Shipmates « Coast Guard Great Lakes

Detroit-based Coast Guard Chief finds Great Lakes a photographers paradise

Josh Bozarth, a Chief Petty Officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, joined the Coast Guard to pay for college and to get a sense of greater responsibility. He never thought that the Coast Guard would open the door [...]

Great Lakes Shipmates of the Week: Life-saving Sector Buffalo marine inspectors

Coast Guard marine inspectors protect life by ensuring vessel safety, but this week’s shipmates of the week were a little more hands on than usual. On April 17, 2013, marine inspectors from Coast Guard Sector Buffalo were conducting inspections, alongside [...]

Robert and Jean Colby near the Tanker Vessel Jupiter

An Auxiliarist Hero Departs

Robert Colby, past Commodore of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Ninth Central Region, passed away April 17th. His obituary can be read here. On September 16, 1990, the Tanker Vessel Jupiter, a million gallon gasoline tanker, caught fire and exploded [...]

Women in the Coast Guard: Standing the watch in heels since 1915

What happens when you take a Coast Guard asset or office and fill it full of women? No, this is not a joke. Give up? The answer is… the same job would get done as if it were [...]

Great Lakes Coast Guard Shipmate of the Week: MK3 Duane “Levi” Entz, STANT Kenosha, Wis.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Duane “Levi” Entz, a Missouri native, reported to Station/Aids-to-Navigation Team Kenosha from Machinery Technician “A” School in February 2012. He immediately dove into his qualifications just as he had as a fireman at his previous unit, [...]

Members of the winning 9th Coast Guard District flag football tournament from Coast Guard Station Lorain, Ohio, take a moment to pose with the 1st place trophy after defeating the team from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit 34-28 in Chesterfield, Mich., Sept. 28, 2012.
Pictured are: Coast Guard Seaman Jamison Franzen, Seaman Daniel Swepenizer, Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Ayriss, Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Vitou, Fireman Stephan Shellenbarger, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Abood, Fireman Jon Larrison, Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Marquette, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Flores and Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Jackson.
U.S. Coast Guard photo, courtesy Station Lorain

Coast Guard Station Lorain team takes possession of 9th District flag football crown

Post written by PA3 Lauren Laughlin, D9 External Affairs Division On a calm and cool day, 10 men step onto the field, calm and cool on the outside, a little nervous on the inside. It’s late in the day, they [...]

Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Vandenberg greets attendees of the Coast Guard Festival Grand Parade in Grand Haven, Mich., from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich.-based helicopter CG-6527, Aug. 4, 2012. U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Lt. Davey Connor

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Post written by PAC John Masson With a burst of fireworks over the Grand River, the city of Grand Haven, Mich. — the original “Coast Guard City, USA” — once again wished its favorite branch of service a happy birthday. The [...]

There’s an old English proverb that says, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” That proverb would be best served carved onto every boat that enters the water. Things can change in a moment’s notice, and boaters have to be prepared. And, it’s because they were prepared that Ryan Miller and his son Cody Mack, Brian Nelson, and Jack Fischer Jr., all from Michigan, are still alive to tell their harrowing story of spending 14 hours in the waters of Lake Huron after their boat capsized July 9.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Click here to read a July 13 blog post, in which this crew of boaters was named the Coast Guard’s “Shipmate of the Week” Written by Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Huth, 9th Coast Guard District public affairs. There’s an [...]

NFL hosts military kids during AFC Rookie Symposium

On Friday morning, beneath the bright, blue northeast Ohio sky, the white t-shirts worn by nearly 150 children of military families stood out starkly against the green grass of the Cleveland Browns’ training facility in Berea, Ohio. The children [...]

Retired Petty Officer 2nd Class Marge Vandestadt, a food service specialist who served for 22 years as a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, Lt. Glenn Goetchius, who recently returned from deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. his daughter, and his wife, Lt. Yamaris Barril, a member of the 9th District prevention division, stand on the field with Skipper, official mascot of the Lake County Captians before throwing out ceremonial first pitches at a Captains game.

Captains salute the Coast Guard during Nautical Day

The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding baseball tradition, in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Before a Lake County Captains game on Sunday, Cleveland-area [...]