Admiral Thad Allen, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has a blog. In a recent post, RADM Mark Tedesco talked about the Coast Guard’s readiness for pandemic flu, swine flu or novel H1N1.

In response to this H1N1 outbreak, the Coast Guard has released numerous ALCOASTs and messages to help prepare and protect our Coast Guard family against this emerging disease. Timely information on H1N1 can be found on the Coast Guard portal. Additionally, I broadcasted a series of informative H1N1 webcasts that can be found on the Coast Guard H1N1 website. For family preparedness, CG-111 has created a Family Readiness page which has a wealth of resources.

All Coast Guard members should ensure they have taken the appropriate Influenza training modules located on E-Learning . These modules focus on influenza awareness and prevention. Additionally, Coast Guard cutters that are experiencing connectivity issues can use the H1N1 Influenza PowerPoint to educate their members on H1N1 Influenza until they obtain better connectivity. Note however this PowerPoint is not an alternative to the current mandatory Influenza GMT located on the Coast Guard Learning Portal.

I posed the following question and he was kind enough to respond:

Q. DoD is reporting 8 USCG active duty personnel have been diagnosed with novel H1N1.

Since your people work so closely in many of the duty stations, how will you handle an outbreak that affects an entire station or post? I could foresee, as an example, the Rochester NY station having enough personnel ill that response would be affected. Are you able to “fill in” for some of these more isolated posts, or will there be a short period of time when the mission might be affected?

A. Chuck,

You raise a great point and {we} are planning accordingly. We anticipate providing our units guidance within the next month on how to deal with a scenario like the one you pose.

The guidance will be based on the degree of degradation of personnel readiness and discuss procedures for backfill either by reallocating personnel from other units or recall Reserves. It will also discuss risk-based decision making to reprioritize missions during periods of degradation.

In this photo released by the Coast Guard, Chief Petty Officer Laura Freeman prepares to weld on board the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star May 13, 2009. Freeman was one of the first female chief's in the damage controlman rating. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer Third Class Tara Molle)

Ponder this fact for a minute.

During World War II, the Coast Guard created the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, better known as the SPAR’s (Semper Paratus Always Ready). The SPAR’s mission was for women to take over administrative and secretarial positions so they can “release a man to sea.” Women had their roles and that was that. Fast forward approximately 30 years and the Coast Guard opens all officer career fields and enlisted ratings to women in 1978.

Not that long ago was it?

Times have changed and for many women in 2009, they no longer submit to the traditional view that a woman’s place is at home or in the kitchen. They can and are able to serve right alongside men in all of the uniformed services. Now the statement, “You work like a girl” has taken on a completely new meaning. What used to be more of an insulting and demeaning statement has become a remark that most women ignore.

Chief Petty Officer Laura Freeman, a damage controlMAN (DC) on board the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, homeported in Seattle, has been hearing that she “works like a girl” her entire life; and that’s the way she likes it.

As a wife and mother, Freeman lives to stay busy and get her hands dirty while never losing her female edge at work. Freeman was one of the first females to advance to Chief Petty Officer in the DC rating. It is definitely not something she boasts about though; to Freeman, it is just doing a job she loves.

For Freeman, the most appealing element of becoming a DC meant the thrill of being able to build, create and fix things, especially when it comes to keeping her ship safe from flooding while at sea.

“The best part of being a DC is that there are little to no rules, so you can unleash the inner MacGyver in your heart and do whatever it takes within reason to make the flooding stop,” said Freeman. “I would have to say that my experiences as a DC are the same as all others in the rating. Our rate is so diverse that everyone finds something that appeals to them whether it is welding, carpentry, fire fighting or construction. I love the rate because it is tangible, at the end of the day I can see what I have built, repaired or created.”

If you were to have a conversation with Freeman about work, after awhile you might think you were listening to a guy talk about his daily experiences in “the shop”‘ However, a sweet feminine voice, long dark hair tied neatly in a bun, a little colored lipstick and just a touch of perfume gives her away.

“As a Chief now, I do not find it hard to be a female,” said Freeman. “As a matter of fact, it is kinda fun to meet people and have them say, ‘You do really exist! I have always heard that there were females in our rate but I have never met one till now.’ I just smile.”

