Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Bi-monthly issues include news and feature articles about the men and women who comprise America's premier national maritime safety and security
Issue link: https://uscgreservist.epubxp.com/i/140140
Carting For a Cause goes coast to coast Submitted by Petty Ofcer 1st Class Brian S. Huth, 9th District Public Afairs P eople make sacrifices all the time. Whether it's sacrificing some free time to finish a project at work or sacrificing dining out to save up for a house, everyone has done it. Sacrifice. Defined, it states, "destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else." Everyone makes sacrifices. Parents sacrifice their future for a better life for their kids. Football players sacrifice their bodies for glory and riches. Military veterans are willing to sacrifice their body, mind, soul and life for their country. The sacrifices veterans make have always touched the heart of Chief Petty Officer Ray Rehberg, an electrician's mate and a veteran himself of 19 years and an instructor at EM "A" school at the Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va. His journey to tell the stories of these veterans and the sacrifices they have made, took Rehberg 4,000 miles through 13 states in 28 days – on a golf cart. Planting the seed The idea began a year ago in a classroom when Rehberg was instructing his students on the theories of batteries and how long they could run a golf cart. "I shared my idea with some fellow shipmates and told them, 'hey, no one's ever driven a golf cart across America,'" Rehberg recalled. "Someone said that if we are going to do this, let's do it 18 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2013 for a good cause, and raising funds for the Wounded Warrior Project was quickly brought up," he said. "Throughout my career, I've met lots of veterans and always wanted to get their story out and talk to the public to let them know about these veterans and the sacrifices they've made. So basically, the golf cart idea was born in the classroom, and getting the veterans' story out was almost 20 years in the making." The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to "honor and empower wounded warriors" of the U.S. Armed Forces with a vision to "foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded servicemembers in our nation's history." The WWP works to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to help severely injured servicemembers aid and assist each other, and to provide programs and services to meet their needs. The idea was the easy part, according to Rehberg. Putting it in motion was another story. "First, I had to get permission from my command, as well as headquarters officials," he said. "They were all for it, but made it clear that anyone involved had to do it on their own time." After that hurdle was cleared, Rehberg needed sponsors to fund the event. It was suggested that he reach out to one of the Coast Guard associations for support.