Who Is Jeffrey Kerner: A Profile

Twenty-seven years “chock full of fun” is how the Commanding Officer of Station Fort Myers Beach describes his career in the United States Coast Guard.  CWO4 Jeffrey Kerner, the rare petty officer to reach Officer-in-Charge status and then actually be assigned to that position, has done it all.

As a kid, he vacationed with his family every year on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Watching the Coast Guard boats patrolling offshore, he made an early career choice that stuck. He joined up in 1983, about a year out of high school, and took his basic training at Cape May, NJ.  As luck would have it, his first real duty station was at Oregon Inlet, smack in the middle of the Outer Banks he loved.

While advancing to the rank of BM2 at Oregon Inlet, Mr. Kerner also qualified for the coveted Coast Guard Surfman designation.  Surfmen are the only Coast Guard coxswains who are routinely assigned to hazardous rescue missions in breaking surf.  To achieve that status, they undergo four to six years of intense training.  Part of that time is spent at Cape Disappointment, WA, where the tragic loss of three crewmen in 1997 prompted the Coast Guard to revamp the Surfman program.  Upon graduating and returning to his station at Oregon Inlet,  Mr.Kerner qualified as a Surfman there, one of only a few units on the East Coast.  He holds Surfman Number 179, a designation -- like other Surfman numbers – that will never be awarded to another. 

Surfmen at Quillayute Harbor, Washington



Station FMB and the Marlin

They’re like fraternal twins - very similar but also different.  So different, in fact, that they operate and are administered separately.

To begin with, the MARLIN operates 30 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.  Operations inside the 30-mile marker are handled by the Station.  The crew of the MARLIN  consists of 12 to 15 Coasties.  The Station is billeted for around 50 regulars.  CWO4 Jeffery Kerner commands the Station, while LTJG Michael Mastrianni is captain of the MARLIN.  The MARLIN essentially “leases” dock space from the Station while she is in port.  And the MARLIN crew has a separate building with offices and a shop.

Yet there is considerable cooperation between the two units.  The MARLIN crew can take exams at the Station, rather than commute to a more distant testing station.  And the two occasionally trade personnel as short-term needs arise.  For example, the two recently traded cooks on a temporary basis.  By Jim Samples

Station FMB Needs You!

During our recent conversation with CWO4 Jeffery Kerner, he emphasized the need to think creatively about how to use our talents to help at the station.  For example, Auxiliarists with construction skills recently tore out closets and replaced them with lockers in the crew living area.  Once the need was identified, the project was completed quickly and at minimal expense.  Other areas he mentioned where we might help include tax advice to Station crew members and additional watchstanders to fill in since Betty Riddle’s retirement. “What the Auxililary can do for the Coast Guard is limited only by our imagination,” he said.

Mr Kerner reaffirmed that he hopes we will have more opportunities to train jointly with crew from the Station.  And he mentioned using local units on call-outs more frequently. 

Please use this opportunity to think about what you can do to help out at the Station and get involved.   By Jim Samples

Coming Next Month

The real life story behind this door:

Awards! Awards! Awards!

Most of us can wear this new ribbon, the Coast Guard Unit Commendation to the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, awarded at our last general meeting on January 19 for “exceptionally meritorious service” from 1999 to 2009.

Dan Beauchemin and Allen Thompson earned the Vessel Examiner’s ribbon.

Ribbon holders who received awards for additional service included:

Operations:  Phil Smith, Bronze Star,

  Larry Bowers and Richard Brant, Ribbon O

  Betty Riddle, Hourglass

Public Education:  Phil Smith and Leonard            Jadrych, Bronze Star

VE/PV:  Mel Milstein, Silver Star; Bernie Appleman and John Tyson, Bronze Star

Meet Our New Members

Andrew Lethert

There’s not much this guy doesn’t know about boats.  He’s a USCG licensed captain and marine technician who has conducted charters, deliveries and excursions. His repair and maintenance experience includes mechanical and electrical systems, diesel and gas.

Drew and his wife sold their home in Minneapolis and moved to Naples in 2004 after many winter vacations here.  His boating activities brought him in touch with the Auxiliary and some of its members, so he decided to join us.

Drew is with Pristine Yacht Services in Naples, where he repairs and maintains a fleet of more than 70 vessels.  He served in the US Army from 1989 to 1995.

John Garafola

John is a senior at Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Environmental Studies and will be graduating in May 2011.   He works at Basspro Shops and valets on the side. He enjoys fishing and being out on the water, running, biking, travelling, hiking, and backpacking.

After college he wants to enlist in the Coast Guard and be stationed on a High Endurance Cutter somewhere in the Pacific. He says he chose the Coast Guard because he has always wanted to serve his country and he likes the strong humanitarian based mission of the Coast Guard.  He has two high school friends currently serving and they have nothing but good things to say about the service.