Refuge Manager
Waives Environmental Flag While Supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom
I’d always known that as a Reservist,
if my country called, I’d be ready.
As a member of the United States Coast Guard Reserve for
more than 16 years, I had been trained in all sorts of Coast Guard missions;
search and rescue, boat operations, oil spill and pollution control,
drug interdiction. From Kodiak, Alaska to Puerto Rico, this part time
job was rewarding and involved me in something different one weekend
a month and two weeks a year.
I knew the missions and my responsibilities. Emergency
call-outs were a rarity and only twice had I been so conscripted; once,
for a week during a flood, and once, for three days to search for a
lost tanker. September 11, 2001 changed all that forever.
My Coast Guard career has always complimented my career as a National
Park Service ranger and later as a ranger/manager for the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. In fact, the only reason I joined the Coast Guard
Reserves was to get the boat skills I needed to land a ranger job out
West.
I had obtained my first permanent position with the National
Park Service at Boston National Historical Park after three years as
a seasonal ranger at Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. In Boston,
as with many other urban parks, skilled seasonal rangers often come
east to receive their permanent status and then work towards getting
back out West or other natural national parks.
I knew that as I competed with many other rangers, skills
were the ticket to good jobs in the large parks. Anything I could do
to increase my chances. The Coast Guard offered me that opportunity.
Two years later I found myself as a ranger in the Temple Bar District
of Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Arizona/Nevada, patrolling
over 640,000 acres by boat and four wheel drive.
As the years went by, I realized that the Coast Guard
had become much more than a means to an end. It had become a second
career, each complementing the other. In Alaska working with the Coast
Guard on oil spills had a direct relationship with my work at Kodiak
National Wildlife Refuge. In Illinois, teaching an environmental ethic
to children with the Coast Guard’s Sea Partners Program taught
me many skills I use in educating visitors to our National Wildlife
Refuges. The added incentives of a 20-year retirement, tuition assistance
for my children, and the use of military bases worldwide made this service
to my country an easy choice.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001 had a huge impact on the
United States Coast Guard and those men and women who serve. On Sept.
17 I was placed on Presidential callout of the Coast Guard and put on
a plane to New Orleans, Louisiana, where I spent the next month ensuring
the safety of the navigation channel which led to the Mississippi River.
Everything was changing. The Coast Guard’s role as the first line
of defense in protecting our shores was serious business and the potential
for attack very real. As a Port Securityman, my job was to protect our
ports, harbors and shipping against attack. Several years before 9/11,
the Coast Guard had decided that the Port Securityman rate which I was
assigned was not a high priority and reduced our force by half. Since
9/11 we’re almost back up to our prior numbers.
During the following months, the Coast Guard scrambled
to bring her law enforcement mission to a greater number of individuals
and stations. Training teams were sent nationwide to instruct personnel
on weapons, hand to hand fighting techniques, and the basics of coastal
warfare. From my position as assistant manager of Crab Orchard National
Wildlife Refuge in Southern Illinois, I traveled south to Marine Safety
Office, Paducah, Kentucky, to receive training and assignment.
As the nation headed toward war with Iraq, I received
a promotion to refuge manager and subsequent transfer to Prime Hook
National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. My Coast Guard career would now
be up to a detailer in Washington, D.C. I filled out the required transfer
sheet (or dream sheet as they refer to it) requesting an assignment
to Indian River Station, Delaware, ten miles from my new refuge and
prepared to move from Illinois to Delaware.
Shortly after my arrival in Delaware I was informed that
my new unit was 260 miles away at Fort Eustis Army Base in Virginia.
The sprawling home of the Army’s transportation command was also
home to the Coast Guard’s Port Security Unit 305, one of six,
all Reserve, specialized units designed to deploy overseas as a force
asset protecting Navy ships in foreign ports. I’d heard of Port
Security Units and knew that this particular outfit had just arrived
back in the United States after spending six months in Cuba guarding
the Taliban prisoners at Camp X-ray on the Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay,
and two months protecting New York Harbor after the attacks on the World
Trade Center. I was to report to Port Security Units 305 for their November
drill.