Being a woman in the Coast Guard wasn’t always easy for Freeman. Time has changed and soothed the negative mindset many men used to harbor toward females in the armed services.

“When I was younger, there were many days when I wanted to quit but I always had a very strong support system that reminded me that as long as I do my very best every day that no one could ever ask more of me,” said Freeman. “I have been fortunate to have others in my rate who cared about me for the person that I am and believed in me on the days when I could or would not believe in myself.”

As Freeman speaks, her eyes seem to reflect those tough moments lived in the past and the hardships overcome.

“It has made the difference on those days when I wondered if the Coast Guard was still for me,” she said.

Thankfully for the Coast Guard, Freeman decided to stay through the difficult days and watch her hard work pay off.

“Some of the hardest tasks have been the construction and pipe fitting work that I was fortunate enough to do at the industrial shops that I worked in, not because I was a girl but because there is lots of heavy lifting and climbing or tons of nailing,” said Freeman.

Those were the best and worst days during her Coast Guard career. There were many times where Freeman would come home exhausted from a hard days work, but the knowledge of something built or fixed by her own hand made it all worth it.

“I always said that I would stay in the Coast Guard ‘til it was not fun any more and on the worst of days I ask myself, “What kind of day do you think the guy burning fries at a burger joint had?”The day that I feel like I have had a worse day than that guy then I will turn in my paper work to get out,” said Freeman.

Freeman must be having some pretty good days for she has no plans of getting out anytime soon. The only downside for Freeman is working on board a cutter that is currently not at sea. The Polar Star has been sitting pierside in Seattle for the past few years awaiting overhaul and refurbishment funds. The ship is currently undergoing heavy maintenance and restoration to bring the ship back to the active Coast Guard fleet.

In this photo released by the Coast Guard, Chief Petty Officer Laura Freeman gets ready for another day's work in her stateroom on board the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star May 13, 2009. Freeman was one of the first female chief's in the damage controlman rating. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer Third Class Tara Molle)

“As far as being on the cutters, I love it,” said Freeman. “I truly miss the sunsets, late night watches and the comradery that you can only find while underway. As dysfunctional as you are, you are still one big family. Some of my best friends are those that I made underway on the cutters. You can never explain it to someone else.”

For many Coast Guard members, being underway on cutters creates relationships that closely resemble that of a tight knit family unit. Even with the ship’s comradery, times can be tough for the mother of two.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is something to be said for going home every night and being there to see your children grow and open their birthday gifts,” said Freeman. “I know first hand that being away from your family is hard for ALL parents, male or female.”

Freeman does her best to keep a positive attitude on and off the ship and whether at home or at work. Her jovial personality is infectious and it seems to spread to the people around her, especially for the other women on the ship.

“For the other women that I mentor I just tell them to remember that, ‘attitudes are contagious,’ both good and bad it will spread to the other people that you work with,” said Freeman. “Double-check your facts and speak with purpose. You are a woman! If you do the best you can every day, then stand by that. Do not be afraid to ask for help but never let someone do your work for you.”

Freeman plays the role of another female pioneer paving the road for the future generations of women in the armed services. Although she speaks modestly of herself, she never forgets the struggles and sacrifices she and other women before her had to make to get to where they are now.

Freeman lives by this motto, “You can never out grow the limitations that you place on yourself, so set the bar high.”

US Coast Guard
By Petty Officer Third Class Tara Molle

An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, from Coast Guard Air Stations Traverse City, Mich., flies over the Red River March 28, 2009, in response to the flooding. Another Dolphin helicopter, from Air Station New Orleans, accompanied them during the transit from Grand Forks to Fargo to stand-by for rescue operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson)

Machinery Technician 3rd Class Dan Fraley of Station Sault Ste. Marie assists an Oxbow, N.D. resident and her faithful friend as they disembark from the station's airboat along the Red River in North Dakota, Thursday, March 26, 2009. The station is one of three airboat crews from the Ninth Coast Guard District which conducted house-to-house searches for citizens in distress ubder the incident command of Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River in flood-prone communities on the Red River. (U.S. Coast Guard/Photo by Petty Officer Bill Colclough)

Many more pics to be found here.

