Successfully Meeting Challenges Earns District Seven Enlisted Persons of the Year Honors

Successfully Meeting Challenges Earns District Seven Enlisted Persons of the Year Honors

Story and photos by Lt. Cmdr. C. T. O'Neil, D7 Public Affairs

All unit EPOYs cropped.jpg
MIAMI -- Representatives of the U.S. Navy League and USAA stand with District Seven Command Master Chiefs an the Seventh District Commander to honor the enlisted persons of the year from units throughout the Seventh District. Pictured are, left to right, front row;District Command Master Chief (East) Marvin R. Wells, AMT1 Jodie Morse of Air Station Miami, Rear Adm. David W. Kunkle, District Seven commander, FS2 Paul A. Godfrey of , MK2 Rafael F. Varela. Second row are; District Seven Command Master Chief Ted Fuller, MK1 Roy Hodges of Station Fort Pierce, BM2 Evan Sanborn of the Coast Guard Cutter Matagorda, OS2 Adriane Caminhas of Coast Guard District Seven (command center), BM1 Alavrio Vasquez of TACLET South, and ET2 Jerome Brown of the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant. Back row are; Hartmann Kircher, USAA representative, Reserve Command Master Chief Kirk Murphy and U.S. Navy League representative Jim Jordan. Coast Guard photograph by Lt. Cmdr. C.T. O'Neil.

MIAMI - One is active-duty, the other a reservist. One comes from the deck force, one comes from engineering. One joined the Coast Guard after six years of service with the U.S. Army, the other has served exclusively with the Coast Guard. Both have distinguished themselves as superior leaders, mentors and role models exhibiting pride and professionalism. Both embody the principles of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty, serve with distinction in the Seventh District and are being considered for the 2005 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year and 2005 Reserve Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year.

Evan Sanborn, Petty Officer 2nd Class (BM2) and Roy Hodges, Petty Officer 1st Class (MK1) were recognized for their outstanding performance during a ceremony June 3, 2006 at Air Station Miami in which Sanborn was named the 2005 District Seven Enlisted Person of the Year (EPOY) and Hodges was named the 2005 District Seven Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year.

Sanborn, who is assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Matagorda homeported in Key West, Fla., has been the acting operations officer aboard Matagorda since June 2005. His training and qualification in Vessel-on-Vessel Use of Force and as Matagorda's Fast Action Response (FAR) team coxswain enabled Matagorda to become the first unit in the Coast Guard to successfully utilize warning shots/disabling fire on the outdrives of a non-compliant inboard/outboard "go-fast" boat.

MIAMI -- Seventh District Command Master Chief Ted Fuller presents District Seven Enlisted Person of the Year BM2 Evan Sanborn with a commemorative plaque. Coast Guard photograph by Lt. Cmdr. C.T. O'Neil.

Sanborn also served as coxswain during the interdiction of more than 20 chugs (home-made vessels) and the transfer of more than 1,000 migrants between vessels in seas up to eight feet. Qualifying as an underway Officer of the Deck, Sanborn quickly earned a reputation as the "go-to" conning officer for difficult mooring evolutions that required the sharpest of shiphandling skills.

Hodges, who is assigned to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Fla., serves as the
station's engineering petty officer and is responsible for the maintenance and repair of four small boats, three vehicles, five buildings, a fuel farm and a large waterfront facility while also managing an annual budget of $40,000. Through his leadership and mentoring, Station Fort Pierce engineers earned Sector Ready for Operations (RFO) test scores that are nearly 15 percentage points higher than the Sector Miami average.

###

printer friendly