The news at 305 was not encouraging. We’re at war
and you can expect to be deployed at a moments notice, the Commanding
Officer said. I was issued camouflage gear for the desert, biological
and chemical weapons protection and three other bags chocked full of
military equipment. It all pointed to a long time away from home. The
flak jacket, weapons training, helmet and gas mask let me know in no
uncertain terms that this was not the Coast Guard I knew.
Knowing I could be called away any day weighed heavy on
my mind. My family was in a new home with boxes piled to the ceiling.
They knew no one in the community, and my wife had never managed the
family finances. Home repair, cars, kids, schools, bills -- it was hard
enough with the two of us around, and now it looked like Shawn-Ann would
have to go it alone.
What made matters worse was the Federal Government’s
pay policy towards Reservists called to active duty. Unlike many large
companies, state and local governments, who make up the difference in
pay, the Federal Government only pays military leave for 15 days a year,
or three weeks wages. After that you were basically on your own to survive
on your military salary. I knew the monetary difference between my civilian
federal job and my military job would not cover much beyond food and
shelter. Thousands of reservists suffer greatly under this inequity.
Health benefits, retirement plans and loans are all affected by military
service beyond 30 days.
At work, I was a new refuge manager. It was all I could
do to get my bearing and understand the complexities of a large national
wildlife refuge. What would my staff think of my leaving? Would the
community understand? At least I knew my job would be there for me when
I returned, protected under the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act of 1940.
On Feb. 1, 2003 the call came in. There was no time left
for questions. The country was at war and I was leaving. he orders were
without question. “You are to report to Port Security Unit 305
within 24 hours for immediate deployment.” No who, what, where
-- only a when.
I checked into the hotel at Ft. Eustis, and doubled checked my gear.
The list they gave me was nearly two pages long and amazingly it fit
into two flight bags. Most of the items were the issued gear with a
few personal items thrown in. Wherever we were going, I knew the creature
comforts of home were being left at home.
The bus pulled into Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
at 8.30 pm., Feb. 3, 2003. One hundred and nineteen souls headed to
destination unknown. Some were talking Turkey (no pun intended), some
Egypt, some Spain, and some Greece, the guesses based on the fact that
we were in our green camouflage and not our desert issue. We loaded
into a chartered 747 and taxied onto the runway.
“You’re probably wondering
where we’re going,” our Commanding Officer began as we leveled
off at a cruising altitude. “U.S. Naval Station Rota, Spain…that’s
our initial destination. From there we await orders to either protect
that port, or move east into theater (military lingo for where the action
is). We won’t know until the order is given so don’t ask.
When I know, you’ll know. Get some sleep, it’s a long flight.”
The sun was shining brightly as we departed the plane and onto the tarmac
at Naval Air Station Rota Spain or NAVSTA as it is known to the American
servicemen stationed there. Not many of us had slept on the overnight
flight and leaving Virginia in winter and arriving on the southern coast
of Spain in 70 degree sunshine seemed a bit surreal. Sleep was still
some 12 hours away. We gathered our gear and headed over to an abandoned
laundry building, which we were told would be our home until further
notice. It could have been worse, but not much. There were over 110
people and two toilets, spiders everywhere and dust. I kept thinking
to myself, you could be in the desert, just be quiet. By 11 p.m. we
had it set up and sleep came quickly, even on an army cot.
NAVSTA Rota was home to the American Naval Command in
Spain. It was not an American base; we were just a tenant allowed to
operate on this very large Spanish military installation. The base also
housed several U.S. Air Force units, a Marine Corps security unit and
the Naval Air Station. The Spanish maintained a large contingent of
ships and support functions here along with an air station and maintenance
facility. When you combined the two operations NAVSTA was a big place.
More than 10,000 acres and some 20,000 people.
