Consider the Journeymen: Financial Surprises Hurt the Mission

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA) is one of four congressionally recognized military relief societies, along with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Army Emergency Relief, and Air Force Aid Society. Our collective mission is to support the financial resilience of our respective workforces—to take care of our own. 

Doing It All, Onboard and at Home

During my first month as Coast Guard Mutual Assistance’s Chief Executive Officer, I took some time to read the minutes from all board of directors’ meetings for the past 100 years. I wanted to better understand the organization’s history, culture, and purpose, but thanks to my reading, I also was able to identify trends in CGMA’s activities over the decades. Two common themes emerged: First, the most frequent requests to the CGMA Board were to eradicate personal debt. Second, those who depended on CGMA most were our journeymen E-5s and E-6s, the heart of the service. 

Consider the workload and financial resilience of a typical journeyman. Our theoretical E-5 is 25 years old and married with a child. He is the sole provider for the family and is stationed on a cutter in Miami. Onboard he is a deck watch officer, a boarding officer, a vessel-on-vessel use-of-force small-boat coxswain, the person in charge of maintaining all rescue and survival gear, an in-port officer of the deck, and the attack-team leader during a damage-control scenario. Like many E-5s, he is the command’s go-to crew member for other collaterals, too. He does this work for a song. Each month, after basic expenses have been paid, he and his family have about $700 for clothing, entertainment, and to save for car maintenance and vacations. (See Table 1.) 

But life happens. His spouse spends freely. They rack up subscriptions to multiple streaming services. They hire a babysitter for a night out. They order dinner more than twice a week. If they buy a home, they quickly realize how expensive and time-consuming houses are to maintain. They are living paycheck to paycheck. Unexpected costs—vehicle damage, emergency travel, or even basic home repair—can quickly lead to debt, which increases stress and creates distractions. 

A Call to Action

I saw this kind of distraction firsthand in January 2019 as executive officer of the Coast Guard’s training ship Eagle. We were feverishly preparing to sail to England, but because of a government shutdown, Coast Guard members did not receive a paycheck on 15 January and work was disrupted. The focus of our highly competent, capable, and confident crew shifted dramatically. Crewmembers went from prioritizing critical work to focusing on ensuring they and their colleagues’ basic needs were met. Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” played out in full view. 

Journeymen are the “doers” in the Coast Guard. They stand frequent 24-hour duty ashore, protecting national assets and coordinating rescue cases. They turn wrenches and maintain ships, including the plant and auxiliary equipment. They procure necessary supplies, and they make emergent repairs to equipment on capital assets. And as Ensign Logan Tobias eloquently reminded us in an October 2023 Proceedings article, petty officers are leaders, too.  

While each rank and rate contributes to mission execution in its own way, the Coast Guard could not operate without these journeymen. The nation needs them to be mentally ready for each mission they are called to carry out. Those missions become far more dangerous for crews when they are distracted. CGMA has recognized this reality and worked to prevent it for 100 years. Like the three other military relief societies, it has always focused on supporting the financial resilience of the Coast Guard workforce so they can concentrate on the task at hand.

Thanks to CGMA, the Eagle crew in 2019 was able to get their minds off finances and back on the mission. In fact, during the 35-day lapse in appropriations, CGMA disbursed more than $8 million to help 6,200 Coast Guard members refocus their attention on work. Coast Guard Master Chief Will Kelly, who worked in Coast Guard Congressional Affairs at the time, recalled the service was “especially concerned about members E-4 and below when, in fact, it was the E-5s and E-6s with families who were most heavily impacted” by the government shutdown.¹

Traditionally, CGMA has operated under the motto “For Coasties, By Coasties.” Funds came largely from active-duty donors who made small monthly contributions. According to the minutes from the April 1962 meeting, 80 percent of Coast Guard members donated at least $1.00 per month to CGMA. Today, fewer than 20 percent of active-duty service members donate. It is hard to say what has changed, but I suspect that too many have no idea what it is like to raise a family on E-5 pay. I will admit that, as an officer, I did not know. A new ensign makes about $6,000 more per year than an E-5 with five years of service. 

This April, I challenge our active-duty workforces to start an allotment to their military relief society, inspired by the E-5s and E-6s who do it all. If history is any guide, this demographic will continue to count on CGMA and its equivalents for financial support. I encourage all service members to consider our journeymen and the small ways we can help when financial surprises sting but the mission still calls.