The Long Blue Line (Summer 2020)

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REGIONAL RETIREE COUNCIL REPORTS COAST GUARD RETIREE COUNCIL NORTHWEST, PAST AND PRESENT The Coast Guard Retiree Council Northwest was fi rst chartered in November of 1983 under the Chairmanship of Captain (Retired) R.G. Moore. At that time, the Council sought to meet its mission requirements primarily through telephone and postal methods. The activities of the Council have evolved significantly over the years to accommodate changes in Service support and budget constraints, the anticipated needs of retirees and annuitants, and the changing interests and energy levels of our membership. At its origin, the Council supported retirees in both the 13th and 17th Districts, but the area of responsibility is now limited to the geographic confi nes of the 13th District. The mission of the Council is to provide a channel of communications to retirees and annuitants on all matters related to the Coast Guard and retiree benefits. Rear Admiral Al Manning and Captain Dana Starkweather followed Captain Moore, starting a tradition of leadership by cochairmen. Of special note plank owner CWO Tony Espejo remains active in council activities after 35 years! While signifi cantly transformed to suit the times, the enduring capstone of Council communication tools is the quarterly newsletter, Pacifi c Currents. Originally produced by YNCS Ev Black, the newsletter was elevated to an admirable level by CWO Patrick Wills when he assumed the pen in 1997. Patrick consistently edits a perfect balance of content including retiree benefi ts, Coast Guard history, and news of fallen shipmates to keep things both engaging and informative. The Pacifi c Currents was mailed quarterly to as many as 7,000 retirees and annuitants until 2008 when Coast Guard budget constraints forced an end to the practice. The latest edition is now posted in PDF form on our Council website at www.cgretirenw. org/. See the link at the top left of the home page. Patrick continues to produce this exceptional product despite several years of serious health issues. All retiree councils suffered a major setback in roughly 2010 when the Coast Guard Offi ce of the Chief Counsel determined that the Privacy Act of 1974 prohibited the Service from releasing retirees’ personal data, including Postal addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers to retiree councils. At that point councils lost all their traditional means of communication until new methods could be adopted. By fortunate coincidence, the Internet and social media were becoming common, and a growing number of retirees had access. Through the creative and untiring efforts of LCDR Phil Johnson the Council website, www.cgretirenw. org/, was the go-to place on the Internet for all things of interest to Coast Guard retirees by the year 2010. Retirees from other Services also visited. In short order the site was getting more visits monthly than the venerable Fredsplace.com or the Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center. At roughly 8,000 visits per month the website is the Council’s primary, real-time outreach and communication tool. As a Commandant-chartered 8 SUMMER 2020 THE LONG BLUE LINE
organization, the Council is extremely selective about the information posted to the website, carefully avoiding any suggestion of endorsement/ sponsorship of non-Service programs or products. Maintaining the website requires more than 1.5 hours per day and signifi cant annual fi nancial expenditure. As social media became more common, the Council established a Facebook page in 2008, www.facebook.com/CgRetireeNw/ has allowed the Council more freedom than the website to communicate concepts and news without suggesting Coast Guard endorsement. It has also permitted retirees to comment or ask questions about Council posts and other matters. The Facebook page typically averages about 4,500 visits per month, but it has had single days where topics of interest drew as many as 29,000 views. Like the website, maintaining the Facebook page, researching content, and keeping it current requires about 1.5 hours of effort daily. The Council has not yet chosen to have a presence on any of the other popular social media platforms. For many years, the Council had three VA accredited Volunteer Service Offi cers who took turns at Base Seattle advising retirees on the VA disability claims process and helping them prepare VA disability claims packages. Active duty members with retirement orders were also assisted. The success rate for acceptance of claims on fi rst submission under this program routinely exceeded 70%. Sadly, the Council was not able to continue the program as post 9-11 security programs prevented access to computers on base and volunteers aged out. The Northwest Council has enjoyed constantly outstanding support from Base Seattle and its predecessors. During the time when the Council provided assistance with VA disability claims, Base Seattle provided office space, furniture and computers. The Base has hosted many retiree appreciation days onboard, and several at facilities in Portland and Port Angeles. It is common to have the Base Commanding Officer sharing actively in discussions at quarterly meetings. The Council presently meets four times each year, typically on the second Saturday in the months of January, April, July and September. It is constantly evolving to best meet the needs of retirees, in consonance with the interests and abilities of its membership. All are welcomed to the meetings and to participate in any Council activities to the full extent of their interest and energy. Membership is open to all with the interest to attend meetings and to support our service programs. Some members attend meetings telephonically from as far away as Spokane and Portland. The Council is always looking for new ideas on how to best support the retiree community, and for new members to bring them reality. If interested or you have questions, please contact Council Cochairs, Phil Johnson and Bert Kinghorn at CoChairs@cgretirenw.org. THE LONG BLUE LINE SUMMER 2020 9
Page 1 and 2: SUMMER 2020 YOUR RETIREE NEWSLETTER
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Page 11 and 12: SUPPLIES FROM THE SKIES CDR James W
Page 13 and 14: Zone through Central America and Me
Page 19 and 20: of the SPARS in 1942 by FDR, and th
Page 23 and 24: Coast Guard aviation pioneers, CDR
Page 25 and 26: The fi rst combat rescue involving
Page 27 and 28: from Iceland to pre-revolutionary I
Page 29 and 30: THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER Petty Office
Page 33 and 34: TO THE RETIREE COMMUNITY, This year
Page 35 and 36: LIFESAVERS AROUND THE GLOBE WING Th
Page 39 and 40: THE COAST GUARD AND EASTERN SHIPBUI
Page 41 and 42: A video highlighting remarks from S
Page 43 and 44: DELIZ, LUIS DEVEAU, GLEN DILISIO, R
Page 45 and 46: SAYERS, FRED SCASNY, VANESSA SCHNEI
Page 47 and 48: RIVERA, CARLOS ROGERS, HEIDI ROSSI-
Page 49 and 50: JUST A QUICK NOTE U.S. Coast Guard
Page 51 and 52: BOROWSKI, ANTHONY PSC 03-17-2020 DA
Page 53 and 54: JOSEPHSON, CARL CAPT 05-06-2020 LIN
Page 55 and 56: SIGNORILE, PHILIP OMAHA, NE SIMPSON
Page 57 and 58: DEPENDENT TAPS TAPS VERLIE MEDFORD
Page 59 and 60:
THE LONG BLUE LINE SUMMER 2020 59
Page 61 and 62:
Certification Requirements for Perm
Page 63 and 64:
CG PAY & PERSONNEL CENTER, RETIREE
Page 65 and 66:
General Correspondence: Office of S
Page 67:
photo: U.S. Coast Guard Petty Offic
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The Long Blue Line (Summer 2020)

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