If I told you I was roughing it -- based on my sleeping
arraignments -- that would not be quite true. For a biologist and lover
of the great outdoors, Rota was a paradise. Woods, coastline, lagoons
and wildlife everywhere. While I couldn’t convince any of my shipmates
to explore with me, I began to venture out a bit further onto the base
each day after work. Work…now that’s something to talk about.
It seems as though the Spanish government didn’t
really want us here protecting their port. They could do that just fine
themselves, thank you very much. They would not allow us to off load
our weapons, equip our boats, or otherwise do the job we had trained
to do. Our “job” was to await further orders while the politicians
discussed access to Turkey. Nobody in the command was happy about it,
but it was beyond their control. So we waited. We had a training regime
until noon each day. After that, some worked out, some hid, some got
tattoos, some read, some drank, and I got lost in the woods.
By week two I had walked the entire base, and discovered
over 60 species of bird, reptile, and mammal. There were insects of
all type and shape here and even a few waterfowl to keep me guessing.
I was making lists and sharing them with anyone who would listen.
One thing that consistently bothered me was the trash
on base. It was everywhere. In the storm drains throughout the base,
in the ponds, ditches, parking lots, everywhere. The Spanish smoke a
lot and the cigarette butt is alive and well in Rota Spain. One day
I was so disgusted with it all that I walked over to the base public
affairs office. A sign on the door said back in ten minutes so I sat
down and waited. A pile of the base’s weekly newsletter, The Coastline,
sat on the table in front of me. Then it hit me. If granted permission,
I would write a story about NAVSTA Rota’s wildlife and address
the litter problem at the same time in the base newsletter.
Chief Hansen was pleased to have me write an article.
“Hey, the more you write, the less we have to,” he said
with a grin. “You mean I could write more than an article,”
I asked. “Sure, what would you like to do?” “How about
one on birds? How about one on insects? Heck, I don’t know how
long I’ll be here, how about a weekly column.” A handshake
sealed the deal.
I was like a man possessed. Here was an opportunity to
play environmentalist and reservist at the same time. I decided to write
under the name Nature Boy and was given a half page space in The Coastline.
The articles started out with the fun stuff, hiking, birds, bugs, and
reptiles and seemed to be popular with the base population. I was receiving
15 to 20 e-mails a week from readers who either wanted more information
on a subject or just wanted to say thanks for the articles. From there,
I started addressing the problems of trash, water quality, air quality,
and even created the fictional character “Buttman,” complete
with a cartoon character and posters, to describe in comic detail the
impact the cigarette butt has on wildlife and the world.
As the weeks turned into months, Nature Boy became a regular
gig for me. I was now giving the Coast Guard’s “Sea Partner”
presentation on marine environmental conservation to children at the
base’s two schools three times a week, presenting programs and
assisting scout groups with merit badge projects two and three nights
a week, in addition to my weekly article. I had even taped seven 30-second
Nature Boy spots on the base radio station, with a Tarzan yell and jungle
sounds created by the public affairs staff.
As Earth Day approached on April 20, I decided to put
all my activism to the test and see if folks really understood what
I was talking about. I received permission to organize a base-wide clean-up
and recycling event that would require the participation of almost every
command on base. It took five weeks of begging, borrowing, and compromise
but when Earth Day arrived more than 200 volunteers joined together
and collected over 14 tons of trash throughout the base. Even the base
commander showed up with his kids to help. The event was a big success.
It was amusing that I could not walk anywhere on base
without someone recognizing me and saying “Hey, aren’t you
Nature Boy?
In the midst of all this, America was a war with Iraq.
By May the war was winding down. America had faced little
resistance and had taken Baghdad in short order. It was pretty clear
to us that the possibility of our heading into the conflict was getting
smaller and smaller as the days went by. Turkey had refused us any access
through their country and many troops were actually rotating home. It
would not be long before we were heading home as well. I was ready.
It had been more than four months since we left Virginia. At home life
seemed to go on without me. The wife and kids were doing O.K. and had
survived the hardships of a bout with pneumonia, school registration,
and financial difficulties. The staff at Prime Hook National Wildlife
Refuge celebrated the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge
System with an event that brought 2,000 visitors and they too seemed
to be doing fine. I was looking forward to resuming a non-military life.
