Today in Coast Guard History
1942 – The Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, known as SPARs, was organized.
1970 – Simas I. Kudirka, a Lithuanian seaman, attempted to defect from his Soviet fishing vessel to Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant. The incident occurred during a meeting near Martha’s Vineyard between the Soviets and the U.S. on fishing rights. After consulting with the First District command, the cutter’s commanding officer allowed Soviet crewmen to board the cutter and forcibly remove Kudirka.
For more on the Day of Shame as it became known, Martha’s Vineyard Magazine published The Defection of Simas Kudirka in 2005.
Blogs
Great Lakes Shipmate of the Week: BM1 Joe Z. Luce, CG Station Rochester, NY – Coast Guard Great Lakes
Petty Officer 1st Class Joe Z. Luce, a Louisville, Ky., native, joined the Coast Guard in January 2003. His current duty assignment is Coast Guard Station Rochester, N.Y., reporting aboard in 2010. This marks his second tour at the station following a brief two year assignment to Coast Guard Cutter Maple. Luce, the operations petty officer at Station Rochester, also fills multiple other critical roles at the unit including training petty officer, heavy weather coxswain and boarding officer.
Recruit Journal Bravo 189: Week 02 – Coast Guard Boot Camp
They let us float around in mustang survival suits today. That really boosted everyone’s morale. It was the first little taste of what it would be like to be a Coast Guardsman. The instructors even had stories for us. All we did was lie on our back for a few moments. I’m sure everyone was imagining themselves saving someone, or doing something awesome. Everyone wore the same suit during that exercise. We even had to grab shoulders and form ourselves in a circle. People from all over the country floating together in that pool because of some common interest, on top of that, they explained to us everything the Coast Guard is, being a multi mission service with many operations combining together in some cases. I guess we’re gradually grasping the concept of the Coast Guard, we all hope it’s not too long before we live it.
Video
Coast Guard Cutter Orcas departing the Columbia River
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Orcas transits the Columbia River navigation channel as they depart for a Northwest Pacific Ocean patrol, Nov. 21, 2013. The Orcas is a 110-foot island class patrol boat that is named after Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, Wash.
U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley and Petty Officer 3rd Class Nate Littlejohn.
