Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz (Ret.) talks twelve years at sea aboard six different cutters ranging from red to white to black hulls, icebreaking as a newly minted ensign, command of a cutter defending the approaches to New York after 9/11, running high seas search and rescue aboard polar icebreakers, leading the service’s recruit training center and its academy, serving at the highest levels of leadership as the aid to the Secretary of Transportation, and her new book “Breaking Ice and Breaking Gla...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 90
For this episode we welcome our first ever Yeoman to the show and he does not disappoint. CAPT John Marks (Ret.) talks adventures in the South Pacific including visits to the leper colony on Molokai and a murder at a remote LORAN station, running a Miss Ocean Station contest with flight stewardesses from the middle of the North Atlantic, how the concept of “member’s responsibility” developed along with the Yeoman correspondence course, the punches and sponges of the first ever Servicewide Exam, ...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 3Ep. 89
Former LCDR Lee Fanning talks service as a Flight Surgeon at Air Station San Francisco, responding on his first day of duty to the crash landing of a 747 with 300 souls aboard, dodging pine trees and traversing coastal cliffs to save the life of an injured hiker, a violent air hijacking, and flying missions as aircrew aboard the Sikorsky HH52A. To hear more check out Doc Fanning’s book “Rescues from the Sky” available now at https://rescuesfromtheskybyleewaltersmd.com/ #uscg #coastguard #theyhad...
Oct 20, 2021•53 min•Season 3Ep. 88
Chief Boatswains Mate Jeff Rusiecki (Ret.) talks being at the helm for the attempted rescue of the fishing vessel Sea King as she foundered on the Columbia River Bar, how that case connected him to the survivor of a similar tragedy from the 1960s involving the loss of three motor lifeboats and several crewmen; servicing aids to navigation along the remote Alaskan coastline, seizing the first go fast under the Zero Tolerance policy, and training a new generation of surfmen at the National Motor L...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 87
Former MK Jim Morphew talks a near decade of service on the Gulf Coast, two tours at one of the service’s least requested duty stations in Grand Isle, Louisiana; interdicting tons of marijuana in the opening days of the War on Drugs; the sights, sounds, and emotions of the mass migration from Cuba known as the Mariel Boatlift; cruising aboard a prototype Surface Effect Ship (SES); and overcoming post traumatic stress with the help of Veterans Affairs.
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Vice Admiral William “Dean” Lee (Ret.) talks the most impactful case of his 36 year career - the courageous effort to save a life from inside a capsized fishing vessel hull, the most important lesson learned from seven tours as a commanding officer, group versus sector organization, servant leadership, and the importance of humility.
Nov 02, 2020•58 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Commander Steve Love (Ret) talks 34 years of active service, his first patrol out of basic training aboard CGC Cherokee, white knuckling the helm and being lashed to the mast during the search for a distressed sailboat in a hurricane force storm, deploying as a cutter swimmer to rescue the crew of a downed Navy mine sweeping helicopter, searching for stowaways in Panama City, the origins of fatigue limits, his first command at Station Cape May and the tough personnel and operational decisions he...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Season 2Ep. 84
BOSN Erin Stapleton (Ret) talks service as the Sailmaster aboard the Tall Ship Eagle during a crossing of the Atlantic, recovering a man overboard under sail, training and mentoring Academy cadets underway, qualifying as a diver in the early days of the service’s program, diving on piers and ships in support of the port security and drug interdiction missions of Maritime Safety and Security Teams, a close call during a cruise ship hull inspection, investigating sea mine blast sites, attending th...
Oct 10, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 83
Boatswain Kurt Strauch (Ret.) talks Coast Guard firefighting, including the rescue of a commercial fishing crew aboard an 80 foot scalloper on fire off Montauk, New York, the massive effort to save a 180 foot freighter on fire in the Florida Straits, saving the Cutter Gallatin after a fire broke out in dry dock, and extinguishing flames aboard the Polar Star during a voyage to the Antarctic. He also tells of operations at McMurdo Station, serving as an arctic pilot during the tow of a disabled 4...
