The dedication of so many in the voluntary education field will never cease to amaze me, and the opportunity to work with these individuals was inspiring. As time winds down on my tour as the eighth Special Enlisted Advisor to DANTES, I would like to reflect on what this time has meant to me.
I am grateful the Coast Guard allowed me this prospect to step out of service and into a position that will forever have a positive impact on my life. I missed working side-by-side with my fellow Guardians on a day-to-day basis. However, I also found many similarities between DANTES and the USCG. Both are small organizations with large missions. Both demand excellence in everything they do. Both are staffed with dedicated professionals who unselfishly serve the better good.
I will be forever thankful to the former DANTES Director Dr. Jeffrey Cropsey (and his staff) for selecting me to fill this position. Dr. Cropsey always looked forward for ways to apply new technologies toward bringing education to Service members and to modernize VolEd programs. He understood the vital needs and mission impacts of these programs on the military. His value on quality seeps deeply within this organization. His vision impacted many thousands of Service members and greatly aided their endeavors toward higher education and certification. He was a shining example of DANTES’ dedication to provide education support to the DoD - worldwide.
I will always admire the DANTES staff. Their dedication and genuine pride in the service they provide is evident in every product they deliver. DANTES is a small organization of highly competent professionals. They truly strive to provide world class services.
I also have garnered a solid respect for the many providers of voluntary education to Service members. I am referring to the testing agencies, colleges, universities, certification organizations and professional educational associations. I can see the pride in many of their efforts to provide education or certification to military members. Many served in the military themselves and hold a true dedication to the success of military Service members. There are many hands in the military education industry. Some deserve more recognition than they currently receive.
I look forward to my next tour as the Coast Guard Rating Training Master Chief in the Training and Education Branch of the Force Readiness Command at Coast Guard Headquarters. I will still interact with many in the VolEd field on a regular basis, so this will be a nice progression.
Hopefully, next month I will be able to introduce my replacement.
Thank you for supporting our Service members!
