Written by Maura McCarthy
CGF 2011 Volume: 3 Issue: 6 (December)
At the 10th Annual Coast Guard Innovation Expo, the theme of the Expo, Steering the Course for Enduring Excellence, was demonstrated throughout the week. From expert sessions on C4ISR and disaster response to Academy cadets discussing environmental sustainability to the early morning bootcamp run by the Guardian Fitness team, Coast Guard excellence pulsed throughout the convention center.
The technology displayed was impressive; however, what impacted me more were the personal and professional standards of excellence that Coast Guardsmen display. With budget concerns at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we naturally focus on the hardware needed to properly equip the service, but a cutter is only as good as her crew and a system only as good as its operator. Fortunately, as Admiral Zukunft discusses in his featured interview, the Coast Guard attracts our nation’s best.
While I’m sure I should say the panel on asset recapitalization was the most interesting part of the Expo, the highlight for me was joining in the Guardian Fitness Team’s morning bootcamp as it allowed me for a few days to feel in a small way as if I were part of the Coast Guard “team.” Through these workouts I realized that Coast Guard excellence servicewide is created in part by excellence at a personal level; when individuals with a sense of purpose, professionalism, pride, responsibility, motivation and determination come together excellence can be the only result. To see admirals sweating alongside junior officers and enlisted folk (and a lone editor) made me realize what a unique and outstanding service the Coast Guard is. Participating in these workouts instilled in me a felt a greater sense of accountability that made me want to push myself harder: I didn’t slack off on the last round of pushups because I was tired—everyone else was doing pushups too; I didn’t slow down running the stairs—everyone else was running up those same stairs; I couldn’t stop throwing the medicine ball—my partner needed me to throw it to him. I certainly couldn’t shut my alarm off and skip the workout—I was not going to be a quitter.
Never having served, I can’t compare this experience to basic training but I imagine that it is through shared challenges like this where you are pushed to your physical limits with your shipmates that collective seeds of excellence are sown. The Expo allowed me to gain a new view of the service—one that left me even more impressed by the leaders who have been steering the service and future leaders who will keep the service on the path of enduring excellence. ♦
 Maura McCarthy, Editor 301-670-5700 x152
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