MIAMI – Coast Guard Sector Miami presented its first Guardian of the Quarter award Friday to Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Slaughter for her outstanding performance as a search and rescue coordinator in the Sector Miami Command Center.
Slaughter, a three year veteran of the Coast Guard, was nominated by her peers for her involvement in a variety of search and rescue cases resulting in 10 lives saved, 32 lives assisted and more than $81,000 worth of property saved.
In one case, Slaughter received a call from the Miami-Dade 911 emergency center reporting a vessel taking on water south of the Cape Florida Light. With little additional information, Slaughter quickly established communication with the five distressed mariners, determined their location and immediately dispatched rescue crews. Staying in constant contact with the mariners, Petty Officer Slaughter kept them calm and informed of the Coast Guards actions while guiding the Station Miami Beach, Fla. crew to the scene.
The Guardian award is intended to recognize high performing members of the Command Center team. Unlike many awards, nominations for the Guardian award are submitted by member’s peers. Performance, teamwork, adherence to the core values and contributions to the Coast Guard are all considered when reviewing nomination packages.
“OS2 Slaughter is representative of the highly qualified personnel working in our command center,” said Chief Petty Officer David Conley Sector Miami Command Center communications officer. “Petty Officer Slaughter displays her devotion to duty in every aspect of her watches including her interaction with the public. It is a pleasure to be able to provide her with this well deserved recognition.”
Coast Guard Lt. Todd Hartfeil and Capt. James Fitton present Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Slaughter with the first Guardian of the Quarter award for her outstanding performance at the Sector Miami Command Center.
