(U.S. Air Force courtesy photo/Released)
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. —
Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Endicott, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team yeoman/response member, is the joint base's featured service member of the week. Endicott hails from Chicago.
Q: Why did you join the military?
A: I decided to join the Coast Guard right out of high school because, at the time, I felt I was not ready to go to college, but I wanted to do something other than work a part-time job. I felt the Coast Guard was the best choice for me because I was very interested in search and rescue.
Q: What is your job and what is its impact on the mission?
A: I'm the one of two Yeoman in the unit who are responsible for managing all the travel, pay, personnel support and administrative needs of the Atlantic Strike Team. On top of being one of the unit's administrative-support petty officers, I'm also required to be a certified response member to respond to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents in order to protect public health and the environment. We work closely with many different agencies, including supporting our other two Coast Guard strike teams.
Q: Do you have any past or current family members in the military?
A: My grandfather and father were both in the Navy. My grandfather served during World War II as a Navy corpsman. He said he tried to join the Coast Guard, but they turned him away because he was too old. The Navy was happy to take him. My father was an aviation electrician's mate and was stationed in Philadelphia and Houston back in the 70s.
Q: Who most inspires you?
A: My grandmother is the person in my life that inspires me most. She is the rock of our family and is the strongest woman I have ever met. I can only hope to be half the person she is.
Q: What is one thing you'd like your fellow service members to take away or understand about the military?
A: I would like my fellow service member's to know that, even though the Coast Guard is the smallest service, we have many missions that most don't realize we do including drug interdiction, port and waterway security, aids to navigation, search and rescue, marine safety, defense readiness, migrant interdiction, environmental protection, living marine resources, ice operations and law enforcement. We are a key component of the Department of Homeland Security and are still a uniformed branch of the military even though we don't fall under the Department of Defense.