People, organizations, businesses, nations, services are shaped by their history. We inherit current reality, to a large extent, from the people, events, and circumstances that precede us. Yet, organizations often neglect their newest members' basic education of their own history, leaving many to wonder, "why do we do this," or "where did this idea come from?"We felt it very fitting, therefore, to combine our lesson concerning "Coast Guard Customs, Courtesies, and Traditions" with an immediate follow-on discussion of "Coast Guard History" in our "Basic Introduction to the Coast Guard" course. Traditions and history go hand in hand, so this instructional marriage makes good sense.
I'm eager to hear your Coast Guard History stories of people and events that have shaped the service (and your perception of it). Please share!
Image credit: Ryan Erickson and Sean Lawler, both USCG, produce and publish some fine Coast Guard inspired desktop wallpaper. This one, depicting the famous actions of Douglas Munro at Guadalcanal in 1942, is one of my favorites. View Ryan's full post here.
We began with the origins of the Revenue Cutter Service, the organization that preceded the modern Coast Guard. Discussion immediately focused on the intent of Alexander Hamilton (known as "The Father of the Coast Guard") who wrote of the service's early officers:
"They shall endeavor to overcome difficulties, if any are experienced, by a cool and temperate perseverance in their duty - by address and moderation, rather than by vehemence or violence."This letter is useful because it really speaks to the core of what the Coast Guard, and later the Coast Guard Auxiliary, was to become: a life saving service, devoted temperate perseverance in our duties and executing many of our missions in the very midst of the citizens that we serve. It is this service character that makes the Coast Guard so unique throughout history, and it is rooted in the days of our founding.
But the Coast Guard endured other defining moments, the founding of the Auxiliary in 1939 (then called the "Coast Guard Reserve") being chief among the interests of our class. There were, along the way, heroes and "characters" that guided the service to the current moment. Douglas Munro, famously immortalized as the Coast Guard's lone Medal of Honor recipient; Joshua James, the man who (I assert) foreshadowed the Auxiliary's tradition of long-time service when he served with the Life Saving service from the age of 15 to the age of 74 (when he died on duty); or Michael Healy and Ida Lewis, both forebears of the proud service given by groups that were not always welcome to serve -- all have left their mark.
An introductory lesson such as this affords little time for depth or detail, but we finished up with a discussion of the "tradition of accountability" and reflection on how our history has shaped our core values. Speaking of accountability, several of our students highlighted great points (showing just how much they have gotten out of BIC thus far); central among these was the theme of leadership, how so many active duty, reserve, auxiliary, and civilian personnel are charged with leadership of a unit, program, small boat, aircraft, or any number of other groups or assets, how with the privilege of leadership also comes accountability for the mission's success.
Indeed, it was a great class, and quite inspiring to see just how far we have come in just a few short weeks.
As always, the Basic Introduction to the Coast Guard (BIC) material is available online at http://link.cgauxnet.us/bic. Read this previous post for more background on the course or to learn how we got it underway. Feel free to use the material yourself, and of course please leave comments as to how we might improve BIC for future students. Thanks for reading, and thank you for your service!