The Long Blue Line (Spring 2024)

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RESERVE By Chief Warrant Officer Anastasia Devlin U.S. COAST GUARD INFORMATION Chief Warrant Officer Anthony L. Birds (left) competes in a boxing match. (Photos courtesy of CWO Birds) COAST GUARD RESERVISTS TEST THEIR METTLE THROUGH THE SPORT OF BOXING 66 SPRING 2024 THE LONG BLUE LINE
In the military, and in the Coast Guard Reserve in particular, training ensures that when units are in active operations and something unexpected happens, training kicks in, and the response becomes automatic. For two Coast Guard reservists, this applies to another area—boxing. Reserve members Chief Warrant Officer Anthony Birds and Petty Officer Second Class TJ Van Alstyne have a lot in common. They are athletic with law enforcement backgrounds; they’ve both pursued careers as educators; they’re serving in the Coast Guard Reserve at deployable port security units; and they both love the challenge and absolute thrill of being in the ring against an opponent. With 25 years of military service and more than a decade in the boxing ring, Birds is the slightly more seasoned of the two. His easy-going nature and calm demeanor are contagious, and it’s easy to see how he’d fare under pressure. But he didn’t originally lean toward the competitive side of boxing. As an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina, he started boxing as a way to keep himself agile and sharp. Frederick Gray, another instructor and former boxer, began training Birds on the basics: stance, footwork, reactions, heavy bag, and speed bag. After a number of years, Birds became increasingly faster and better—to the point that Gray told him, “You should probably compete.” “I didn’t feel ready,” said Birds, but Gray convinced him otherwise. They decided to give it a shot in one of the local competitions in 2015. He remembers when he first set foot in the ring, he was nervous. “Training and actually being in there with someone trying to knock your block off are two totally separate things,” Birds said with a laugh. Training and actually being in there with someone trying to knock your block off are two totally separate things. “That first round, I was trying to work out my strategy, even though we’d worked on it for weeks,” he said. “It’s like a big chess match where you’re watching the other person. You're trying to figure out what moves they're making and counter it. Your brain is going a thousand miles an hour trying to decipher all these movements. Then BAM! I got hit with a big left hook, and I thought, ‘Okay, that one hurt—this is real now.’" RESERVE U.S. COAST GUARD INFORMATION THE LONG BLUE LINE SPRING 2024 67
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I have said time and again, as we p
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MCPO LLOYD PIERCE: Spring has sprun
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I’m joined by RADM Merrie Austin,
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GLACIER REUNION SAVE THE DATE LOCAT
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Page 17 and 18: NEVER TOO LATE: A CASE OF MISTAKEN
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Page 23 and 24: Somehow, someway the placard was re
Page 25 and 26: How does the Coast Guard celebrate
Page 29 and 30: Get Your NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEU
Page 31 and 32: This is what we are known for. This
Page 33 and 34: We are prototyping unmanned systems
Page 35 and 36: the Polar Security Cutter. This is
Page 39 and 40: A FAMILY AFFAIR By Beau Bridges In
Page 41 and 42: shared many of his experiences with
Page 43 and 44: HONOR. ENGAGE. EDUCATE. INSPIRE. JO
Page 45 and 46: Festivals held in Grand Haven, Mich
Page 47 and 48: Prior to opening his highly recogni
Page 51 and 52: AUXILIARY Auxiliarists who possess
Page 53 and 54: The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Aux
Page 55 and 56: Because of this, there are now more
Page 57 and 58: hands-on training by certified AUXC
Page 61 and 62: Meanwhile, the two leading ships of
Page 63 and 64: In 1961, the Raymond Loewy and Will
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Page 71 and 72: eassured Van Alstyne. He told her i
Page 73 and 74: RESERVE Chief Warrant Officer Antho
Page 75 and 76: ! FERNANDEZ HIDALGO, CARLOS FIKE, B
Page 77 and 78: TINSTMAN, LAWRENCE TISCHER, JACE TO
Page 81 and 82: BOYLE, DAVID SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH CDR
Page 83 and 84: FRIER, WALTER GARLAND, TX YNC RET.
Page 85 and 86: MIZELLE, TIMOTHY COLERAIN, NC SKCS
Page 87 and 88: TAPS TURNER, THERON DEPTFORD, NJ CW
Page 89 and 90: NOAA TAPS ALDERMAN, RICHARD TUCSON,
Page 91 and 92: CHAPLAIN'S CORNER EMBRACE EVERY SEA
Page 93 and 94: NEW USCG RETIREE MENTORING & TRANSI
Page 95 and 96: COAST GUARD LEGAL ASSISTANCE Coast
Page 97 and 98: CG PAY & PERSONNEL CENTER, RETIREE
Page 99 and 100: All other inquiries: osgli.osgli@pr
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The Long Blue Line (Spring 2024)

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