This week on board the ESCANABA we were visited by Rear Admiral Sullivan. RADM Sullivan is the District One Commander and is in charge of all the Coast Guard assets in the Northeast. He arrived on Tuesday morning and departed by helicopter on Wednesday morning. During his time on board he jumped into the daily routine of the ship in order to get a feel for life on board a cutter. He even participated in a boarding of a fishing vessel. The Admiral also took the time to have an all hands question and answer session with the crew. This provided the entire ship a great opportunity to ask all those questions that they always wanted to know the answer to, but never had someone to ask.

On Thursday morning we ran through the degaussing range in New London CT. The degaussing system on board is a system that is installed to reduce the magnetism on the ship. A ship inherently has a certain level of magnetism that is always going to be present. The degaussing system is designed to neutralize the magnetism where a ship should not have a magnetic charge. For example, when passing through a channel that has been cleared of mines it is important to have the magnetism neutralized on board.

Following the degaussing process we headed north to the Vineyard Sound. The sound is a narrow strip of water running between Martha’s Vineyard and the Islands that is commonly used as a shortcut by fishing vessels. Operating in the sound is a high stress job for us due to the high traffic density. This keeps the bridge team busy maneuvering around fishing boats and communicating on the radio. It also keeps CIC busy since they are responsible for pulling up information and reports on the fishing boats we query. Compound this with the close proximity to shoal water and you have an area that is very difficult for a 270’ cutter to operate in. However the sound also has its advantages. It is a great training platform as it forces experience upon the less experienced members. The sound also allows us access to a greater number of fishing vessels in a small place.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a normal week on board ESCANABA without the ever present change of plans. This week it was the weather that got us. We had planned to pull into Boston for our last port call on Monday. However, to the rough weather we were named the “Southern Response Cutter” (SRC) and tasked with staying underway. This designation means that we are the unit that is ready to respond to a search and rescue case if one occurs. With predictions of winds over 50 knots and the seas over 20 feet we anchored in Buzzards Bay to find better sea conditions, ready to respond to any call. As you can see from the pictures below even our “sheltered” area was pretty rough.

I’d like to thank family and friends for once again being patient with the continual shifting of schedules. As I’ve said before, it is your support that allows the crew of the ESCANABA to perform at the high level that they do.

Blogs

OSC Borland

This week’s blog is provided by OSC Borland. OSC Borland is representing the ship’s Chiefs’ Mess. OSC Borland transferred to the ESCANABA this summer and since that time has done an excellent job of filling his role of a leader on board.

Coming to the Escanaba was not my idea. I had two years left at a sweet land unit, but I got myself promoted and unintentionally transferred. Just when I thought I had the tiger by the tail…the tiger spun around. As Providence would have it, this cutter was the best opportunity for me to be challenged like nowhere else. I don’t consider myself a motivator, and as I am more egalitarian than authoritarian the role of a supervisor does not come easily. I build teams.

Of course, a team needs a leader and the Coast Guard has assigned me that billet. My staff of four assembles every morning and briefly discusses the business of the day. We measure the progress of ongoing projects, appoint times for training, discuss issues pertaining to the watch and also talk about general non-work topics.

This is the first unit out of “A” School for all members of my staff. Their perspective is, therefore, limited, but though they “be bounded in a nut shell” they count themselves the “king of infinite space” and that’s a tough nut to crack. The world beyond what one can’t imagine is what one can’t imagine, so our relationship must be built on trust. My staff must trust that what I do is in their best interest. I am always looking to better them professionally. I try to push them to accomplish the great and the small.

I bring to my team experience and hopefully a little wisdom. They bring an eagerness to learn and a new perspective on how things can be done better. None of us are done learning. I don’t know anymore than I do today and neither do they. I can’t be today what I’m not. So the challenge is to actively seek ways to better ourselves in knowledge, experience and wisdom. Tomorrow, then, we will be better than we were today. The men we become for upholding the responsibilities that come our way is a reward that cannot be measured.

As a supervisor I must have a vision for the future, have a plan to get there and constantly stay on target. I must grow the staff in knowledge and better them in performance. It’s like no other job I’ve had before and it will better me in ways that I can’t yet conceive.

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Shout Outs



Dawn,
I love you and miss you very much. Please hug the kids for me and tell them I love them too. Pet the dog for me - I miss having him bark like crazy in the middle of the night. Love,
Chris

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Hi Kerri,
I love you.
Jared

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Dad,
Thanks for everything.
Scott

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Lynne& Ethan,
Be home soon.
Scott

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I love you Mom.
I love you Jelene!
Eddie L. Hicks

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Look Ma, I’m a Salior!
Hello my love I”ll be home soon!
Orlando E. Lugo

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Hey Ma! I love you!
Jovanna I miss you babe!!
Dayron Lopez

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Mom,
Having Fun, Miss you!!
William Harvey

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Hey Babe,
I can’t wait to come home and see you again!
Love, David

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Mom and Dad,
See you guys in November
Preston

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Hey family,
The sea has been pretty good, but I’m looking forward be being home and seeing you guys again. See you in a few weeks. Love you !!
Jacob

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Photos

ADM Sullivan attends quarters with the crew during his visit on board the ESCANABA

CWO Goodson, the ship’s supply office, brings a last package on board as the crew prepares to get underway from Boston.

The crew working together to pull in the brow of the ship.

Crewmembers carrying the brow.

FN Simon works on the helo nets prior to getting underway.

SN Heaton, and SN Milner work a line as BM3 Lopez instructs them.

The crew slacks line 3 as ESCANABA gets underway.

MKC Gavin, MK1 Price, MK3 Cylkowski and FN Eilert rest prior to getting underway.

The lookout silhouetted against the sunset in Cape Cod Bay.

MK1 Price and EM1 Saldivar pose for a picture during BECCE’s.

ENS Rue stops to ponder a problem while participating in BECCE’s.

BM2 Milliken and BM3 Sohn define nautical as they incorporate the Sextant into their knowledge base.

The weather prediction for the next few days.

The ship’s Anemometer on the morning of Saturday the 28th.

ENS Kurczewski and BM2 Burke brave the 50kt winds.

Crew members watch the storm from the bridge.

The Anchor takes strain from the winds and seas.

ESCANABA’s anchor chain is tested as the ship is pushed by the wind and the anchor is stretched far out of the water.

Another view of the weather from the bridge.