Official Service Blog of the U.S. Coast Guard Now Live
Coast Guard Compass-- the official blog of the U.S. Coast Guard: its people and missions -- is now live on DoDLive!
From its introductory "Welcome Aboard"
From its introductory "Welcome Aboard"
Welcome to The Coast Guard Compass, official service blog of the U.S. Coast Guard.We encourage you to visit the site, subscribe to the RSS feed, and most importantly...contribute to the conversation.
Anyone who has been following the Coast Guard's efforts in the blogosphere knows that this blog is not the first for the Coast Guard by far. The Commandant has been running a blog for some time as has the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard. There are also various district and unit blogs. (A list of these can be found on the blogroll that is linked at the top of the page.)
So what makes this blog different? Well, while all of our blogs are telling some part of the Coast Guard story, think of it like different pieces of a machine that works together to show you a very diverse and busy service. The Commandant's blog will remain very active talking about leadership and policy issues, the Master Chief's blog will continue to take on deckplate level issues, and the districts and units will continue to share the stories of their specific areas. The CG Compass is unique because it is the central blog that will cover the entire service, the men and women that make up the Coast Guard, the missions they do and the challenges they face.
Check out this video of a conversation I had with public recently.
It is important that the public knows us, knows what we are doing, knows why we are doing it. We are not the Coast Guard, we are your Coast Guard.
Let's be frank, the Coast Guard does some pretty amazing stuff and we have a little something for everyone. Are you interested in efforts being made to protect the environment, the whales and the sea turtles? We do that. You like ships and boats both old and new? We have at least few of those for you. You are interested in what is going on with piracy? We deal with that! You like to swim? No one swims quite like a Coast Guardsman swims! Really this list could go on for a very long time, but I am pretty sure you get the point.
The Coast Guard doesn't stop at saving lives, or even at maritime security, we are a truly multimission service to our core and that is what this blog is intended to show. We are not perfect, and the challenges we face will be addressed here as well, in the hopes that we can engage you in open conversation.
Please make sure you look at the About link as you will find the comment policy. There is also a blogroll where you can find the other Coast Guard blogs, as well as a list of blogs that talk about the Coast Guard or other maritime issues.
Welcome aboard The Coast Guard Compass.
Posted at
1:18 PM
3 Comments:
Comment feature on Compass does not work.
Thom, the comment feature is back up. Please be patient with us. The whole DoDlive setup is new and has some initial bugs.
In the future, if the comments go down, you can still use the red "submit" button in the upper right corner of the site, or the red contact button at the bottom.
Thanks for reading.
The following Comment was submitted by RADM Riker:
"Within the large circle of Bud Sparks admirers, many knew him far longer and better than I did. They were very fortunate. But when reflecting upon this man who it was a privilege to know, at least three thoughts come to my mind.
First, Bud Sparks was always informed. Always. I never heard Bud Sparks utter an opinion that he couldn't back up with facts, common sense, and - frequently - personal experience.
Second, Bud Sparks always got his point across with a minimum of fuss and confusion. When he finished speaking no one was ever in doubt as to where he stood on an issue, and why.
Third, Bud Sparks always demonstrated the utmost good faith. Everyone knew that he was fundamentally with the team. He could always be counted on to be in the boat and pulling his oar strongly even though the course might not be the one he preferred.
I had the opportunity to speak by telephone with Bud shortly before he passed away. I asked how he came to be in the Coast Guard. He said he was a senior in high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Within a few days or weeks after that he went to the recruiting corridor in the Pittsburgh Federal Building. He intended to enlist in the Navy. But his overbite turned out to be 1/32" too much. He was still miffed about that. He remained convinced that the fellow with the device measuring such things didn't really know how the contraption worked. Regardless, out he went.
The Army recruiter was next door to the Navy. He tried there. But the Army offices were jammed that day, and Bud was toward the end of the line. A soldier told him to leave and come back another day. Out he went again.
The Coast Guard was next door to the Army - our good fortune. Bud enlisted in a delayed entry program. He entered boot camp in New York when he graduated high school in the spring of '42.
After boot camp he remained in New York assigned to Port Security duties. He was pulling 12 hour on/12 hour off watches. Somewhere in this schedule, he married. But one day he took a wee bit more liberty than authorized. Actually he allowed to me that, perhaps, it might have happened on more than one occasion. So he was called into his CO's office.
The CO observed that this just wasn't working out. He said that with the name Sparks, Bud would be a natural for RM school. Of course. But it wasn't until Bud was shifted to Aviation RM School that Bud Sparks and the Coast Guard clicked. It was the combination of sea and air that made it all work together for him.
Bud was reflective in our telephone conversation. He said he believed he had lived an honest life and had tried to do the best he could. Everyone who knew him would fully attest to both matters.
Bud was also grateful for his many friendships. He especially appreciated another giant within the Reserve community: RADM Bob Merrilees.
Our conversation then turned to current events for a brief while. As I said above, Bud Sparks was always informed. Always. And then it was time to ring off.
I read in his obituary that Bud Sparks also had been a Chief Petty Officer. This is true testimony to his versatility, vision, and constancy of commitment to the Coast Guard. Bud Sparks was a great flag officer; I am certain he was an equally great Chief. Remarkable."
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