Coast Guard's Golden Ancient Mariner Retires Helm, Heads To Shore After 40-Years
Story and Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mariana O'Leary

The young Coast Guard petty officer stood facing the ship's brow at rigid attention, a boatswain's pipe held at the ready.  As he waited in the cool, Seattle morning air, the look of concentration on his face perhaps masked a little nervousness.  Behind him, the large crowd gathered on the flight deck of the brilliant red ship came to their feet, fresh-faced sailors in pressed uniforms and mothers holding their babies peering around retired admirals to catch a better view.  As the waiting petty officer offered his sharp salute, piping his captain to shore for the last time, an elderly man's curved back suddenly straightened, his eyes riveted and his cane forgotten by his side as he watched the newly retired Capt. Richard A. "Mac" McCullough leave forty years of Coast Guard service behind, saluting all the way to the end of the brow.

From Seaman Recruit to Captain "Mac", 40-Years of Faithful Service Capt. Richard A. "Mac" McCullough is assisted by Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth D. Stuber and Master Chief Petty Officer Matthew R. Livezey in passing the distinction of the Coast Guard Golden Ancient Mariner to Capt. Michael A. Jett, in a ceremony held aboard the CGC Polar Star, June 10, 2006. During the ceremony, which encompassed the Polar Star's change of command to Stuber, McCullough retired from active duty after 40 years of Coast Guard service and 18 years of accumulated sea time., McCullough has held the title of the Coast Guard's 11th Golden Ancient Mariner since June 27, 2003. U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer Mariana O'Leary.

McCullough, or Captain Mac, as he has been fondly called by friends and crews alike, retired June 10 aboard the CGC Polar Star. Exactly 40 years earlier McCullough had enlisted in the Coast Guard as a seaman recruit and began to build the foundation to a highly respected career.

As the commanding officer of the CGC Polar Star, his fourth consecutive command, he has fulfilled a dream that began in 1981 when he reported aboard the Polar Class icebreaker as a lieutenant junior grade, his first assignment after Officer Indoctrination School.

"I kept that dream mostly to myself back then," said McCullough. "I reported aboard as the assistant engineer officer and decided I would command this ship someday, but I didn't want to tell anyone because it presumed quite a few promotions and lots of other stuff so I didn't share that goal for a long time, but here I am.

With 18 years, one month and 12 days of sea time, McCullough retired with the distinction of the Coast Guard's 11^th Golden Ancient Mariner, an honor bestowed upon the officer with the earliest date of entitlement to a permanent cutterman's pin, with a minimum of ten years sea service.  McCullough has held the title since June 27, 2003.

"Being the Golden Ancient Mariner has given me the opportunity to not only attend the launching of ship's and retirement ceremonies and chief's initiations, it done something more important," said McCullough.  "It's given me the chance to educate people in the Coast Guard on what the Golden Ancient Mariner is all about, and to maybe give some youngsters a little advice on their careers and show them what they can accomplish."

On Oct. 1, 1978, McCullough was awarded the permanent cutterman's pin aboard CGC Buttonwood.  "I wanted to be at sea because of the people," said McCullough, "that's what kept me going back time and again to ships.  When I began to command ships I would tell the youngsters in my crew that they could go as far in the U.S. Coast Guard as their ambition will carry them.  If you want it bad enough, you can do it," said McCullough. 

McCullough believes so strongly in encouraging the junior enlisted in his crew, he created a shipmate pin award to recognize the little things people do for each other at sea.  "It doesn't have to be about saving someone's life," said McCullough.  "I created the shipmate award to recognize the crewmembers that help other people out in small ways, who go beyond what they're expected to."

"I've been everything from messcook to captain on a ship, so I understand what people go though," said McCullough. "There's something special about the term shipmate, and it's a whole lot more than just someone you've served on the same ship with.  It's someone who is going to look out for you; it's about being there for each other.  That's what I'm going to miss the most," said McCullough.  "We're a small service, we're a family, and we're shipmates."

