Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Cordero torques a bolt on a Coast Guard Station Miami 45-foot Response Boat-Medium at Station Miami, July 19, 2018. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Murray.
MIAMI — When people think of Coast Guard smallboat stations, they think of the marine assets. They picture the 45-foot Response Boat-Medium or the 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement. They imagine a coxswain behind the helm speeding through the water on a search and rescue case. They envision the boatcrew members reaching out their hands or hurling a life buoy overboard to rescue people from the water – and rightfully so. The main purpose of the Coast Guard station has always been law enforcement and search and rescue.
But before those outboard engines get revved up and those boatcrews get underway, the boat must be maintained. Dedicated crews of engineers keep the boats running and that takes a lot of work. While preventative maintenance is a big part of what they do, every once in a while, something needs attention.
That’s what Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Cordero and his crew were dealing with at Station Miami Beach. One of the Response Boat-Mediums needed a new engine head, and it was a hefty job. While the whole crew stepped up, some of them had more limited experience working with the smallboat than others. That’s when teamwork came into play.
“We teamed up with Coast Guard Sector Miami engineering for this job and they’ve been very helpful,” said Cordero. “Any time we take on a big project, we go full throttle and if we need anything whether it be tools or consultation, we can easily reach out to engineers from different units for assistance.”
This is just one of the many types of jobs that engineers take on day-to-day. Between repairs and preventative maintenance, a lot of engineers conduct law enforcement with the other boatcrew members.
