Do you know the Ombudsman?

What is that you ask?

In the Coast Guard (and maybe other branches) the Ombudsman is:

a volunteer (who may be a Spouse, Reservist, or Auxiliarist) that is designated by a Command to serve as a link between the command and families, assisting the command in its functions of providing information and related services to families regarding sources of assistance available to them, Coast Guard and command policies, and activities of interest to family members.

An Ombudsman can assist families in locating resources, communicate information from the command to the families, and take concerns of families to the command.

The ombudsman normally should not be the spouse of the CO, OIC, XO, or XPO, but in some cases will be. They are supposed to have taken a one-on-one basic training course in person or over the phone where they learn what is available, and how/where to get it.

I guess every ombudsman will take on different responsibilities according to their geographic location. She or he may have information on family assistance services like counseling, schools and doctors in your area, what neighborhood would be best for living in, and other useful things along those lines.

When moving to a new area it would be worth your while to find and speak to the Ombudsman before sailing off on a new adventure.

Do you know the Ombudsman in your unit?

The Welcome Mat

Hello Coast Guard Family,

It's me, a member. A while back I went surfing (web surfing) for a Coast Guard related onesie for a friend of mine. Not for her of course, but her soon-to-be bundle-of-joy. Her husband (a VERY proud, but humble member of the Guard) was stationed with my husband, and I wanted to give them something to enjoy together.

Needless to say, I came up short. USCG related children's clothing ... ACTUALLY, USCG related clothing and accessories were nearly impossible to find. And what I did find fell under 2 categories:

1) blah

and

2) WHAT IN TARNATION IS THAT ...

Therein laid the spark, and the rest just fueled my fire. From that moment on a few things became very apparent.

First, and most obvious is that Coast Guard apparel might as well be non existent.

Secondly, was the lack of pride that exists among us (and yes I was a part of it) for what our husbands, wives, partners, kids, uncles, aunts, parents, guardians, brothers, sisters, and/or grandparents do. If that doesn't rub you the wrong way, think about this. Our guys' and girls' execute operations in the homeland and over seas just like the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and their affiliated groups. Our enemies not only include terrorists, but bad weather, broken beacons, missing channel markers, sinking ships, capsized sail boats, floating migrants, overfishing, endangered sea life, oil spills, drug cartels, lost fisherman ... and the list goes on.

If we, as adults, don't make the Coast Guard important, then how are our children going to know that Mom and/or Dad's job is important? Easy ... THEY WON'T! Add to that any parent that is missing for days, weeks, or months at a time. It is not a secret that this life is tense at times. Its a single parent household when they are gone. 

Sooooooo, what do we hope to accomplish??? A starting point. A t-shirt that will inspire inquisition and more understanding. A onesie that will make him smile, and forget about his work day... week... month. A welcoming-home-committee uniform that would be sure to inspire tears or just picture perfect moments. We know we won't change our situation, but maybe just our perspective. And hopefully you will pay it forward so that your kids may be proud of what their parent(s) does/do.

We at Koasty Kids would like to redefine what it means to be part of the Coast Guard Family because your not alone, and if we don't care, who will?