HOME / diary: A weeklong electronic journal.

Mark Sikorski

diary:
entries
12345

Posted Monday, Oct. 11, 1999, at 9:41 PM ET

Captain's log: 2100 hours, underway in the South Atlantic Ocean. Forward is heaving hypnotically to the gentle ocean swells as we glide beneath a canopy of brilliant points of starlight. The evening watches are set--on the bridge, combat information center, engineering control center, and communications room; the smell of fresh pastries from the galley is wafting throughout the ship. Most of the crew of 90 men and women have settled in for the evening, taking advantage of a well-deserved lull in activity. We are steaming northeast off the coast of Uruguay in position 35 degrees south latitude and 54 degrees west longitude, which is about 2,100 miles south of the equator. It has been three months and nearly 13,000 miles of ocean since we've seen our homeport of Portsmouth, Va.; it's hard to believe our families are still in another hemisphere.

While not always thrilling, shipboard life uniquely blends tradition and customs with modern technology and comforts. For example, as the captain, I enjoy many of the perks traditionally offered in the early days of sail. I have my own cabin (which is the largest stateroom in the ship), I'm saluted as I walk on and off the bridge, and when I speak, people listen. Flogging, I think, has been left off the modern perk list! In simple terms, the buck stops with me. All actions and decisions are my responsibility--even if I didn't make them. While my authority is absolute, so is my accountability; 90 lives depend on it. I can't think of too many job descriptions that carry similar weight. I love my job, not because of personal gain, but for the personal growth I see in my shipmates and for the service we provide our country. I relayed a story to the crew one evening: We were traveling down the Rio de la Plata River from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Montevideo, Uruguay; the river has a fairly narrow channel that required a navigational pilot to assist us during the nine-hour transit. After a few short hours on the bridge, the river pilot told me that I had a very well run and professional crew; he went on to say that is why "America is the No. 1 country in the world." You can't get much better than that.

In the fast-paced, Internet-woven world we live in, it's nice to take refuge in the simple aspects of being a sailor. I enjoy my morning workouts on the stationary bike in our helicopter hangar--ocean sunrises are as close to heaven on earth as you can get. I like to see the gleam in the eye of a young officer when she handles the ship well alongside the pier; mastering the effects of wind, tide, and current. I tell my wardroom of 13 officers to eat "three squares" a day--mealtime has always been an important aspect of shipboard life, more for its social aspects than anything else. Plus, I have many of them convinced that my sunny disposition is due to a well-fed stomach. I still get chills when my most junior crewmembers snap sharp salutes when I approach them on the bridge. I can sense they are happy to serve; America is truly blessed with the young Coast Guard men and women I have the pleasure to serve with.

Let me set the record straight before I leave you with the illusion that life aboard a Coast Guard cutter is one step removed from a cruise liner. A typical day underway is consumed with eight hours of watches and eight hours of ship's work. There are boats to launch, helicopters to land, training to conduct and guns to shoot. Throw in your three squares and you've got an hour and change of free time. This ship is alive 24 by 7. When the weather kicks up, fatigue accelerates tenfold: Your bones ache; stuff flies loose; keeping a steady footing is hard work; sleep is nearly impossible. And yet we persevere; it becomes personal--to weather a storm is one of the ultimate challenges of the sea; to see it calm from its fury is like emerging from the dark side of the moon; euphoric moods erupt only to be outdone by the euphoria of returning home.

diary:
entries
12345

Posted Monday, Oct. 11, 1999, at 9:41 PM ET
Print This ArticlePRINTEmail to a FriendE-MAILShare This ArticleRECOMMEND...Get Slate RSS FeedsRSS
Cmdr. Mark Sikorski is the commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard cutter Forward.
COMMENTS

The Fraymaster responds:


Many readers wrote in with their own coast guard memories:


Brought back memories alright. Sleepless nights aboard the CGC Midgett in the Bering Sea being tossed out of your rack to land on the poor soul below you. Then the getting up the next morning taking baseball bats and breaking ice to straighten up the ship that had some how begun to list to starboard from all the ice on her hull and decks. The rush of having a killer whale swim next to the small boat as you went from cutter to trawler to board and inspect the Russians or Japanese fishing vessels. They were bigger than the small boat. The helo ops that took you into the polar ice packs where you got to see your first walrus or polar bear. The stop overs in Anchorage, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, Adak, and Juneau. Is the Red Dog Saloon still open in Juneau? It helped to have a captain that liked to fish as much as the rest of the crew did. Those little stops along the way to put in a days fishing, and the feasts afterwards on the flight deck.

 Flat Foot
Boarding Officer
USCGC Midgett
(Circa 1977)


Today, I have been in a verbal communique with my husband, Captain Robert E. Fenton, USCGRet. regarding his desire to travel to a mini-reunion of the USCGA Class of '63 in Orlando, Florida next week. Having just returned from a week in San Diego at an FAA convention, I feel less than enthusiastic about these plans. After all, we still have two teenagers at home to care for! This morning, I telephoned him (at his office) asking--"Why do you want to go on this dumb trip?" After all, we have been married for nearly 33 years, and we have seen some of the classmates within the past year. His reply was that it will be wonderful--we shared so much together and went through so much, I want to see them. He then forwarded this article written by the at-sea CG captain. Is this a coincidence? My husband served as a commanding officer of a CG cutter, 1980-82. He claimed it was the best time of his life. His personality does not allow him to express emotion or sensitivity. After reading this article, I know why he has always felt so close to the Guard (as I have), and why he wants to share a few days with his former classmates. Thanks for the great article. We will forward it to as many classmates as possible. No doubt I will be on that plane to Orlando next week. I will send you a follow up as to how it went.

Thank you for listening.
Anne Marie Fenton


I enjoyed reading C.D.R. Stankowski's fine article about the CGC Forward's voyage in the south Atlantic. This is a good example of one of the Coast Guard's many far flung activities around the world. The nation's smallest Armed Force manages to do the job no matter where sent in an exemplary fashion. Many of our citizens think the Coast Guard is a stay-at-home force. Not so. It never has been. I experienced this attitude first in 1952 during the Korean War, when a Naval officer asked me what my ship (CGC Lowe) was doing in Japan.The story brought back many fond memories of my service on six Coast Guard cutters. Those that sail the cutters are the best! To the skipper and crew of the Forward, Semper paratus!

Berry Meaux
Captain, Ret.
U.S. Coast Guard


Thanks for the article. I always gain a little more wisdom when given a glimpse of the juxtaposition of responsibility, authority, and earned privilege in another person's life.

Tom Clemans



--Michael Brus (10/11)

What did you think of this article?
Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
The places we live.TODAY'S PICTURES: The places we live.
Cartoonists' take on homosexuality.TODAY'S CARTOONS: Cartoonists' take on homosexuality.
How low she can go.TODAY'S DOONESBURY: How low she can go.
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Secretary Clinton?
Broder | It's not a good fit for her talents, or the next president.
Toles: A Layered ProblemEditorial: What Would Bill Do?