The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

Remarks I gave at my 2014 commissioning as a Chief Warrant Officer, while serving on the National Strike Force Public Information Assist Team. Family acknowledgments are omitted.

According to Brandon Brewer when presenting something you should be brief, be brilliant and be gone. I can’t guarantee that I will do that today but I will try.

Thank you to each of you for being here today. You have all played a role, some minor and some major, in making this day possible and for that I am truly grateful.

[…]

Public Affairs is a small community in the Coast Guard, the community of Chief Public Affairs Specialist is even smaller and the community of Chief Warrant Officers is the smallest.

As they say, when one door closes another opens. A little more than an hour ago, one of my mentors retired after 30 years of service in the Coast Guard. While I could not be there for his retirement ceremony I would like to thank Adam Wine for everything he has done for me in the 15 years I have known him. He started out as my first Chief as a newly graduated PA3 and grew to be a great friend. Now as he departs I thank him for leaving and making way for me.

As the tradition says you don’t buy your first set of rank devices you use an experienced set to guide you until you have earned some experience yourself. I would like to thank Lt. Amy Midgett and CWO Randy Midgett, retired for passing on their experienced shoulder boards to me. I will do my best to wield their experience until I earn some myself. The Midgett’s could not be here today as they are attending Adam’s retirement ceremony.

In the words of Roy Batty, “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe…” Well some of you may because you were either there with me or you have been here before. As a member of the PIAT I’ve done things and been to places that, had you asked me as a young non-rate, I would have never dreamed I’d be doing or visiting.

I have cherished every one of those moments. From my first experience with the team, flying over the source of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and looking down on dozens of ships trying desperately to stop the flow of oil as around them more ships and aircraft tried to disperse, skim or burn what had reached the surface.

I will always remember the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey and the thanks we received every time someone saw us in uniform and the people of Paulsboro, New Jersey, Vicksburg, Mississippi, the motor vessel Jireh and the summer I spent in Puerto Rico and the ruined harbor and lives in Crescent City, California.

I can tell you what it’s like to be a member of this team but until you truly experience the reception you get when you walk into a command post and see look of relief from the Incident Commander because the Public Affairs pros from Dover have arrived you will never understand.

I have reached another goal in my career. I wouldn’t be here today without the support of all of those who have taken the time to mentor me and those who have worked with me and for me over the years. You have taught me so much as I have come up through the ranks.

I would like to take this moment to share some of those nuggets of wisdom. It boils down to these things.

There are times life is a lot like the Jungle Cruise, going around in circles, one corny joke after another and no matter how much you turn the wheel the boat will only go where the track lets it. The natives are always restless and no matter how much hype there is the backside of water looks a lot like the front side. And as you pass through the jungle of life don’t forget to stop and admire some of my favorite plants…there’s one there and another over there.

Anything is peaceful from one thousand, three hundred and fifty-three feet up or from 36,000 feet up for that matter. Having spent a lot of time on aircraft, as long as the air conditioning is working and there is no turbulence you are good to go. Remember to keep your hands and arms inside the aircraft at all times; hold on to your hats and glasses, do not pull down on the safety bar, Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas and take time to enjoy the view.

You need a luck dragon to properly conduct any quest. To expand that thought you should always have a good traveling companion, be it good colleagues, a friend or a stuffed rabbit, monkey or piggy. There are always better stories to tell when more than one person is there to experience it.

No plan, no matter how great it is, ever survives first contact with the enemy. Be prepared for contingencies and adjustments on the fly. This can include but is not limited to state representatives who ignore or try to change the plan at the 11-th hour, three major storms hitting the grounded boat you are trying to free, migrants trying to swim to shore in the middle of your response, fishermen who are trying to stir up trouble with the local media and well, to paraphrase what I said earlier, I’ve got a whale of a tale and it’s all true.

As a leader I have learned that it often takes just one little spark of inspiration to create some of our best future leaders and changes. Inspire those around you, encourage them to try new things and not accept the way things have always been done. If they can dream it, they can do it. Let them test the limits and break through. Go the distance with them. Tomorrow is just a dream away.

As you work with people you learn we are all a little bit like Dumbo, each with a unique thing about us that helps us to soar. A good leader notices these individual characteristics and provides the magical feather that makes us believe we can fly. It is the great leader that gets us to understand that we never needed the feather in the first place.

As I look back on the last 15 years I realize that this has been one of the wildest rides in the wilderness and I have loved every minute of it.