A view from a U.S. Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter shows Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Wheeler using a small boat to transport six people and two dogs to a safe rescue platform after the Red River flooded the Fargo area March 25, 2009. Wheeler, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, was lowered from the helicopter and later assisted the four adults, one child, one infant and two small dogs as they were hoisted to safety by the rescue helicopter and crew from Air Station Traverse City, Mich. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Brendan Evans)

A Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich. helicopter crew rescued five adults and a 14-month-old child from their home in Abercrombie, N.D., Wednesday, at approximately 1:30 p.m.

The HH-65 Dolphin crew successfully hoisted the residents, who were trapped in their home by the Midwest flood waters, and transported them to Wahepton Airport. No injuries were reported.

For video of the rescue CLICK HERE.

The Coast Guard helicopter is one of several Ninth Coast Guard District units deployed to assist in the Red River flood response. For full information on the deployment CLICK HERE.

The Eighth Coast Guard District has created a Midwest flood response information website. The web address

Coast Guard

In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, a small boat crewmember from Small Boat Station Sault St. Marie, Mich., responds to a search and rescue call, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Various Coast Guard units from around the country have been called to assist in the 2009 midwest flood response. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello)

In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Marvin, a machinery technician from Coast Guard Small Boat Station St. Clair Shores, Mich., works on the tire of an airboat trailer, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. The tire of trailer became frozen after exposure to the harsh winter elements following the response effort to the 2009 midwest flood. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello)

Units from the Ninth Coast Guard District are assisting units from the Eighth District in response to flooding along the Red River, which runs through Minnesota and North Dakota.

Coast Guard crewmembers are working closely with both local and state officials from response centers in the Red River region and have saved 16 lives as of approximately 1:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Ninth District assets responding include an Air Station Traverse City, Mich., HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew; and 20-ft.airboats from Coast Guard Stations Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; St. Clair Shores, Mich.; Sturgeon Bay, Wis. and Marblehead, Ohio.

Additional airboats from Stations Belle Isle, Mich., Saginaw, Mich. and Alexandria Bay, N.Y. are standing by to deploy if needed.

Coast Guard

In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, two airboat crews deployed from Coast Guard District 9 await the next search and rescue mission during the 2009 midwest flood response, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. The airboats are used in shallow water throughout residential areas. Numerous Oxbow residents were evacuated to dry ground. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello)

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from a tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a narco terrorist,
The skipper was one too.
Some criminals set sail that day
to smuggle cocaine, to smuggle cocaine.

The Coast Guard started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the speed of the fearful crew
The cocaine would be lost, the cocaine would be lost.

1. EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 14, 2008) The guided-missile frigate USS McInerney tows a self-propelled, semi-submersible craft seized Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 by Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 404. The Coast Guard law enforcement officers, embarked aboard the McInerney, seized seven tons of cocaine during a night raid about 350 miles west of Guatemala. The seized vessel has the capability to travel from Ecuador to San Diego, Calif. McInerney, homeported in Mayport, Fla., is deployed in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Justin Cooper/Released)
2. In this photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, members of Coast Guard law enforcement detachment 404 survey the deck of the self-propelled, semi-submersible craft they seized on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. The LEDET, embarked aboard the USS McInerney (seen to the left of the SPSS), seized seven tons of cocaine from the vessel. The estimated street value of the cocaine is more than $187 million. The seized vessel has the capability to travel from Ecuador to San Diego, Calif., without having to stop for replenishment. Photographer: Petty Officer 1st Class Nico Figueroa
3. In this photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, packages of cocaine are stored in a compartment of a self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel interdicted at sea Sept. 13, 2008, by the guided-missile frigate USS McInerney. Members of U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment 404, embarked aboard the McInerney, seized the estimated $187 million worth of cocaine during a night raid about 350 miles west of Guatemala. The seized vessel has the capability to travel from Ecuador to San Diego, Calif. Photographer: Petty Officer 1st Class Nico Figueroa