McCullough, who plans to retire in Menominee, Wis., seems to be looking forward to the change of pace.  "Leaving this service is definitely bittersweet," he said.  "I feel like I'm leaving my family, but I just kind of fell in love with the towns of Menominee and Marinette and actually the whole area, so in a way I kind of feel like I'm going home too." 

While Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard's Project Residence Office in Marinette, Wis., McCullough was an active volunteer within the surrounding community.  He was an active volunteer with the chamber of commerce, as well as the Salvation Army and the YMCA. "It's a wonderful area," said McCullough.  "I was so integrated into the community there that I hated to leave so I'm very happy to be coming back."

McCullough's subsequent assignments as an officer include: USCGC Dependable, Panama City, Fla., USCG Group Key West, Fla., USCGC Salvia, USCGC Sweetgum, Naval Engineering Support Unit, Honolulu and Chief, Vessel Support Branch, USCG Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, USCGC Polar Sea, USCGC Decisive, and Project Residence Office, Marinette, Wis.

Coast Guard E-Learning: promoting professional and personal transformation

By Coast Guard Sector San Diego Public Affairs                               

Working eight hours a day, five days a week would be a luxury for most Coast Guard employees. For example, Sector San Diego's YN2 Stephanie Henderson attests to the long hours worked by Coast Guard personnel. "My day starts at 5:00 a.m., I'm at work by 6:45 a.m., and I don't get off sometimes until the following day," Henderson said.

The Coast Guard's workload is demanding, it requires its personnel to demonstrate the dedication shown by Henderson in order to successfully accomplish its mission. Yet dedication alone won't prepare the Coast Guard for the future. Training and education play a critical role in arming Coast Guard personnel with the professional and personal knowledge to succeed in the challenges placed before it today and tomorrow, as well as in their careers and personal life. Until recently, the question that Coast Guard commanders and personnel faced was not whether training was important, but rather, "when can we fit it in?"

In order to answer the question, the Coast Guard adopted E-Learning, the latest component of the Distributed Learning System. Coast Guard E-Learning offers every active, reserve, auxiliary and civilian member of the Coast Guard free access to more than over 2,000 commercial web-based information technology, business, leadership and personal development courses from anywhere with an internet connection.

The Coast Guard wants to invest in continuing its employees' professional development, and by providing online courses, Coast Guard personnel can continue their education and training from their current location within their existing schedule.

"Coast Guard E-Learning is helping me reach my professional and personal goals," Henderson said. "When I have time, I sit down and take a course through Coast Guard E-Learning. It's very easy. I've learned a lot from Coast Guard E-Learning on topics as diverse as business, information technology, human resources and information assurance."

For more information about Coast Guard e-Learning, visit www.uscg.mil/hq/cgi/links.html on the Web or contact your Educational Services Officer.                                                   

COAST GUARD ISLAND, ALAMEDA, Calif. - A large detachment from Alameda-based Port Security Unit 312 departed June 1, 2006, from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., to start a six-month deployment for Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Four days later, PSU 312 relieved PSU 305, based in Fort Eustis, Va., which has been providing port security and harbor defense in GITMO in support of Operation Enduring Freedom since December 2005.

Coast Guard port security units are deployable units organized for sustained operations. They can deploy within 96 hours and establish operations within 24 hours. They provide waterside protection to key assets such as pier areas and harbor entrances at the termination/origination point of the sea lines of communications.  PSU's may operate in U.S. territorial waters under the direction of a Coast Guard or Maritime Defense Zone (MDZ) command or in foreign waters within the naval coastal warfare command structure.

Each PSU has six fast and maneuverable transportable 25-foot Boston whalers outfitted with two 175 horsepower outboard engines. The PSU has a large suite of weapons. Each unit is outfitted with spare material, trucks and vans, boat trailers, transportable kitchens, tents, and Department of Defense-compatible radios. They maintain an inventory of equipment and spare parts to sustain operations for up to 30 days. Ongoing logistics support provides routine replenishment. All personnel have required individual gear for field operations.

