July 28, 1999
Community counts on Coast Guard
Carol South
Herald contributing writer
If you want something done in this town, one organization you can count for some help is the United States Coast Guard. Known locally not just for their cool helicopters and life-saving search and rescue missions, many of the 145 personnel stationed there give countless hours to the community as volunteers.
Even though they live in this community for three or four years before moving on, the list of contributions made by the 'Coasties' and their families is tremendous. Toys for Tots, Special Olympics, the Red Cross, Rotary Club, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Father Fred and Habitat for Humanity all benefit from their dedication. Then there are the coaches who lead the Trojan wrestling and swim teams as well as Little League and TBAYS soccer teams. Volunteer firefighters, Boy Scout and Cub Scout leaders, a local pastor and a youth advisor help round out the Air Station's resume.
"One of the Coast Guard's goals is community involvement and community partnership," said Commander Tom Ostebo, who assumed command of the Traverse City Air Station on July 15. "Literally not a day goes by when I don't get a call from somebody saying petty officer so-and-so did such a great job on this. We really have no base here, the base is the community around us."
The National Cherry Festival also benefits greatly from their presence. The Air Station hosts all military acts, including the much-loved Blue Angels. During the Festival, personnel also provide escorts for the Cherry Queen's coronation, put on the pancake breakfast, host the Queen's Luncheon and provide the color guard.
"Their contribution is very significant, they are an invaluable resource to us," said Tom Kern, executive director of the National Cherry Festival. "There is no way we could do the Blue Angels without them, their people put in hundreds of hours to assist them."
One of two Air Stations on the Great Lakes, the Traverse City Air Station is charged with search and rescue missions on all of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and northern Lake Huron. Since it was commissioned in 1946, thousands of personnel have been stationed here and it is one of the top requested postings in the country. In addition, officers and enlisted personnel return after retirement to live in the region.
Unlike a military base in one of the other services, which tend to be large and nearly self-contained, Air Station personnel live, shop, go to school and play in the community just like any other resident. This makes them more a part of the community by default.
"Some 19-year-old kid gets off the airplane has to live in this community just like everyone else," Ostebo noted. "We rely heavily on the community and need the community for work and living. If one of our people get sick, we to need doctors here like everyone else."
The tradition of involvement can start with one family, as it did in the 10-year history of volunteering with the Special Olympics. At least a dozen volunteers from the Air Station help with winter and summer games each year and also serve as chaperones to the State games.
"They got started with us because one athlete's father was in the Coast Guard," said Sheila Blonstein of Elmwood Township, area director for the Special Olympics. "His father was here for two stays at the station and started their involvement with us. Now I contact them and tell them what we are doing and they get the volunteers."
For a Traverse City native like city resident Jason Allen, the Air Station and its personnel were part of everyday life growing up. As a Cub Scout, he and his troop toured the Air Station in the early 1970s and he vividly remembers sitting in the old helicopters. Later in Boy Scouts, he was friends with two brothers whose father was in the Coast Guard.
"Their father taught us wilderness survival so we got our badge," Allen recalled. "Later both brothers went on to be Eagle Scouts and later to the Coast Guard Academy. In the community, the Coast Guard has always been good stewards."