CAPE MAY – A local U.S. Coast Guardsman was recognized as Coast Guard Training Center Cape May’s Enlisted Person of the Year for 2011 during the unit’s State of the Training Center Address Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Fred Chase, 26, from Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is a maritime enforcement specialist currently stationed at the training center’s ceremonial division. Chase is the son of Jackie Bodreau of Derry, N.H., and Fred Chase, Sr., of San Diego.
Chase received the Coast Guard Achievement Medal for his accomplishment, which highlighted his 2011 deployment to Gambia with the U.S. Coast Guard International Training Division. Chase instructed 35 Gambia naval officers in advanced board officer techniques to better protect Gambia’s waterways and ensure the safe flow of commerce in the region.
During the Hurricane Irene, Chase was instrumental in the successful evacuation of more than 400 Coast Guard recruits from Training Center Cape May. This was the first full-scale evacuation of the training center in more than 25 years.
Chase was also instrumental in the development and education of numerous youth who participated in the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps boot camp here in 2011, and he’s volunteered a considerable amount of his off-duty time to tutoring children through Partnership in Education.
Training Center Cape May is the birthplace of the Coast Guard’s enlisted corps as the service’s single accession point for enlisted personnel. New recruits undergo an intensive, eight-week basic training program to prepare them for the rigors of service in the Coast Guard. The training Center is also home to 14 tenant commands providing critical logistical and support services.