I wish it were that easy.
On May 7 we boarded the plane and flew back to Langley
Air Force Base in Maryland, where we were met by hundreds of happy families,
supporters and the press. It was good to be back in America. But I wasn’t
home yet.
During the conflict I had been selected for an officer’s
commission and would be headed directly to the U. S. Coast Guard Academy
in New London, Connecticut. I was to report there three days after being
released from Port Security Unit 305. Three days. I drove home to Delaware
said hi to the family and left again.
My experience at the Coast Guard Academy was…that’s
another story. Let’s just say that after weeks of push-ups, screaming
and fear, I survived and am officially the oldest Ensign in the U. S.
Coast Guard.
From the Academy I was to report to my new unit, Maritime
Safety and Security Team 91102, or MSST as they are referred, one of
seven highly specialized Coast Guard units assembled in the wake of
9/11 to protect our coasts from terrorist threat. I was to report to
the unit, based on the Virginia/North Carolina border in three days.
Three days. Here we go again.
To function within the MSST, I was required to attend
the five-week law enforcement boarding officer school in Yorktown, Virginia.
I was to report in ten days.
I graduated from the school at Yorktown on August 14
and was released from active duty. It had been almost seven months since
I left the civilian world. The war was officially over and I had done
my part.
There were many heroes in this war, soldiers and sailors
who gave their lives, serving their country. They will never be forgotten.
In my experience, I had my heroes too. You may not ever hear about them,
but they also have a place in my heart: the guy who cut my lawn every
other week just because; the staff of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge
who sent me jellybeans and who’s encouragement gave me something
to look forward to; a wife who handled a three-year old and a five-year
old alone in new surroundings, never complaining, and my Fish and Wildlife
family who sent me letters and e-mails of encouragement and friendship.
These are my heroes and I can never thank them enough.
Proud to have served and happy to be home.
Jonathan Schafler, the manager of Prime Hook National
Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. can be reached at 302-684-8419.
Supporting Our Troops
Secretary Norton adds her signature to hundreds of
others on a Support Our Troops banner at the Main Interior Building.
Four of these banners along with 14 boxes of donated items for members
of the 101st Airborne and the Tenth Mountain Division were delivered
to the units’ home bases in Kentucky and New York, respectively.
The Department adopted the two units in .....as part of a Support Our
Troops Campaign……..Donated items included long distance
phone cards to help the soldiers stay in touch with their family and
friends; disposable cameras; personal hygiene products; sports drink
powders; and some food items. Secretary Norton has named co-chairmen
for the Support our Troops Campaign who are planning additional activities.
Remembering the Heroes
of Flight 93
At left, Secretary Norton stands with Jerry S.
Guadagno, center, and his wife Bea, at right, on September 11, 2003,
at the temporary memorial to their son Rich Guadagno and 39 others who
perished aboard United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They
were killed Sept. 11, 2001 when the Boeing 757 in which they were passengers
slammed into this former strip mine in the western part of the state
after a number of passengers fought the terrorists to regain control
of the aircraft. Norton swore in a 15-member commission that includes
Jerry Guadagno, charged with recommending a permanent memorial to Flight
93 on the crash site. Rich Guadagno was a refuge manager with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
Above, Secretary Norton places a music CD and letter at a wooden angel
in memory of Fish and Wildlife Service employee Rich Guadagno during
a visit to the temporary memorial. 
At right, Secretary Norton, third from right, helps hold a giant Flight
93 flag during a moment of silence on Sept. 11, 2003, in memory of the
those killed aboard United Flight 93 two years ago. Second from right
is Terry Butler of Somerset, Pa., who witnessed the crash. Associated
Press photos by Gene J. Puskar.