Each PSU is staffed by 140 reservists and six active duty personnel. Personnel prepare for contingency operations during weekend drills and normally participate in either an exercise or specialized training during two weeks of annual active duty.

PSU 312, the Coast Guard's newest port security unit, is assigned to the Pacific Area. When activated, it operates under the

Detachment personnel disembark a Navy "U" boat after crossing over from the Leeward side. Photo by Lt. Larry Siegle.

direction of the Pacific Area commander and Defense Forces West or a Department of Defense combatant commander. 

PSU 312 received its deployment order for GITMO in February. Key members immediately started planning, recalling members, arranging for berthing, and training the members selected for this particular mission.   Even before reporting, the planners spent many hours preparing for this mission, in addition to still working at their civilian jobs.

The first members of PSU 312 arrived at Coast Guard Island April 17, some from as far away as Washington state and Oregon.  Along with the detachment's commanding officer, executive officer, operations officer, and boat crewmen, volunteers for this large component included shore side security and support personnel.

The detachment immediately began preparing for the upcoming mission.  Every day started early with physical fitness.  The first week was spent performing mobilization in-processing, conducting online courses required for entry into the area of operation, and completing paperwork.  The second and third weeks were spent in Coast Guard boat crewman and boat engineering courses.

Along with activities on Coast Guard Island, an advanced party traveled to GITMO and spent five days learning as much as possible about the environment and the mission that the detachment would be expected to perform. With the information gained by the advanced party, and based on environmental conditions in Cuba, the team recommended that the detachment members hold physical fitness training twice daily.

The second group of PSU 312 personnel arrived for training on Coast Guard Island May 15.   These members had to perform the same mobilization in-processing, online courses, and other training quickly to integrate with the main body, but within a very short period of time. The training for everyone shifted to advance waterside tactics and boat seamanship.

"It was very beneficial to go through this mobilization and deployment preparation," said CWO Keith Selthofer, the detachment's operations officer. "We were commissioned less than a year ago, but this preparation provided an opportunity to test and refine the systems and processes the Coast Guard and the PSU put in place to ensure that we could meet the 96-hour recall and deployment requirements."

Detachment members on a unit run during the ramp up phase of the deployment.

PSU 312's 146 members are comprised of 12 officers and 134 enlisted. Members were drawn from 32 units representing the entire continental Pacific coast. The record journey belongs to OS1 Darren Erickson, who traveled 1,207 miles from Fort Collins, Colo., for every drill weekend.  Unit members span the entire continuum of age and experience.  The youngest member is 18 years old and the oldest member is 58 years old.  The average age is 33.

"I'm very glad to be a part of this mission because it's my first deployment and I'm finally getting a chance to do the job that I've been training to do," said Seaman Joshua Pool.

Other port security units around the country are located in Cape Cod, Mass.; Fort Eustis, Va.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Gulfport, Miss.; Port Clinton, Ohio; San Pedro, Calif.; San Francisco; and Tacoma, Wash.

48-Hours Notice
Story and Photos by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mariana O'Leary
High Resolution Images available... here

Take your pick... the end of the earth, the middle of nowhere, the coldest, windiest, driest, emptiest and generally most nasty continent in the world.  A place where more solar radiation reaches the surface than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period, a place described as "mostly uninhabitable" by the Central Intelligence Agencies World Fact Book.  However you look at it, this is Antarctica.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Pamela-Renae Rollins, a crewmember aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, uses a sextant to check the ship's position, Jan. 27, 2006. The 399-foot polar class icebreaker with a 134-person crew returns to Seattle March 29, after completing icebreaking operations in Antarctica.  U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer Mariana O'Leary

These facts didn't really seem to be the crew of the bright red 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star as they made preparations to get underway on the dreary and gray morning of Jan. 20.  Maybe they didn't have time to consider what waited for them more than 8,000 miles away from their home at Pier 36 in Seattle.   Maybe with only 48-hours notice to get underway, the crew was more concerned about the food that needed to be stored, the ship's spaces that needed to be secured against heaving winter Pacific swells, and of course, their families they would soon say goodbye to. 