Oct 03, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 82
Former ME2 Zach Snavely talks surviving recruit training with Phil after both enlisted in West Virginia, striking Boatswain’s Mate, service as a coxswain on the northern border at Station Niagara, how the loss of a boat crew created a lasting culture of ownership, a faint cry for help that led to a lifesaving case, running Deck Force aboard Cutter Bear, major swells during a crossing of the Atlantic, switching rates to Maritime Enforcement Specialist, and counter terrorism with the Maritime Secu...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 81
Part I. Retired Chief Aviation Survival Technician (ASTC) Claude Morrissey talks his first case as a rescue swimmer, saving fishermen washed from a jetty during Hurricane Claudette, refining his greeting to survivors, flying hundreds of miles into the Atlantic to rescue the crew of a demasted luxury catamaran, earning a rescue swimmer T-shirt, life and death in the Bering Sea, rituals prior to leaving the runway, 60s vs 65s, and starting his own business - Morrissey Stump Grinding and Tree Servi...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Former Quartermaster Chris Campbell talks being recalled to the CGC Sedge in the midst of a violent winter storm in an effort to save the crew of a foundering fishing vessel off the Alaskan coast, the effort to clear ice and keep the cutter afloat, an inspiring speech from his CO explaining why Coast Guard crews have to go out, ATON, mailing beards to Washington after facial hair was outlawed by the uniform regs, lasting leadership lessons from a BM3 in charge of Deck Force, simulated liberty, p...
Sep 03, 2020•1 hr 41 min•Season 2Ep. 79
Chief Boatswains Mate Steve Denning (Ret.) talks the nighttime race to rescue nineteen people, fourteen of them children, from a capsized boat at the entrance to the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, the struggle to conduct a search beneath an overturned hull, commanding a Coast Guard station as its Officer in Charge, rescuing and repatriating dozens of Haitian migrants after weeks at sea, breaking in coxswain at Station Barnegat Light and signing his letter as the crew runs to the sound of a SAR ...
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 78
Former AMT and HH60 Flight Mechanic Alex Mangum talks a massive effort to save three commercial fishermen after their boat grounded in a remote Alaskan Bay during the worst storm many at the airstation had ever experienced, his first case as a flight mechanic and its textbook MEDEVAC from the deck of a cruise ship, training to perform helicopter hoists in the severe weather, how operational crews deal with incidents that truly shake them, staring in the inaugural episode of Coast Guard Alaska, a...
Aug 11, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Season 2Ep. 77
Former Engineman Rick Kunz talks life and service on Lake Ontario’s Galloo Island where the Coast Guard maintained both a station and a lighthouse, four decades of uniform, grooming, and protective equipment advances at Station Oswego, ranking the coasts on a scale of painful seas, picking the right boat for the right weather, taking a 30 footer with him as he left the service, and how the Coast Guard Auxiliary offers boat owners, pilots, and other volunteers a chance to make a difference.
Aug 03, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 76
Retired Maritime Enforcement Specialist ‘Thunder’ Dan Merrick talks standing up Maritme Safety and Security Teams (MSST) in the aftermath of 9/11, securing the Persian Gulf aboard CGC Monomoy, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID), and training the navies and coastguards of the world with the Mobile Training Branch.
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 55 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Senior Chief Radioman Mike Kreynus (Ret.) talks a lasting lesson in leadership and open door policy from the CO of the CGC Comanche, his time as a plain clothes Coast Guard Intelligence agent, being Chief of the Boat for the last of the screaming sea captains aboard CGC Boutwell, running a west coast command center, the founding of the Chief Petty Officer’s Association, and his thoughts on the practices of the greatest leaders.
Jul 18, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 74
21st Commandant of the Coast Guard and former Acting Secretary of the Department is Homeland Security James Loy talks a lesson in leadership early in his career during a dangerous maneuver in heavy seas, commanding patrol boats on the Virginia coast and in wartime Vietnam, delivering a baby on the flight deck of an underway cutter, ending the pursuit of a drug trafficker with a well aimed fire hose, leading the service on 9/11, how flags and Commandants make decisions with servicewide and nation...
Jul 09, 2020•2 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 73
CDR Gary Thomas (Ret.) talks deploying into heavy seas as a cutter swimmer to rescue a man overboard, commanding a Key West patrol boat during the tragic sinking of a Haitian ferry, working to support LORANimals, and how these events illustrate the servicewide impacts individuals can have in the Coast Guard. He also discusses his work with the National Coast Guard Museum Association and the Association for Rescue at Sea, both partners of They Had to Go Out Podcast.
