June Update

Greetings family and friends! As usual, I have a lot of great news to report since my last update. I always have the best intentions to provide more frequent updates, but time always seems to get the best of me.

Chief Petty Officer Academy – Congratulations to Chief Conroy who graduated from the CPOA on 26 May 2010! Chief spent 5 weeks in Petaluma, CA going through a rigorous training program which tested him physically and mentally. Chief has recently departed our unit for his next assignment to MSST San Diego. Congrats Chief on all of our accomplishments and thank you for your outstanding contributions to MSST LA/LB. You will be missed… but it will be nice having you as our neighbor to the south!

Promotions and Advancements:

Chief Warrant Officer Thomas (pictured) was appointed to Warrant in the Marine Safety Specialist Engineering (MSSE) specialty on 01 June in a small ceremony that was held on 07 June. He was pinned on by his wife Edna, LT Burkhalter, and PO Bowley. Congratulations CWO Thomas on this significant achievement in your career! We wish you and your family all the best as you begin your new assignment in the other LA…..Louisiana that is.

LTJG List successfully survived Ensignhood all challenges with flying colors. Congratulations on your promotion and keep up the great work!

PO Yahudah advanced to YN2 and PO Merseal advanced to MK3. Congratulations to you both and we look forward to seeing advance to the next paygrade!

Qualifications /Certifications – Congratulations the following members for their achievements:

LT Danaher – Deployable Team Leader
LTJG List – Deployable Team Leader
PO Montano – Boatcrew Member

Fair Winds and Following Seas:

As always during this time of year we must say goodbye to some truly talented and dedicated Guardians. Over the past few weeks, the following members have departed (or will depart this week) for their next assignments:

LT Vera
LT Crowell
Chief Conroy
PO Boyle (and K9 Dusty, USCG Retired)
PO Leland (and K9 Asia, USCG Retired)
PO Ramos
PO Jones
PO D. White
PO Tubania
PO Hernandez
PO Lindner-Maldonado
PO A. Knight
PO Narvaez
PO Bowles
PO Houghton
PO Barrow
PO Baumgartner

We also said goodbye to several Reservists from across the country who volunteered to augment our unit for our extended deployment. I cannot thank you and your family enough for your incredible contributions. It was an honor and pleasure to serve with you!

Chief Key
Chief Mowery
PO Gasparas
PO Dyer
PO Silva
PO Gregorczyk
PO Willey
PO Bousman
PO Gibbs

Welcome Aboard

I extend a warm welcome to the following members and their families to the LA/LB area:

PO McLaughlin
PO Ross (and K9 Chiquita)
PO Aceituno
PO Seastrand
PO Newkirk (who was quickly dispatched to Operation DEEPWATER HORIZON)
PO Williams

And although they’ve been here a while now, the following members reported aboard while we were deployed and I wanted to officially welcome them:

PO Montano
PO Merseal
PO Tighe
PO Standiford
PO Sandoval

We are thrilled to have you on our Team and I’m very impressed by your enthusiasm and eagerness to jump right into things… another outstanding group of Guardians!


Newest Guardian - Congratulations to PO Borski and family on the birth of their baby girl! Nyah was born on 17 May and decided to arrive a couple of weeks early. Daddy was still deployed but was able to leave early just in time to be there for Nyah’s arrival. Mom and baby are all doing well. We wish you all the best!

I cannot say it enough, but it's great to be back and I am very grateful to be a part this outstanding Team. We are busy getting ready for our next training evaluations and upcoming operations. Stay tuned for the next update!

All for now...