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In My Own Words

CHIEF LYNN FABBO
Recruit Company Commander
Coast Guard Training Center
Cape May, N.J.

Sea Power
October 2004

I learned to love the Coast Guard even before I enlisted. I had the biggest search-and-rescue case of my life while I was a U.S. Naval Sea Cadet. It was a Sunday morning in September 1990. I was 17 and training with the Coast Guard on the Saginaw River at Bay City, Mich., standing watch with the crew of a small boat station. Then the search-and-rescue alarm went off.

The Jupiter, a 392-foot tanker offloading fuel nearby, had exploded and was on fire with almost 1 million gallons onboard. The discharge hose on the pier had ruptured and the Jupiter was engulfed in flames. Pieces of the deck were flying through the air as the fuel holds exploded. The crew was abandoning ship off the stern; few of them could swim.

The firefighting ability of our 41-foot utility boat was no match for a fire of that magnitude. The soles of my sneakers melted, and I ended up with ash and bloodstains all over my sweatshirt. We pulled people out of the water and offered what little first aid we could on scene. It was then and there that I decided the Coast Guard was for me. There is a direct link between the Coast Guard and the people you serve, and I really love that.

My first duty assignment was at Scituate Coast Guard Station, Mass. I was there in October 1991, the autumn of the “Perfect Storm.” Oct. 30, 1991, was a special day for me. We awoke that morning to a raging sea and howling winds, like I had never imagined. The search-and-rescue alarm sounded moments before morning colors. A sailing vessel was drifting toward the rock ledges of Cohasset, Mass., just to our north. I was chosen as one of six crewmembers for lifeboat 44318.

Over the next eight hours, we were thrown up and down by waves that looked like mountains to me. We were able to rescue two men off their sailboat as it dragged anchor, with a broken mast and ripped sails near Minots Ledge Light in 20- to 30-foot seas. I will never forget the horror in their eyes when they saw the inlet we had to transit to return them to safety. They were so seasick, they would not stay down below, so we clipped them in topside and held on to them.

On our approach to the inlet, we rolled so severely that I was standing on the lifelines nearly to my waist in water, bear-hugging one of the survivors. At that moment, he had the biggest eyes Ihad ever seen. Once safely moored, my BM1 [petty officer first class] shook my hand, chuckled, and said, “Welcome to the Coast Guard.”

Later in my career, I became a seamanship instructor at Cape May and then moved on to Company Commander School. The intensity, energy and enthusiasm that I experienced from the staff and the recruits were beyond compare. No two days are ever alike. Recruits come to Cape May from all over the globe with the same goal in mind — to proudly serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. No matter the reason a recruit joined; generally by the time they graduate they understand the big picture — the pride and patriotism of a Coast Guardsman.

Each company of recruits brings a lot of new challenges. As a company commander, you must be able to have the patience to instruct, guide, mentor and, most importantly, instill the discipline these men and women need to ensure they are ready to serve alongside our shipmates in the fleet. The Coast Guard is an amazing service with an important mission. It is filled with people with open, giving hearts, compassion for their fellow man and true devotion to duty.

It’s important to express to the recruits that every unit in the Coast Guard is a great unit. It is up to them to make the best out of every day, work their hardest, take care of their shipmates and have the courage to make a difference.

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