Jul 01, 2020•59 min•Season 2Ep. 72
Captain Martha Kotite (Ret.) talks the attempted takeover of a cutter by a group of migrants detained on board, serving as the XO of a Key West patrol boat, flying in style aboard the Commandant’s Gulfstream, and high level public affairs efforts during a series of defining events for the service. Learn more about Martha, book her for a speaking event, and read “So Others May Live”, “Changing the Rules of Engagement”, and “My Name is Old Glory” at http://www.marthakotite.com/
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Retired Aviation Electronics Technician (AET) Gina Panuzzi talks a decade of service in Coast Guard aviation, the crash of CG-6028 in the Utah mountains that nearly claimed her life, and her road to recovery in the aftermath.
Jun 18, 2020•2 hr•Season 2Ep. 70
Former AET2 Todd Ebner talks his decade of service in Coast Guard aviation, locating 17 survivors of a fishing trip gone wrong off the Alaskan coast, transporting a dead whale in the cargo hold of a C-130, tracking Russian and Chinese poachers, taking down a corrupt government official in American Samoa, rights of passage at ‘A’ School in E City, and coping with the loss of so many who have died in the line of duty.
Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 69
Senior Chief Machinery Technician Tina Claflin (Ret.) talks towing a sailboat through high surf, sailing aboard the tall ship Eagle, Strike Team CBR call outs for everything from a tire fire in Ohio to a burning train in a submerged tunnel, and the Centennial of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers. Her company @halcyonreflections is producing a commemorative CPO Logbook now available for preorder at http://www.halcyonreflections.com .
May 28, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Service academies and colleges nationwide have active and powerful alumni associations, but those who enlist and substitute boot camp for higher education lack any similar organization they can leverage for their own social and professional network, or to give back to better the institution that positively impacted their lives. With tens of thousands of potential members who have completed boot camp, the Coast Guard Recruit Training Alumni is looking to change this. In this special episode we tr...
May 24, 2020•41 min
As we continue to celebrate the centennial of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers we talk with Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Jim Rambus (Ret.) who tells of the dangers of logistic runs to the shoals and reefs of the Great Lakes where manned lighthouses once stood, including a lesson in confidence for a new coxswain after swamping a 40 footer during a personnel transfer and the near loss of a crew when their boat’s engines died in icy waters, the dangers of lightship duty during hurricanes and heavy...
May 21, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Chief Health Services Technician Adam Cravey (Ret.) talks a Coast Guard Medal case that demanded he deploy into a raging sea as a boat swimmer in an effort to save the crew of a burning tug and barge, serving as an independent duty corpsman aboard a Coast Guard cutter, treating the most common complaints of patients visiting an underway sick bay, and coordinating the medical evacuations of severely sick and injured crew members at sea.
May 14, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 66
Retired Senior Chief Boatswains Mate Jon Ostrowski talks deploying for Operation Iraqi Freedom with a Reserve Port Security Unit, the centennial of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers, the unique role of Chiefs in the service, leading the Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA) at the national level, the volunteer work of the CPOA’s local chapters during recent crises including the federal government shutdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, and his dramatic introduction to Coast Guard operations aboard ...
May 02, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 65
Part II. Former Lieutenant Peter Eident talks surviving the capsizing and sinking of the USCGC Cuyahoga during a nighttime training cruise on the Chesapeake Bay and the legal and emotional aftermath stemming from the loss of eleven of her crew. Learn more in Peter’s book “Bearing Drift”, available now at http://bearingdrift.petereident.com
Apr 30, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 64
Part I of II. Former Lieutenant Peter Eident talks surviving the capsizing and sinking of the USCGC Cuyahoga during a nighttime training cruise on the Chesapeake Bay and the legal and emotional aftermath stemming from the loss of eleven of her crew. Learn more in Peter’s book “Bearing Drift”, available now at http://bearingdrift.petereident.com
Apr 20, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 63
BM1 Dara O’Malley, Surfman 111, tells of a dangerous nighttime escort across the Humbolt Bar, the capsizing and breakup of the involved cabin cruiser, and the efforts to rescue survivors from the surf that followed. He also talks what it takes to maintain boats and train crews to the levels needed for Coast Guard operations, and the responsibility of coxswains and surfmen not only to go out, but to bring their crews and those in peril back to shore.
Apr 11, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 62
