Character and Service in the US Coast Guard

Stephen is a veteran who knows a thing or two about leadership under pressure. He is a retired US Coast Guard officer who served for 25 years.  He retired from a Command tour of the US Coast Guard’s Pacific Area Intelligence Unit in 2015.  In this job, he led a team of civilians and military personnel to provide strategic intelligence to the US Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander and tactical intelligence to Coast Guard ships deployed throughout the Pacific Ocean. Prior to that, he spent most of his career coordinating Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement operations.

Here is his story:

I am a Coast Guard veteran. I served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 25 years.  I am proud of my service, and I am proud of my former colleagues who always worked within the scope of the law. 

We went to great lengths to adhere to all applicable laws in our operations. 

We understood that the United States is a nation of laws, and failing to adhere to them, failing to remember our sacred oath to abide by the United States Constitution, is a path towards chaos, a path towards autocracy, a path towards the end of our Constitutional Republic.

I refuse to accept that the cause I dedicated nearly half of my life to, our meticulous efforts to not violate the law, not violate the rights of others, to treat everyone with dignity and respect, should be viewed as quaint and in vain.

Character, leadership, service, selflessness, integrity, courage, and trust. 

We have always sought these qualities in our elected leaders, notably our Commander in Chief.  Sometimes we got it right, sometimes we missed the mark. 

We can’t afford to miss the mark anymore. Not now. Too much is at stake.

There was a time, in the not-too-distant past, when it seemed hyperbolic to say that our country has rapidly become an early-stage autocracy. Not anymore. We are there. We need to start calling it what it is.

We need the best people to run for office, win, and demonstrate the courage and conviction needed to restore our democracy and put citizens first. 

We need candidates who exhibit the traits listed above: character, leadership, service, selflessness, integrity, courage, and trust.

People with the courage to speak truth to power.