Sitka native retires with most sea hours of anyone in Coast Guard
The Coast Guard loves its nautical traditions.
To honor the members with 20 plus years of sea time, a new tradition was developed: the title of master cutterman. The title was created to recognize the member with the most sea time as the senior master cutterman.
The initial master cutterman certificate, drafted and forwarded up headquarter’s chain of command on April 16, 2007, met with no resistance in concept. The phrasing was a different matter. Adm. Thad Allen, retired commandant of the Coast Guard, claimed that the text wasn’t „salty enough.” After another failed attempt, Allen took his pen to it personally and wrote the following:
Hermes Handbags Replica To all sailors who have crossed the deck of a Cutter, from hbags hermes the ghosts of the Revenue Marine to the United States Coast Guard, wherever ye may be; And to all Ancient Mariners, Albatrosses, Pterodactyls, Surfman and various breeds of Dogs; click here to find out more Hermes Handbags Replica
Let it be known that [FILL IN THE BLANK] has stood watch, laid before mast, made rounds, checked the navigational lights, monitored engine temperatures, launched boats as required, balanced the electrical loads, provided rations and otherwise attended to the watch, hermes replica handbags quarter and station bill for all evolutions required to guard the coast and protect the Nation for 20 years.
Accordingly, all cutterman with lesser sea time and those unaccustomed to venturing offshore shall show due honor and respect at all times.
After achieving the appropriate level of „salt,” more than 30 Coast Guard members, enlisted and officer alike, have received this replica hermes purse certificate, declaring their nautical prowess.
For master cutterman Chief Warrant Officer Keith Raisch a native of Sitka, Alaska and Chief Warrant Officer Todd Murphy, July 8, 2011 is a day of transition, as one opts for life outside the Coast Guard and the other takes command of a familiar unit. On that humid Friday afternoon, Murphy relieved Raisch of his command of Coast Guard Cutter Saginaw and took his place as the senior master cutterman of the Coast Guard.
Raisch’s resume boasts eight cutters and two shore units, culminating in more than 36 years of experience. But, this wasn’t his plan when he joined up.
fake hermes belt women’s „Coming into the Coast Guard, I wanted to be in four years and then out, teaching diving at some resort,” said Raisch. „All the good jobs I had dried up suddenly and the jobs I was left with weren’t paying all that much. I had worked charter boats and hermes blanket replica knew the Coast Guard from that perspective, so I went to see the recruiter.” fake hermes belt women’s
During his 36 year career, it didn’t take Raisch long at all to figure out the difference in cultures between ashore and afloat, and he makes no secret of which he prefers.
fake hermes belt vs real „Politics, paper and computers. When you’re onshore, https://www.hbags.ru/hermes-shoes-c-54/ you’re very much a part of the world,” said Raisch. „I needed to be able to figure it out and figure where I fit in inside that world. On a ship, there was a billet board. On that billet board is your number, your name didn’t matter. Your number did. Your number told you your job, your responsibilities, what you cleaned, when you ate, when you stood watch. It told you everything you needed to know. It told you where you fit in and what birkin bag replica hbags your role was in a crew. fake hermes belt vs real
cheap hermes belt „It was very, very easy for me to understand life on that gauge.” cheap hermes belt
Replica Hermes And it was that understanding that kept him in the Coast Guard and afloat most of his tenure. Replica Hermes
At his retirement ceremony, there were former and active duty shipmates, family members and friends from long ago. Not a replica hermes seat was left empty. If a man’s accomplishments could be seen in the size of a congratulatory crowd, then Raisch has been very successful during his time in uniform. And for Raisch, there’s nowhere he’d have rather been.
„It has been a great life,” said Raisch. „The government will never pay you anywhere near as much as you think you deserve. You will never truly understand, until much later, how much you are being paid in experiences you’ve had and will have.”
His replacement isn’t a stranger. Raisch and Murphy have been trading command of the Saginaw for the past six years.
„We’ve relieved each other twice,” said Murphy. „I relieved him back in ’05, then I had it for three years, from ’05 to ’08. Then, he relieved me in ’08 and then I came back in ’11. We’ve had the two of us here going on nine years, now.”
During his acceptance speech, birkin bag replica amazon Murphy had the following to say about taking the reigns of Saginaw once again:
„It’s almost as if I never left.”
It has been three years since Murphy set foot on the Saginaw as commanding officer. Since then, he’s had a lot of time to think about all the things he was missing. In the past three years, the 14 person crew of the Saginaw rebuilt 418 aids to navigation with an estimated value of $1,000 to $1,700 each, serviced another 300 aids and repositioned an additional 56 buoys along the Intracoastal Waterway.
It’s not an ostentatious or overly exciting job that makes a tour on Saginaw so gratifying.
hermes belt replica aaa „It’s not glamorous work. We’re not on the front page every day. It’s hard work, but it’s self satisfying work,” said Murphy. „At the end of the day you can replica hermes luggage look down a channel and see what you’ve accomplished. You have something tangible, an example of what you accomplished everyday out to sea on a construction tender. That’s what I hbags.ru reviews like.” hermes belt replica aaa
„You can’t beat our [area of responsibility],” said Murphy. „It goes from St. Marks, Fla., all the way to Biloxi, Miss., so the entire panhandle of Florida and the Alabama coast. There are some great spots on the Intracoastal pop over to this site Waterway and we get to see them all.”
But, the transitioning of command is only half the story. Raisch and Murphy are also swapping places as senior master cutterman. As Raisch retires, relinquishing his title as senior master cutterman, Murphy accepts this designation by merit of having the second most sea time in the Coast Guard with 22 years under his belt.
For Murphy, it was a welcome surprise during an already exciting day.
„It’s an honor. I didn’t even know about it until Keith told me,” said Murphy. „Those of us that go to sea are proud to be master cuttermen and I hbags hermes replica hope to uphold all the traditions and carry it on to the next guy.”
July 8, 2011 was a day of celebration, reflection and transition. For Murphy, it means accepting command of a unit he can’t seem to escape (not that he’s trying) and becoming the head of a distinguished body of Coast Guard sailors. For Raisch, it means giving up not just his command, but life in the Coast Guard; the only life he’s known for the past 36 years.
But when Raisch looks back on his career and legacy there will be stories to tell, awards to display and shipmates to regale, but one thing is certain: he’ll never hear the words „not salty enough.”.