officer

This is only a test !

Well this is only a test of the Johnnyboy'z ability to do this! Soo stand by for heavy rolls if this works cuz i gotta lot to start you'all thinkin about . Be back soon

MK Shop: What now?

Hello, hello there my friends. So, things here have been a little slow lately, sorry about that. As you may know, recently I left the Gallatin and that pretty much reduced about 96% of the new pictures on this site. I feel bad, but not to much, since I no longer have to be on there. For any of you that check this site out regularly, you probably have noticed a lack of posting lately. Well, not a whole lot going on in the MK world to pass, no movie reviews lately since all the movies out have been garbage, and no Gears comics since I'm not in a place to get the pictures for the comic. I miss doing those Gears cartoons...where are the pictures at Danny? Your supposed to send them my way!!!
Okay, back to business. I would like to welcome MK1 John King as the newest contributor to this site. I look forward to some of the stuff he has to share with the engineering community. I am still offering an open invitation to anyone who wanting to join this site and post to the engineering community. I also plan on posting random things I find online to share with you folks. Originally I had planned to keep it purely engineering/USCG related, but there is not enough out there to keep this site fresh. With that said, I present my first "odd" post.

Anyone seen Zombie Land? What a fantastic movie. Well, today I came across a post that discusses the best mode of travel and how to reinforce your ride in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse. Head on over to the site North American Zombie Defense Service (NAZDS) and see how you can choose and armor the proper vehicle for the inevitable.

New Book: Not Your Father's Coast Guard

I have heard a few rumblings about this new book coming out and it has my interest. For those of you who enjoy a good book, this seems like it may be pretty sweet read. Written by Coastie Matthew Mitchell, this book is the story of a Drug Interdiction Assistance Team (DIAT) who traveled overseas and destroyed cocaine labs. How cool is that!! The book is going to be available on November 20th. Look at the picture...those are Coasties. Man, what a sweet gig. Way better than being on the Gallatin. Here is an excerpt from the book:

Halloween Day, 1992, Deep in the Bolivian Jungle

The mission was simple enough. Locate and destroy a clandestine cocaine lab somewhere in the Bolivian jungle. The team had progressed five hundred meters toward the location of a suspected lab. Five hundred meters might not seem like a lot if you’re walking down the street, but every inch is earned when you’re hacking through dense bush. Covered with sweat and what can only be described as a swarm of mosquitoes, the team finally made it to the encampment. It was then that the jungle exploded all around the insertion team. Bits of wood, dirt, leaves, and whatever else was unfortunate enough to be in the path of poorly aimed automatic weaponry fire was violently launched through the air and rained upon the insertion team. The onslaught of bullets came from five heavily armed narcotraffickers, accompanied by one semi-innocent, unarmed cook. The team acted quickly, taking up defensive positions and returning fire with their M-16s. One member fired a precisely aimed MK-79 grenade round, which exploded just behind the lab. The firefight lasted only minutes. At the end of the skirmish, four of five gunmen were wounded, while the insertion team remained unscathed. Randy, who had only moments before been directing fire on the narcotraffickers, had a new fight on his hands. Randy and his team now had to fight to save the lives of the men who just tried to kill them.

How sweet is that. A book about a group of Coasties that storm Colombian drug labs and destroy them. I'm sold. You can check out the books website for more information.