For the past 50 years the U.S. Coast Guard has deployed ships in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) U.S. Antarctic Program, which currently maintains the McMurdo Station facility and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.  The 30-year-old Polar Star, a Polar Class icebreaker, has deployed 15 times to break a channel through the unpredictable miles of ice that lie between the science community that inhabit the stations year-round, and the cargo and fuel ships they rely on to deliver more than six million gallons of fuel and four thousand metric tons of cargo they need to stay operational throughout the harsh winter months. 

This year, instead of using a U.S. Polar Class icebreaker, the NSF chose instead to deploy the 323-foot Russian icebreaker Krasin.   As the Krasin began the task of breaking through the ice, a combination of factors came into play, said Capt. Bruce Toney, who shifted command temporarily from the Polar Sea to the Polar Star for this deployment.          "First, the edge of the ice was over 70 miles from McMurdo, the second longest distance in many years and the inner channel, the last 15 miles, was a combination of multi-year rubble, creating a difficult situation for Krasin to complete an adequate channel.  As time began to slip away, the Krasin broke a blade from their starboard propeller and lost a significant portion of their icebreaking capability.  The blade did not appear to be easy to fix and the chance of a successful re-supply appeared in doubt so we were deployed to insure the re-supply was successful," said Toney.

Only 45-hours later, the Polar Star headed south.

  "Our mission this year was to be in a standby status and to be ready to assist with the re-supply mission if necessary," said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hamilton, the Polar Star operations officer. 

104-feet above the water in the Polar Star's aloft-conn, a secondary bridge used to drive the 399-foot Polar Star while in the ice, the ship heads south into the deep blue of the Pacific, Jan. 22, 2006.

"When the Krasin threw her blade and it appeared that the re-supply was in jeopardy, we got underway to assist in whatever way we could."

         You couldn't ask for better assistance, according to Toney,  he explained why the Coast Guard's Polar Class ship's which both call Seattle home, have the distinction of being the world's most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers. 

            "When you need sheer muscle and the hull form, the Polar Classes are your breakers of choice," said Toney.  With a maximum of 77,000 shaft horsepower, the Polar Classes can break 6.5 feet of ice while continuously moving forward at three knots, or can back and ram ice up to 21-feet thick, said Toney.  The Polar Classes cantilevered frames are spaced closely and the special 1 3/4 inch thick high-tinseled steel hull is able to remain strong and flexible at extremely low temperatures. 

The Polar Star's incredible power depends upon the highly skilled engineering department.  They keep busy manning and constantly maintaining an 18,000 horsepower diesel electric plant for transit steaming and light icebreaking, and a 75,000 horsepower gas turbine plant for heavy icebreaking.  The diesel electric plant consists of six large diesel engines, similar to locomotive engines, which generate electrical power that feed the three 6,000 horsepower DC motors, one on each of the three shafts.  This kind of toughness is depended upon in the unpredictable Antarctic conditions.

"We have to be prepared for whatever we find down there," said Hamilton.

 He explained that the traditional ice channel that Polar Star breaks into McMurdo Station is 12 to14 miles long.  However, in recent years, a number of tabular icebergs that have broken off the ice shelf have blocked McMurdo Sound from the traditional currents and winds that help blow the ice out of the channel.

"We have had much longer ice edges.  Last year, when we started the break in it was approximately 84 nautical miles, which was the longest in history," said Hamilton.   "We modify our plans and work with what's presented.  Although the crew only had 48-hours notice that we would be getting underway, the ship continuously plans and prepares for the trip to the ice, so we were ready for the call," said Hamilton."

A typical trip to Antarctica for the Polar Star means approximately six months away from homeport.  Imperative and extensive damage control training is usually conducted en route to the ice, often in Honolulu or Sydney, which is a frequent stop on the way down.  Because the Polar Star operates independently, far from potential help from other vessels, the ship's crew has to be highly trained in damage control, as well as first aid in order to deal with any emergency they encounter.

