I put 28 years in the Coast Guard, retired in 1994. It has always been the case. Do more with less. I actually had to beg 3" 50 gun mount parts off of a Liberty ship that was being cut up, in order to keep my gun mount operable. Then, they would add more jobs, with no more funding. Semper Paratus, but, I loved the Coast Guard.
Obviosly, the Coast Guard needs to be modernized, especially with the expanded missions of terrorism fighting and disaster relief.
The dining hall was great, the food was good, the club was passable for a remote site, and the coasties were friendly.
Since I commuted about 9.8Kts on a regular basis, I felt pretty secure that the coasties were close. We never had a reason to use them, during all of our surges and transports, but it was good to know that a white and red helicopter was flying over our LCM. Sorta like having a guardian angel.
Semper Paratus. This zoomie likes coasties.
/john
God bless you for your service. How sad that our military is always the sacrificial lamb when it comes to funding
The Coast Guard has always been the step-child of the US defense.
Not saying it's right, but I think the Coast Guard does more for the buck than any other branch of the government....
Wilmington?