Reservist

ISS1 2017

Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Quarterly 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/780957

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To the Editor: I want to congratulate the editor and staff of the RESERVIST for their continued efforts to produce one of the finest publications of its genre. It is always interesting and always informative. I found the feature article in Volume LXIII, Issue 4, 2016, on "Native Americans and Their Service in the United States Coast Guard" truly interesting and informative regarding the contributions this segment of society has made to the Guard and this country. However, I do have to point out what I consider to be a serious error contained in this article. I know not whether it is a transcription, scrivener's error, typographical error or lastly, an error contained in the historian's notes and records. The error I refer to is the misspelling of Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Wicks name. Upon returning home from my deployment to Viet Nam on the USCGC ANDROSCOGGIN WHEC-68, I was granted a mutual exchange of station to the USCGC MENDOTA WHEC-69, home ported in Wilmington, N.C., and deployed on her for a return tour of Viet Nam. Our XO was indeed the person mentioned in the article, but his name is Wicks, not Hicks. Please note this error and correction in a future publication of the R ESERVIST . Should you choose to, I have included the photograph of Lt. Cmdr. J.J. Wicks from my USCGC MENDOTA Cruise Book commemorating our Viet Nam deployment and his hometown is listed as Cannon Ball, N.D. Respectfully submitted, Lt. David R. White, USCGR (ret) e ditor: Sir, thank you for email and for correcting the record. Here is the reply we received from the author, Mr. William Thiesen to whom we forwarded your email. Good morning Sirs: I wanted to address message this to both of you along with my hearty thanks. I want to thank Mr. White for his kind words and pointing out the error in Lt. Cmdr. Wicks' surname. Mr. White is indeed correct and I'm not sure how the first letter of the surname changed from "W" to "H". I guess spelling and typing errors continue in this era of computers, word processing and spellchecking. I will make the correction in my original article and ask that Mr. Smith address the issue in the RESERVIST magazine. I also wanted to know if Mr. White could forward a copy of the image he attached to his previous email. I would be very happy to receive that for any future articles I write on Native American Coast Guard personnel. My thanks again to you both. I greatly appreciate your interest in Coast Guard history and great feedback. All the best, William H. Thiesen, Atlantic Area Historian To The Editor: I enjoy reading the RESERVIST and appreciate the time and effort that go into producing each issue. On the back cover of the latest issue (Issue 4, 2016) there is a photo of what appears to be a 30 foot fire boat, the likes of which I have never seen, even after over 36 years of service with the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve. Can you furnish more details about this? Many thanks and keep up the good work. GMC Jory D. Luchsinger, USCGR (ret.) e ditor: Chief, Thanks for your email. We found the photo in the CG Historians archives. Unfortunately, the platform was not specifically identified. To The Editor: The RESERVIST is definitely one of the better publications around and does a terrific job covering the doings and accomplishments of our Coast Guard Reserve community. One question pops up when I read of members getting awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. In the pages of this publication, I see it referred to as the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal. For example, Volume LXIII, Issue 4, 2016 on page 56 shows Rear Adm. Pelkowski receiving the "Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal" while on page 62 the Awards section lists three MCPOs who received the same award. A quick check of COMDTINST M1650.25E on page 2-9 shows the Meritorious Service Medal, not the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal. Unlike the Coast Guard Achievement Medal and Coast Guard Commendation Medal which are specific to the Coast Guard and so named (and designed slightly different with the Coast Guard medal and ribbons having a white stripe in the middle) to differentiate them from equivalent U.S. Navy personal awards. There is no Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, only a Meritorious Service Medal all members of the Armed Forces of the United States are eligible to receive. Regardless of what branch of the service – Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard – there is only a Meritorious Service Medal. Very Respectfully, Capt. David L. Teska, USCGR (ret.) e ditor: Capt., Thank you for your email. you are correct, the Meritorious Service Medal and ribbon are identical across all the services. However, it is awarded by each individual branch, utilizing their own criteria. For this reason, in stories and photo cutlines, we identify the issuing branch for clarity. To The Editor: Wow was I surprised to see my face in the most recent edition of the RESERVIST (Volume LXIII, Issue 4, 2016)! I knew PA3 Jordan Akiyama was working on the article, but he never told me for what. I noticed that his byline was not there. Is there a way for you to add it or to print a correction in the next edition? I would like to see his hard work recognized. Thanks again for all that you continue to do to support the CGR. Very Respectfully, YNCM Nancy Seely, USCGR, (ret.) e ditor: Done and done, with apologies to PA3 Akiyama for the oversight. 4 RESERVIST � Issue 1 • 2017

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