Fireman Apprentice Andrew Eichholz tries to put his mind anywhere but the sickbay of the Polar Star on Jan. 31, 2006, as he receives pain medicine in preparation for stitches, from Lt.j.g Robert Amrien, the ship's Physician Assistant.  The Polar Star returned to its homeport of Seattle, March 28, after completing icebreaking operations in Antarctica.

On this trip, the need to be self-reliant was even more critical. 

"Something that's been a major concern of mine on this trip is safety," said Toney.  "Because of the route that we took, we were so far from help, and we had no helicopters, two unique things about this trip.  Very fortunately we have not had anyone seriously hurt, but it's always a concern.  Ships are an inherently dangerous place, and we do everything we can to minimize the chances of someone being injured.  On some stretches of this trip we have been four or five days away from help," said Toney.

Lt.j.g. Robert Amrien, a physician's assistant, and Chief Petty Officer Herman Joling, the ship's permanent health services specialist, made up the medical staff in the Polar Star's sickbay. 

"The crew of the Polar Star was well screened for medical and dental problems before departing," said Amrien, "but are still subject to many illnesses and of course with the shipboard environment subject to much higher incidence of injury." 

The medical staff is prepared and experienced, but is hindered by the lack of X-ray and lab equipment normally found in a shore-side clinic, said Amrien. 
            As the crew headed south, they stuck strictly to an exhaustive schedule of damage control drills through the hot tropic sun, and later the rough seas of the Southern Ocean.  Their goal was to be constantly ready for any emergency. The crew lived and worked with the challenges of maintaining the unique and aging systems of a 30-year-old ship.  "I think the primary obstacles were the uncertainty of the mission before we started and then once we were underway the engineering challenges we faced due to the aging plant," said Toney.

 "We dealt with the uncertainty by fully assuming we were going to go, and made sure we were totally prepared or had short notice executable plans if we did get called. The engineering challenges were dealt with by the dedication, work ethic and knowledge gained on prior deployments by our key engineering personnel. For many of our key engineers this was their second or third Deep Freeze mission. We faced almost daily challenges and many times key personnel worked for more than 24 hours straight to trouble shoot and repair equipment. The end result was our faster than expected transit and our ability to begin breaking heavy ice once we arrived in the Ross Sea," said Toney.

Petty Officer 3rd Class William Staneart, a crewmember of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, checks the seal of his mask during a fire drill, Jan. 25, 2006.  The Polar Star returns to its homeport of Seattle, March 29, after completing icebreaking operations in Antarctica.

 Although limited, the Polar Star's time in the ice allowed numerous crewmembers to receive training on driving the ship in varying ice conditions and operating the machinery during heavy icebreaking, skills which will carry over into future operations as the Coast Guard maintains its expertise in heavy icebreaking, said Toney.  As the Polar Star shifted missions and began grooming the narrow ice channel, a call for assistance came in from the U.S. Naval Ship Lawrence H. Gianella.  The fuel ship was pulled up onto the ice in the channel, and unable to maneuver its way back to open water. The Polar Star, happy to be in the right place at the right time, broke through the ice surrounding the Gianella, enabling the ship to be on its way.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Wallin, a marine science technician aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star collects and treats samples of sea water from the South Pacific, Feb 4, 2006.  The crew of the Polar Star left their homeport of Seattle Jan. 20, to assist in icebreaking operations into McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

"I think the biggest thing we gave people during this mission was a sense that the cavalry was there in case of need," said Hamilton.  "We were ready within 40 hours, even though we were given 48.  We got our entire crew together, headed south in the quickest time possible, and got to do a little icebreaking to top it off," said Hamilton.

            "I think you saw an excellent example of devotion to duty in this year's Deep Freeze," said Toney. "They all worked a tremendous amount of hours to get the ship ready and conduct training and they still have high morale and a good sense of accomplishment. I couldn't be more proud of this crew and am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to sail with them," said Toney.

