Looking for Adventure?

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Most people enjoy tales of adventure—not because they are preoccupied with escaping reality—but because there is enchantment in the very idea of adventure. This attribute is common to all peoples, but it seems more prevalent among Americans, probably be­cause—unlike most other countries—the United States was founded and populated by people willing to face the unknown to realize their dreams of a better life. This legacy and our nation’s blended heritage foster in Amer­icans an indelible sense of adventure. The consistency of

this American obsession is evidenced in our great literature (Who hasn’t been enthralled by such characters as Natty Bumpo and Huckleberry Finn?), our popular entertainment (It’s no mis­take that Hollywood produces a steady stream of television series and cine­matic films in the adventure genre.), and our long-standing fascination with space exploration.

Nevertheless, adventure is becom­ing harder and harder to find in this world. Fortunately, though, it still can be found without an escape into fantasy; it still exists in the real world, if you know where to look. One of those places might seem somewhat unlikely—a small govern­ment agency within the U.S. Department of Transporta­tion: the U.S. Coast Guard. In the Coast Guard, people can find adventure—albeit not at the simple level and the relatively leisurely pace of Huck Finn’s raft trip down the Mississippi. They also can find a sense of pur­pose because the U.S. Coast Guard is a small service with a big, constantly evolving, and important job.

It is doubtful that the first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, knew what he was starting whet he asked Congress to authorize a fleet of ten revenue cut­ters in 1790. These first armed ships of the new republ" helped to enforce U.S. customs regulations. Since then much has changed. The Coast Guard remains the “la" of the sea,” but the ser­vice has many more re­sponsibilities: search and rescue, drug interdiction, national defense, fishery patrols, environmental protection, ice opera-

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tions, maintenance of navigational aids, port safety $ security, and myriad lesser functions. On an average day, the Coast Guard:

►  Saves 12 lives

►  Assists 315 boaters

►  Saves $2 million worth of property

►  Responds to 23 environmental threats

►  Inspects 150 commercial vessels

►  Investigates 17 marine accidents

>■ Intercepts 450 pounds of contraband drugs with a str^^[ value of nearly $8 million

►  Interdicts more than 100 illegal immigrants

►  Services 150 aids to navigation                                         ,

That’s not bad for a service with 46,000 officers

enlisted personnel—active duty and reserve—a fleet 250 medium-to-large ships and several hundred stfl", boats, and 180 aircraft. Add to all this the unexpec^[1]^, events—e.g.. Hurricanes Hugo, Iniki, and Andrew; ¹ _ Mariel boat lift; and the Persian Gulf War—and it is ^c\ ident that there are plenty of opportunities for advent¹"¹ in the Coast Guard.      j

The Coast Guard operates on the mighty Mississipf¹

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Proceedings / DeceniiH‘^r

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and countless other inland waterways as well as on the Great Lakes, off our coasts, above the Arctic Circle, and many other places. Imagine yourself on a cutter patrolling 'he crystal-clear azure waters of the Caribbean, in an air­craft scouring the ocean below for any sign of a missing fishing boat and its crew, or as part of the team that pre­^vents a major oil spill from wreaking havoc on the envi­ronment. Imagine, too, the sense of accomplishment you’ll have when you pull on board a victim of a boat­ing mishap—or the relief that will flood your soul when you spot the survivors you have searched for throughout 'he night. It is a type of adventure that Mark Twain and James Fenimore Cooper never could have imagined; it is ^an adventure with a real-life impact.

Just as Alexander Hamilton could not have foreseen the development of the Revenue Cutter Service into today’s Coast Guard, neither can I reasonably predict where the Coast Guard will be in the future. Without question, many °f the services provided today will be needed in the fu­ture; others will pass into disuse; still others will arise to 'ake their place.

Nevertheless, as the Coast Guard approaches the 21st century, it does so with great anticipation and a sense of excitement. The service looks forward to the new mis­sions that will develop, but it also looks forward to find­ing better ways of doing the things it has always done, employing new ways of thinking and state-of-the-art tech­nology, and making the best use of its resources.

The Coast Guard’s most important resource is its peo­ple. The Coast Guard needs to attract those who have a professional attitude, who want to serve the public and protect the trust they place in the service, and who aren’t afraid to work. But above all, the Coast Guard needs peo­ple who share an adventuresome spirit.

Whatever course the Coast Guard navigates into the fu­ture, only those people who will look at the most trying circumstances with a “Can Do” spirit and a “Can’t Wait To Do It” attitude will be of real use. Accordingly, it is time for those in the upper echelons of the Coast Guard to develop innovative ways to attract recruits with such attitudes and make the best possible use of their talents and enthusiasm. The Coast Guard should allow all hands to tailor their careers to mesh with their ideas of the Coast Guard adventure, and the role they could play in it. For some, the adventure will be lived out as a coxswain at a small-boat station; for others, it will be as an aircrew- man of a HU-25 Falcon patrol plane; and, for some peo­ple, it just might be behind a desk. Whatever their diverse ideas of adventure, the Coast Guard must develop meth­ods that will provide a clear indicator of what it is that appeals to each recruit’s idea. Otherwise, the Coast Guard will wind up losing motivated people—and the investment in their training—because their spirit of adventure was al­lowed to atrophy.

Chief Warrant Officer Kurz is stationed at the Coast Guard Pay and Per­sonnel Center in Topeka, Kansas.

COAST GUARD ESSAY CONTEST

The U.S. Naval Institute will award cash prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500 to the authors of the three winning essays in its annual Coast Guard Essay Contest.

This essay contest was created to encourage discussion on current issues and new directions for the Coast Guard. Essays must be postmarked on or before 1 June 1994.

Essay Contest Rules

6.    Address, phone number, biographical sketch, and social security number are to be included with each entry.

7.    The Naval Institute will publish the winning essays in Proceedings, its monthly magazine. Some entries not awarded prizes may also be selected for publication. Their authors will be compensated at regular rates.

8.     The Naval Institute Editorial Board will judge the competition.

DEADLINE: 1 JUNE 1994

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