Coast Guard R&D benefits from veterans within its ranks

Alan Arsenault currently serves as technical director of the RDC and is responsible for execution of the Coast Guard’s R&D portfolio (currently 43 projects) with an annual budget of approximately $5 million. He served 26.5 years on active duty with the Coast Guard and has been a Coast Guard civilian employee for eight years.

Describe your military service: I was on Coast Guard active duty for 26.5 years, serving first on a buoy tender and then at various engineering jobs, including commanding officer (CO) of Electronic Systems Support Unit Seattle, acting program manager for the Rescue 21 acquisition and program manager for the Interagency Operations Centers acquisition. My last tour on active duty was as CO of the RDC.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I come from a military family (Navy/Merchant Marine), so attending a service academy was always my plan. I chose the Coast Guard Academy because of the Coast Guard mission.

What impacted you most during your service? The mission of the Coast Guard was a positive impact during my entire active duty career. I saw fellow Coast Guard personnel doing some really great things during those years!

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I worked as a defense contractor for a short time after retiring from active duty. Although it was a great job and I learned what it was like “on the other side,” I missed the Coast Guard people and came back.

What does your military service bring to your current position? Being prior Coast Guard military, including the RDC CO, allowed me to hit the ground running when I came back. I know the Coast Guard organization, people and some of the history behind previous decisions. It also helps when working with active duty members because I have been in their shoes.

Kellie August currently serves as the command executive assistant at the RDC and is responsible for a myriad of duties including processing correspondence and awards, preparing the Plan of Week, managing calendars and meetings and coordinating VIP visits. She has been with the Coast Guard for 12.5 years.

Describe your military service: I served in the Navy from April 1986 to February 1994 as a personnelman 2nd class. I processed actions for enlisted active duty members (receipts/transfers/re-enlistments/retirements/pay actions).

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I wanted an opportunity to travel and relocate from the Midwest. My father was World War II Navy and I followed in his footsteps.

What impacted you most during your service? Working overseas and learning about different cultures.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I wanted to become a federal employee to be able to utilize my active duty years toward retirement. I was laid off from a civilian job at Pfizer and was offered a temporary assignment at the Coast Guard Academy. I found it a wonderful place to work and was fortunate to find a permanent assignment!

Jay Carey currently serves as a project manager in the Aviation Branch at the RDC. His duties vary by project, but generally, he seeks to build some body of work toward addressing a performance gap in Coast Guard activities. That may be market research, collaborating with commercial vendors or other research organizations, prototype test and evaluation, etc., and reporting out on those results to sponsors and decision makers. He has been with the Coast Guard in some capacity – active duty, retired, civilian – since July 1978.

Describe your military service: My primary world of work was in the rotary wing community as an aviation electronics technician (E-4 through E-7). As a chief warrant officer, I served as a project officer during the Coast Guard Differential GPS implementation, an aircraft maintenance officer and a laboratory manager at RDC. I departed June 2003.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I was going to be a U.S. Marine … but I visited the Coast Guard recruiter right next door and met the nicest guy ever, SK2 Pete Haynes. He was a pal and a straight shooter – he explained that anything you wanted was right before you, just go and do it. Pete enjoyed the Coast Guard and I wanted part of that. I looked him up years later after we both had retired and he remembered me and my buddy, all the details. Sadly, he passed not long ago and far too young … but I’ll always remember Pete as the first guy I met in the Coast Guard and a really great person.

What impacted you most during your service? I always felt that we (the Coast Guard) were out doing something positive – for our community, for our region, for our country – 24/7/365. Who else can say that? The list is short.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I worked in the private sector for almost six years after retiring and experienced a very different culture than the one I essentially grew up in. It was an easy choice for me to return.

What does your military service bring to your current position? Ready, Fire, Aim … the things you learn …

Scott Craig currently serves as the Aviation/Systems domain lead with the RDT&E and Innovation program. As an aviation and unmanned systems R&D program manager, he assists in developing the annual R&D project portfolio, liaises with sponsors and headquarters program offices on potential projects and execution of current projects, manages projects to ensure they meet sponsor needs and provides subject matter expertise on how aviation and unmanned systems can meet Coast Guard operational needs. He has been with the Coast Guard for 32 years.