Cutter lends a hand to Panamanian children's home
Story by Ensign Kelly Koch, CGC Boutwell

COAST GUARD ISLAND, ALAMEDA, Calif. –  U.S. Coast Guard volunteers from the cutter Boutwell, homeported in Alameda, Calif., working in support of Project Handclasp, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Embassy in Panama, and the Panamanian coast guard, delivered three pallets of much-needed supplies to a Panamanian children's home Dec. 31, 2005 during the cutter's mid-patrol break.  

The 378-foot high endurance cutter loaded the supplies during a fuel stop in San Diego last November as it headed south for its three-month counterdrug patrol.  The supplies were collected by Project Handclasp and included medical supplies, hygiene products, school books and toys.

Coast Guard Island Home to Service's Largest Learning Center

Story and Photo by PA2 Mariana O'Leary, PACAREA Public Affairs

COAST GUARD ISLAND, ALAMEDA, Calif. (Jan. 3, 2006) The largest and most innovative learning center in the Coast Guard is now located here.  The 3,000 square-feet of classroom space, computers, study hall and a library, house programs dedicated to advanced education and career development in the Coast Guard community. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Mariana O'Leary

The nearby screech of a drywall nail and an overhead banging loud enough to make a machinist mate flinch doesn’t seem to phase Michael Franceschina, Coast Guard Island’s new education services officer.  He pauses to patiently and loudly explain to a young-looking seaman the intricate mysteries of obtaining a transcript, while proudly showing off the construction project.  

Housed in a historic white building, shared with the base security office, the 3,000 square feet of space will soon be home to the largest learning center in the Coast Guard and unprecedented learning and outreach programs.  Coast Guard Island Learning Center will be dedicated to providing Coast Guard members, dependents, and civilian employees with a place to plan their careers, enhance their education, and as Franceschina explains it, maybe even improve their quality of life.

“Ultimately our goal is to provide the Coast Guard and its personnel with quality products and services to support its mission through enhanced education, training, professional development and personal achievement,” said Franceschina.  

The center plans to be a centralized place for members to do a variety of activities.  Tutoring will be available for math, with retired Army Lt. Col. Dan Lufkin volunteering his time to the program.  English and reading tutoring will also be available, along with guidance toward improving test scores, or helping a member pass an end-of-course test.  “Other programs such as “A” and “C” School modules and annual Coast Guard training will be able to be completed online,” said Chief Petty Officer Brian Westerman, the project manager and career development advisor.

The learning center also brings a new program onboard that offers study hall until 10 p.m., and lunchtime classes.  An innovative outreach program for cutter crews offers courses with materials that are downloaded to personal data assistants, and tests proctored by a certified person onboard.  “Now they won’t have to try to vie for time on the ship’s Internet to take courses,” said Franceschina. “We’re going to do everything we can to bring it to them.”

Due to an aggressive completion schedule, and the hard work of Integrated Support Command Alameda’s Facilities and Industrial Engineering Division and Electronic Systems Support Unit (ESU), the learning center’s testing room, conference center, and study hall are completed with new computers, tables, and couches that help create a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere to study or test in.  The ESU is presently completing an installation of 25 networked computers in the classroom and establishing necessary connections for 15 computers provided by Columbia College.

Along with Columbia College, which already offers classes on base, advisors from Excelsior College, Thomas Edison College, Coast Line Community College, and Vincennes University of Indiana, will be available at regularly scheduled times to assist students with distance learning courses. 

The learning center’s goal is to have a historical theme.  The lobby is being designed as a ship’s quarterdeck, and the rooms will be dedicated with names such as the Cutter Room, the Aviation Room, the Freedom Room and the Nathan Bruckenthal Library, which will include the commandant’s suggested reading list, and the Freedom Room.

