Breaking the trust with those who serve
My 21-year-old son took his oath to enter the U.S. Coast Guard exactly one year ago and proudly graduated from boot camp in March in Cape May, N.J.
He is subject to all articles of the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, including maintaining responsibility for discharging all financial obligations (Article 134), and he cannot voluntarily leave sworn service of his country until his term of enlistment is complete.
His duty station is far from home, there was no military base housing on his duty station, and he signed a lease.
The Coast Guard is a unique branch of the military. The more than 40,000 men and women actively serving ensure safe and lawful commerce, interdict human trafficking and drug smuggling, and perform countless lifesaving rescue missions by air and water in severe conditions. They protect and defend America’s ocean and freshwater borders and save human lives every single day of their service.
This week my son is on the East Coast, training to survive a capsized vessel because the Coast Guard (as captured in its motto) is Semper Paratus — always ready. And they are.
He had to pay his own way to get there, however, because the federal department that funds the Coast Guard is shut down, although its mission has not.
He will have to find a way to pay for his rent on Feb.1, and maybe March 1, and maybe beyond. These are the debts he incurs to do his job, without a single cent in salary.
Wherever you sit politically and whatever your creed, the betrayal of the sacred trust between the service members of the U.S. Coast Guard and America’s leadership (on both sides of the aisle) is a damning declaration of faithlessness.
Call or write your senator or congressional representative. You can find his or her contact information at http://whoismy representative.com.
Only share, retweet or forward this commentary if you value the service of our men and women in blue enough to take action first — not only for their sake, but for the sake of our nation.
Semper Paratus.