Describe your military service: 27 years on active duty with the Coast Guard as a pilot flying HH-65A, HH-60J and HC-130J.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I wanted to be a military pilot. The Coast Guard was the first branch to give me the opportunity. Turned out to be the best decision I ever made.

What impacted you most during your service? Working with the fantastic people in the aviation community and saving lives.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? It’s a great organization with great people.

Jeffrey Dietzman currently serves as the RDT&E and Innovation program’s test and evaluation specialist for boat and non-major acquisition programs and is responsible for evaluating new assets that the Coast Guard is buying to ensure they meet all required specifications. He has been with the Coast Guard for 18 months as a civilian and a total of 33 years and counting.

Describe your military service: Served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 30 years, retiring at the rank of master chief. Main duties during time in service included law enforcement (counter narcotics and marine safety), engineering petty officer (two commands) and command senior enlisted adviser (three commands).

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? A sense of duty. I was originally going to join the U.S. Air Force but saw a commercial for the U.S. Coast Guard combatting illegal drugs and environmental response (Exxon Valdez). My nearest Coast Guard recruiter was 2.5 hours away and I had to wait five months to attend Basic Training.

What impacted you most during your service? I think the item that impacted me most was the humanitarian mission that I was involved in during the mass exodus from Haiti and Cuba in the 1990s and Haiti again in the 2000s.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I was offered an opportunity to retire from the Coast Guard and come back onboard as a contractor and was fortunate enough to be able to apply for a government civilian position.

Scott Fields currently serves as the comptroller for the RDC, managing the funding that the Coast Guard receives through the Research and Development appropriation. Since joining the RDC in 2011, he has worked on a variety of projects and has been primarily focused on the Automatic Identification System and Aids to Navigation. He has been with the Coast Guard for 31 years.

Describe your military service: I served 20 years on active duty, spending the first three-quarters of my career serving as a naval, industrial, civil and research engineer and finishing my career serving in personnel capacity as personnel division chief for Integrated Support Command Boston and commanding officer of Personnel Services and Support Unit Boston.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? Got accepted to go to U.S. Coast Guard Academy; I chose the Coast Guard because of the missions it performs.

What impacted you most during your service? The people.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I still believe in the missions and job the Coast Guard does for the country.

Syed Hussain currently serves as the command/staff attorney for the RDC. He has been with the Coast Guard for almost 22 years.

Describe your military service: U.S. Army active duty and reserve for almost 15 years as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer. I left military service as a major/04.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I wanted to give back to the country for all that it has done for me.

What impacted you most during your service? That I have not YET done enough for the country to repay what the country has done for me.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I still feel that I have not YET done enough for the country to repay what the country has done for me.

What does your military service bring to your current position? Almost everything.

Christine Mahoney currently serves as a research analyst in the Modeling, Simulation and Analysis Branch at the RDC, where she creates models and analyzes Coast Guard data sets to improve processes. She has been with the Coast Guard since 2003.

Describe your military service: I was in the Coast Guard from 2003 to 2015 as a Coast Guard Academy (CGA) graduate, marine inspector, graduate school student and CGA instructor.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I joined because of the benefits of attending a service academy and I was drawn to the mission set of the Coast Guard.

What impacted you most during your service? Graduate school, it was such a unique and fulfilling experience.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I wanted to apply my education to solving Coast Guard problems.

Pierre Martel currently serves as the resource manager for the RDT&E and Innovation program and administers its planning, programming and budgeting process. He has been with the Coast Guard for 28 years.

Describe your military service: Coast Guard, 10 years of service. Served on a buoy tender in Maine then worked on the Buoy Tender Replacement Project in the Acquisition Directorate (CG-9), followed by running the Operations Budget Model in CG-83.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I wanted to go to a service academy for college, and I liked the Coast Guard’s law enforcement mission.

What impacted you most during your service? All the amazing people.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I wanted to continue to be involved with this great organization.