Even with all this already set in motion, plans are in the works to create an opportunity for Coast Guard members, dependents, and other members of the community, to take classes at the Coast Guard housing complexes in Concord and Novato through future collaborative efforts with community colleges.  Franceschina said that perhaps someone who could not previously attend college, because of time and family constraints, could more easily earn a degree if night classes were offered just down the street from their house.

“We’re just getting started,” said Franceschina. “You increase quality of life through quality of learning.  It’s a chain reaction, and it’s starting right here.”

Headed for Disaster

Story by PA1 Amy Thomas, PACAREA Public Affairs
Photos by PA3 James Harless, 8th District Public Affairs

From left to right: Arlen Campbell, Lisa Campbell; their children, 15-year-old Carlton and 17-year-old Stefani; Sunny Wilson, owner of Robin's Deli, who opened up her restaurant for Campbell to use as a point of distribution for donations during her relief efforts.

From their home in Novato, Calif., Lisa Campbell and her two children watched in stunned silence Sept. 3 as the terrible images of the effects of Hurricane Katrina flashed across the television screen.   Tears slid down Campbell’s cheeks at the sickening realization that the flattened Mississippi community on her TV was the same one in which she had worked for two years when her husband, Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer Arlen Campbell, was stationed in New Orleans in 1998.  

“It just sort of slammed me,” Campbell said. “I spent 50 to 60 hours a week there in that community, and to see the devastation really hit me.”  She knew she couldn’t just sit by and watch people suffer.  “Then my daughter said, ‘Hey, Mom, you’re good at organizing.  Why don’t you get some stuff together and take it down?’”      

Drawing on her past experience working as a Red Cross disaster coordinator, she followed her 17-year-old daughter's advice and decided to collect donations and take a truckload of necessities to the town of Long Beach, Miss.
     
When Campbell went to work the next day and told her co-workers what she planned to do, they immediately rallied behind her and gave money, toiletries and other essentials for her trip.  Someone called the local newspaper, which ran a story Sept. 9, and before long she had donations pouring in from all over Northern California.  From there, it simply snowballed. 
   
“I went from thinking I’d take a pickup truck down there and maybe spend some time helping to coordinate, to taking two large moving trucks full of supplies and coordinating a lot of things on this end,” Campbell said.   After collecting all the donations they could carry, Campbell and two other volunteer drivers headed southeast for Mississippi. 
 
Campbell said she was dismayed at the lack of communication and coordination she found when she arrived.  She said that the Red Cross, which has always been the main disaster relief agency, was not equipped to handle a response of this magnitude by itself.  Donations were pouring in, but without a communications network much of it was not getting to the people who so desperately needed help. 
 
“We visited one POD [point of distribution] where they had a pallet full of medical equipment sitting in a corner with a layer of dust on it,” Campbell said.  When she asked about it, one volunteer worker said that they had gotten the equipment in and had no idea of where to send it, but were afraid of turning donations down at the risk of losing them. 
     
So, it fell to small non-profit organizations and individuals, like Campbell, to take up the slack.  Working with Relief Spark, a California-based non-profit group established solely to aid hurricane victims, she began traveling around the region to different distribution centers, talking to people, and taking inventory of what supplies and equipment donations they had and what they needed.   Before long, she amassed a veritable library of low profile and grassroots charitable organizations, and she became a sort of unofficial ambassador to them all.
     
“She’s a one-woman grassroots organization by herself,” said Sidney Ray, executive director for the Van Nuys-based Relief Spark.  “She’s spent [thousands of] dollars of her own money to fill up trucks with supplies for the people in Mississippi.  We need more dedicated and energetic people just like her.”
     
Ray said she had heard about Campbell’s work and offered her a position as team leader for the organization.

Lisa Campbell, center, helps a young resident select Christmas decorations for his family's "Christmas-in-a-Box."  Campbell, working as part of Relief Spark, a charitable organization based in California, has spent the last three months delivering aid and comfort to the residents of Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi communities.

     
“Lisa is the powerhouse of Northern California,” Ray said.  “She’s a great scout for us, and that helps us determine exactly where the need is [in the South].”  
     