Employees Reach Out to U.S. Forces In Operation
Iraqi Freedom
Co-Chairs of Support Our Troops Program Outline Plans
Text and image to come; other image is Choney from BIA Indian gaming
article]
Minerals Management Service
Has Adopt a Soldier Campaign
The Minerals Management Service continues to support the
war effort at home with its Adopt a Soldier campaign. The agency’s
Gulf of Mexico regional office in New Orleans, through its employee
association, has taken the lead in this campaign and has adopted several
soldiers serving in the Middle East. The employee association also is
conducting fundraisers through the sale of “Support our troops”
pins and flags.
The money raised is used to purchase items for care packages that are
sent to the soldiers. Volunteers have also been making yellow bows with
U.S flags on them and selling them during lunch. Additionally, the regional
office is highlighting one soldier monthly in its employee newsletter,
Alligator.
Each soldier received a care package with food and toiletry items as
well as decks of cards, Frisbees, calling cards, and sun screen. One
item of great popularity amongst the troops is toilet paper.
“Sixteen care packages (about the size of a copy paper box) were
sent three weeks ago,” said Tricia O’Connor of the Adopt-a-Soldier
committee in the Gulf. “Response has been excellent. We’re
also thinking about a shipment solely of calling cards, another popular
item with the troops.”
MMS director Johnnie Burton, in a statement to agency employees honoring
those who died in the Sept 11, 2001 terrorists’ attacks, lauded
the efforts of all who hold the troops close to their hearts while the
war against terrorism continues. “Many of those in our MMS family
have children and other loved ones serving our country in the armed
forces,” she said. “I know we all take pride in their
commitment and sacrifices and I encourage everyone to continue supporting
our troops.”
BLM Mom Supports Troops
in a Very Personal Way
By Randall Henry, Editor, BLM Arizona State Office
The BLM Arizona State Office has an employee that truly
felt devotion and devastation during this time of peril for our nation.
Susie Cruz, an information receptionist with the BLM Arizona State Office,
simultaneously had her daughter Valerie, and son-in-law both deployed
with the U.S. Army to defend our country overseas in Iraq.
“The term war can be used in a variety if meanings,
but when it affects your own family it really hits home,” said
Cruz. “I knew the war would affect my family after September 11,
2001, and at that moment of hearing the World Trade Center was being
attacked I felt our nation would go to war.”
During this time, Cruz gained her grandson for the entire duration that
Valerie and her son-in-law were in Iraq. Her grandson named Michael
was born in July 2002, and six months later, in January 2003, his mother
and father were deployed.
“The transition for my grandson was quite difficult, for being
only five months old, he really saw me as the only parent figure for
quite a while,” said Cruz. “Trying to cope with the absence
of his parents, and dealing with the stress from me was tough on both
of us.”
Even with the hardship of her family members at
war, Cruz understands the sacrifice it takes to keep our nation fighting
for freedom for all.
“Although Valerie and my son-in-law are home now, they’re
still awaiting friends and comrades that are coming home soon from fighting
for our freedom,” said Cruz. “Our brave young men and women,
who have put their lives on hold to serve our nation are great, and
they’re serving under the most stressful conditions imaginable.
We continue to pray for the safe and fast arrival of every member of
the U.S. Armed Forces back from Iraq.”
FWS South Florida Field
Office Thanks Marine Deployed to Iraq
Jay Slack, field supervisor of the FWS South Florida Field
Office in Vero Beach, at left, introduces Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Aaron
Klipstine to the field office staff following his return from Iraq.
Klipstine, of Sebastian, Fla., received regular "support"
packages from the staff of the Vero Beach office while he was deployed.
"We didn't know what we could do to show our collective support
for what this young man and so many others like him were doing in that
far-off land," said Slack. "Our office put together four packages
that included a variety of personal items from gum and chips to tissues
and a camera." Klipstine said he received more then he could handle
and was happy to share his packages with his fellow Marines. He was
one of two local Marines "adopted" by the field office. The
other Marine received similar "support" packages. Klipstine
has less then a year to go in the Marine Corps and is interested in
a career in environmental law enforcement.
|