What does your military service bring to your current position? Having been active duty allows me to have a greater appreciation for the end result of all of CG-9’s hard work.

Joshua Pennington currently serves as a physical research scientist in the Environment and Waterways Branch at the RDC, researching and acting as project manager for projects exploring new and emerging technologies, processes and applications with emphasis in the prevention, response and search and rescue fields. He has been with the Coast Guard for 25 years, 22 years on active duty and three years of civilian service.

Describe your military service: I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1993, graduating in boot camp company Foxtrot 143. I was serving as a non-rate on Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, when I applied to the Coast Guard Academy and was offered an appointment in 1995 – while attending Electronics Technician “A” School in Petaluma, California. Upon graduating from the academy in 1999, I was assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Diligence in Wilmington, North Carolina, as a student engineer. After Diligence, I began a career in the marine safety field, serving as a marine casualty investigator and marine inspector at Marine Safety Office Providence, a staff engineer and eventually Machinery Branch chief at the Marine Safety Center, and chief of the Inspections Division at Sector Boston. In 2013 I was assigned to the academy as a Mechanical Engineering instructor, where I served until retirement from active duty in 2019.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I joined the military because I couldn’t afford college, and while I was eligible for scholarships, I didn’t want to incur debt taking out student loans. I initially intended to serve four to five years and use the G.I. Bill to pay for school, but after serving for a year I began to the think of the Coast Guard as a long-term career. I originally intended to enlist in the Navy, but after traveling to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS), I learned that I wouldn't be placed in the job rating that I had discussed with my local recruiter. When I raised concerns about my available choices, I felt enormous pressure to sign my enlistment papers and continue in one of the jobs that were being offered to me. It was a lot to process, and I didn't know how I would be able to get home if I didn't continue on to basic training. The Coast Guard recruiter stationed at the MEPS overheard my conversation and asked me to come with her. After talking, she took me back to the office and booked me a flight home. That impressed me so much I decided I wanted to work with people like her, and I enlisted in the Coast Guard a few months later.

What impacted you most during your service? The people. Throughout my career I worked with some of the smartest, funniest and most compassionate folks I’ve ever encountered – and made great friends with a lot of them. They’ve all contributed to who I am today.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I couldn’t imagine a career that didn’t serve the greater good. While I could have pursued higher paying jobs in the private sector, I couldn’t get excited about working for an entity that, at the base level, existed solely to make money. When I realized that, I knew I wanted to continue working for the Coast Guard.

Eric Pinkney currently serves as a C5ISR test and evaluation specialist with the RDT&E and Innovation program, providing support by advising and assisting the program managers and program management offices with reviewing and developing programmatic documentation, supporting the various integrated program team meetings and supporting onsite test and evaluation events. He has been with the Coast Guard for more than 16 years.

Describe your military service: I completed a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy as a data systems technician.  I was responsible for performing preventive and corrective maintenance on Navy automated data processing/IT systems, intel systems and Combat Tactical computer/peripheral local area network and advanced display systems. I spent approximately 11 years on surface combatant ships, two shore tours and the last four years of my career were spent serving on the admiral’s staff at Commander Operational Test and Evaluation Force as an operational test director.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? My reason for joining the military was to serve in the capacity of working with military computer systems.  I chose the Navy because they had the best opportunities for success.

What impacted you most during your service? The greatest impact during my military career was the work experience and ability to contribute significantly as well as the experience of traveling around the globe and meeting people from all over the world. I believe these experiences helped shape me both personally and professionally.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? It was the opportunity to contribute to and participate in a major undertaking in the recapitalization of the U.S. Coast Guard’s assets and enhance its capabilities.

What does your military service bring to your current position? My military service and experiences were an immediate fit for the Coast Guard because I was already familiar with some of the same systems, policies and procedures and that allowed me to contribute right away.

Robert Riley currently serves as the chief of the Information Technology, Networks and Full Spectrum Cyber Branch at the RDC. Working through a team of project managers, he strategically assesses the current and future state of information technology-related needs to include infrastructure across all of the Coast Guard with specific focus on technology’s impact on 11 mission areas. This requires heavy research across a broad range of technologies including policies and authorities. He has been with the Coast Guard for nearly three years.