Campbell said it was extremely important that all the relief workers, as well as those they were there to help have a central contact to turn to.  
     
“This will be a long term recovery effort – five, six, seven years – and it’s easier if the same people stay involved,” Campbell said. 
     
“While I was in Gautier [Miss.], a group came down from Chicago with a bus full of medical supplies:  exam tables, blood pressure cuffs, things a physician would need to use,” Campbell said. “A few days earlier, I had been at another POD that had a medical clinic set up, so I took them over there and they were absolutely thrilled to have that equipment.”   
     
Campbell stayed in Mississippi for two weeks, running supplies back and forth between PODs, and helping the needy connect with providers.   When she returned home to California, she continued networking and directing donations from all over the country and Canada, and recruiting others to do the same.  
     
Campbell returned to Mississippi Oct. 11 for another two-week stint.  This time, she focused her energy on helping people sift through the physical remains of their lives to help them gain back even a small amount of control before the bulldozers came through.  She said volunteers are essential for these clean up efforts, because the citizens just don’t have the financial or emotional wherewithal to do it alone. 
      
“These are some of the poorest communities in the nation,” Campbell said.  “Four to five weeks later, people are still walking around with a thousand-yard stare like a bomb had been dropped on them.  It’s still a battle.”
     
Petty Officer 2nd Class Kate Bogle, a crewmember on the Los Angeles-based Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb, heard about Campbell’s campaign and volunteered to transport 200 donated bicycles to the distribution center in Van Nuys, Calif.
 
“Her husband called me up one day and said he’d heard I’d volunteered to go to Louisiana, and asked if I wanted to help,” Bogle said.  “I think what she’s doing is awesome.  I know she’s spent a lot of time and her own money.  It’s a lot harder than it looks, facilitating all this.”
 
For Thanksgiving, Campbell arranged another other trip south to help give Thanksgiving dinner to 5,000 people in Long Beach, Miss., complete with fried turkey and all the trimmings.  After all, she said, “it is Thanksgiving in the South.”  For this trip, Campbell took her husband and kids with her.  She said they’d been supportive of her efforts all along but wanted them to see the devastation up close. 
 
“Service has always been important to me,” Campbell said.  “But I don’t think my kids fully comprehend it or understand why I keep doing it.  Plus, they’re hard workers.   I can use their help,” she added, grinning. 
     

Campbell brings some much-needed holiday cheer to the firefighters at the Martin's Bluff Fire Station here.  Campbell delivered a Christmas tree complete with decorations and stockings to the firefighters affected by Hurricane Katrina. The firefighters opened up their station's shower facilities to Campbell on her first two trips.

At Christmastime, Campbell and Relief Spark distributed about 100 Christmas trees, lights, decorations and stockings to families in Gautier and sponsored five families in the community with complete “Christmases-in-a-Box:” cards, wrapping paper, ribbon, decorations, as well as a few Wal-mart gift cards thrown in for good measure.   
 
Campbell said she is in awe of the courage of the people who were traumatized by Katrina.  Despite all that they’ve been through, they remain proud and want to rebuild, want to put their lives back together. 
     
She recalled the story of one man in Waveland, Miss., who was separated from his wife when the storm surge hit.  His clothes were ripped from him and he spent the next seven hours clinging to a tree waiting to be rescued.  As of Oct. 19, he still had not found his wife. 
 
“When I came across him he was set up in a Quonset hut in Waveland with a generator, two freezers, and a stove, feeding his community,” Campbell said.  “He was doing it because it gave him something to do; it helped him feel like he was part of the rebuilding.”
 
Like most Good Samaritan’s, Campbell is quick to brush off any praise or credit for her accomplishments and redirects the attention to the broad relief effort.  Although her next trip isn’t planned until Easter, Campbell will continue to nurture relief response via telephone and through Relief Spark until the need is no longer there.
     
“She’s always been there to rescue people,” said her husband, Master Chief Petty Officer Arlen Campbell.  “That’s who she is – a rescuer.  What else is this life all about?”