Thu 28 Feb 2008
It was an interesting and exhausting day yesterday with the Commandant in Texas. We started our morning on Wednesday having breakfast with the Commandant at our hotel in Corpus Christi. We learned that he spent his high school years only 20 minutes from where I spent the first 18 years of my life, heard about his youth traveling with his Dad who was in the Coast Guard, and discovered why he went to the Academy. We were then told to load up because we needed to head off to our first all-hands of the day at Air Station Corpus Christi.
After our first day, we already knew that we had to move fast so headed quickly to our van to join the convoy headed to the Air Station. In an auditorium filled with Coasties, we captured the Commandant making a short presentation then he and Skip Bowen, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, took questions from the audience. As the questions started to flow, Regan and I were escorted out of the auditorium, leaving Tam behind to finish up with the meeting. The plan: Get us, and the rest of the travel party, to South Padre Island ahead of the Commandant who was flying there (with Tam) on an HH60 helicopter. One reason for the head start was for us to beat them there so we could tape him landing and getting of the helo. Unfortunately, even with our 30 minute lead time and certainly faster aircraft, we didn’t make it. Of course the fact that we had to land in Brownsville then drive for a half-hour to South Padre Island didn’t help. The Commandant was on the ground before we arrived.
Once at the station, we had to hurry to get set up with the camera so we were ready to go for the second all-hands of the day. Same process - short presentation then Q&A. It was instantly clear how different the questions were between the two audiences. The Commandant adapted immediately.
Next up? Lunch, followed by a pepper ball demo–a new non-lethal way to stop those trying to evade the Coast Guard. A ball is shot from a Coast Guard boat and when it lands, it explodes with a flurry of pepper spray. Makes the evaders more than a little uncomfortable.
After a short interview, we all headed back to Brownsville and back to CG1. We were off to Houston. As we landed, we watched the entourage leave without us. It was kind of sad. We would have another morning with the Commandant but our time to fly in CG1 with the big dog was over. We were all kind of sad but, at the same time, worn out from a day going at warp speed.