Describe your military service: 26.5 years naval service, 11.5 of which was at sea or forward deployed. Initially served as a navigation electronic technician and qualified in submarines, was later commissioned as a surface warfare officer via Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Served as an anti-submarine warfare officer and amphibious operations planner for Commander Amphibious Squadron Eleven. Worked directly with 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in planning and execution of military exercises/operations with international partners. Lateral transferred to cryptologic warfare/information warfare officer field for the last 14 years of military service. As a cryptologic warfare officer, I worked in intelligence, information operations, cyberwarfare and signals intelligence.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? My family has multigenerational service. I also wanted to see the world and not accrue college debt. I chose the Navy because it typically travels the globe.

What impacted you most during your service? Separation from family, of course, but I have always been laser-focused on the mission of making the world a better place. In summary, giving back and paying forward.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? The Coast Guard offered a unique opportunity to apply my joint knowledge and experience to grow and develop its IT and cyber capabilities.

Mark Wiggins serves as a program manager in the C5I Branch at the RDC, currently focusing on a mission-specific long-range communication project. He has been with the Coast Guard since 1985, serving on active duty, as a contractor and now a civilian employee.

Describe your military service: Retired after 20 years in 2005 as an electronics technician chief petty officer; Coast Guard Cutter Evergreen, New London, Connecticut; Electronics Technician “A” School, Governors Island (New York City), New York; Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous, New London; Station Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island; RDC, Advance Communications Branch, Groton Connecticut; Coast Guard Cutter Decisive electronics maintenance officer (EMO), Pascagoula, Mississippi; Coast Guard Academy (CGA) Shipboard Control and Navigation Training System ETIC; Coast Guard Cutter Campbell EMO; CGA Leadership Development Center, Leadership and Management School instructor.

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? I wanted to join the Marines, but I did not enjoy my experience with their recruiter. All the service recruiters shared the same space in Portland, Maine, and the Coast Guard recruiter was the only recruiter who was not impressed with my Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery score, which peaked my interest. So I ended up joining the Coast Guard (there was a one-year wait back then too).

What impacted you most during your service? That is a book there. Short answer: the executions of our peacetime missions and working with the best men and women our country has to offer.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? It is a great way to continue to serve … continuing to use what you know.

What does your military service bring to your current position? Invaluable. When I visit stations and cutters, I am in my element. Like any organization, the Coast Guard has a culture, especially the cutter life. I can talk the talk and walk the walk when I am there. Also, I can help my teammates who have less (or no) Coast Guard experience.

Scott Yerecic currently serves as an aviation test and evaluation specialist with the RDT&E and Innovation program. He has been with the Coast Guard for a total of 21 years, 16 as a contractor and five years as a civilian employee.

Describe your military service: I worked in U.S. Air Force hospitals, supervising the acquisition of medical supplies, services and expense and investment medical equipment. 

Why did you join the military/choose your branch of service? Lack of opportunities in the late 1970s in my local community. I chose the Air Force because they had the best opportunities for me at the time.

What impacted you most during your service? Professionally – it was the opportunity to get a graduate and post graduate education. Personally – the five years that I spent overseas in Asia.

After leaving the service, why did you decide to work for the Coast Guard? I was looking for work in Acquisition when the Coast Guard Deepwater program was starting up.

What does your military service bring to your current position? I had experience in acquisition and contracting. I am also very experienced with military culture and norms.

Lew Lewandowski currently serves as the chief of the RDC’s Environment and Waterways Branch. His time with the Coast Guard includes four years at the Coast Guard Academy, 20 years as a commissioned officer, two years as a contractor and nine years as a civilian employee.

Karin Messenger currently serves as the Environment and Waterways domain lead with the RDT&E and Innovation program. She has been with the Coast Guard for 30 years, 25 years on active duty and an additional five years as a civilian employee.

Claude Youngblood serves as a surface test and evaluation specialist with the RDT&E and Innovation program. He has been with the Coast Guard for more than 40 years, serving 20 years on active duty as a machinery technician and working 21 years as a civil servant.