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The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and its Female Marine Safety Investigators
By LT Eric Rivera, Environmental Crimes and Pollution Investigations Manager
Females in the United States Coast Guard (USCG) have been performing extraordinary marine safety missions for a very long time. They have sacrificed their lives, spouses, children and many significant others for our nation. Their willingness to be trained and to seek levels of higher responsibilities in the Marine Investigator Program is unparallel. Becoming a Marine Safety Investigator requires extensive knowledge of the regulations U.S. and foreign vessels have to comply with while operating commercially in our waters. Furthermore, Marine Casualty Investigators need to know what course of action to take when a vessel is involved in a reportable marine casualty. This is not a skill easy to attain; that is why USCG female investigators represent an elite core hard to compare.
Before the incorporation of women in the Marine Investigation Program, they were only assigned as keepers in the Lighthouse Service, beginning in the 1830s. Although many wives and daughters of keepers had previously served as keepers in their household, they did not have the title of lighthouse keepers until 1947. Within this group of lighthouse keepers, there was Maria de los Dolores Mestre Andreu who served as a lighthouse keeper of the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida after her husband Mr. Joseph Andreu fell 60 feet to his death while whitewashing the tower in 1859. After his passing, Joseph’s wife, Maria de los Dolores Mestre Andreu, took over as keeper and served until the light was extinguished shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. Mrs. Andreu became the first Hispanic-American woman to serve in the USCG and the first Hispanic-American to oversee a federal installation. Her heroic actions can be seen today in females within the USCG Marine Investigation Program.
The USCG Marine Investigations Program has been a vital arm of its marine safety activities since the 1830’s when the program predecessor, the Steamboat Inspection Service, was established. In 1978, 148 years later, women in the USCG were given full access to all officer career fields and enlisted ratings.
Fast forward to 2011, female investigators are USCG officials designated by the USCG Commandant for the purpose of conducting investigations of marine casualties or matters pertaining to the conduct of persons applying for or holding merchant mariner’s documents, licenses, certificates or credentials issued by the USCG. Their responsibilities have changed quite a bit. Women represent the USCG in suspension and revocation proceedings before Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) when credentialed mariners request to be heard before the ALJs in matters not reaching agreement at the unit level.
Additionally to the regular duties female investigators find themselves performing daily, they are also authorized under the provision of Title 14, U.S. Code, Section 89 and Title 46 U.S. Code Chapters 63 and 77 to: make arrest; board any vessel; and issue subpoenas and administer oaths to persons, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Almost 200 years later after they served as lighthouse keepers, USCG female investigators compose 17 percent of the Marine Investigation Program, a small number but huge accomplishment.
The development of females, especially Hispanics, in all phases within the Marine Investigation Program has been immense. Thanks to programs such as the Coast Guard College Student Pre-Commission Initiative (CSPI), qualified individuals can join the USCG after successfully completing two years of college on their own. The USCG will then pay for the remaining two years of college, including a monthly salary and monthly Basic Housing Allowance benefits. This opportunity will set the applicant to a career as an officer in the USCG. This opportunity has given everyone, including Hispanic females, the chance to get educated and provide the USCG with different academic specialties.
 LCDR Nicolette Vaughan. |
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Nicolette Vaughan heard of this program and saw a bright future. While attending the Inter American University in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she became aware of the Minority Officer Recruitment Effort (MORE), now known as the CSPI program. LCDR Vaughan applied in April of 1997 and in June of the same year was in route to The USCG Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey to attend boot camp. “I knew the Coast Guard had an Investigations branch, where I could put my investigative skills to use,” she states. “I wanted to be challenged, and I knew the Coast Guard would challenge me to push myself in a way that no other profession could.”
It is a requisite of the CSPI program that all selectees, regardless of sex, attend Basic Training, thus becoming enlisted members and then after completion of college they have to successfully complete Officer Candidate School (OCS) at The USCG Academy in New London, Connecticut.
After graduating from the Inter American University with a Suma Cum Laude in Criminal Justice and a minor in Sociology, she was sent to New London, Connecticut to complete four and a half months of Officer Candidate Training. Her first assignment after completion of OCS was The Marine Safety Office in Miami, FL. During this assignment, she became qualified in the Marine Safety Field as vessel inspector and marine casualty investigator. Thirteen years later, LCDR Vaughan is married to a fellow Coast Guardsman and is stationed at United States Coast Guard District seven in Miami, FL. She is in charge of overseeing vessel operations, investigations and inspections for the entire District seven which includes Puerto Rico & USVI, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. During this tour she has participated in the investigation, indictment and prosecution of numerous foreign vessels involved in environmental crimes.
“The Coast Guard embraces diversity. We are looking for people who are hard workers and have a strong work ethic,” she states. “We are looking for people who love what they do and are dedicated to their careers. My advice would be to learn as much as you can about the CG’s missions then choose one you are passionate about. You will be rewarded on a daily basis as you save lives, protect property, protect the environment, and protect the Nation. I have been enjoying my career for the past 15 years.”
Another exemplary female in the USCG Marine Safety program is Lieutenant (LT) Katiuska Pabon and like LCDR Vaughan she is also a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. While attending Universidad De Sagrado Corazón, and working for a bachelor’s degree in Education, LT Pabon was selected to enter the USCG through the formerly known MORE program. She also attended Boot Camp and after completing her degree, she attended OCS training in New London, Connecticut. “At the moment I was out of boot camp I realized it was an honorable career and I could see myself making a difference and a positive impact to our country,” she asserts about her career choice.
After successfully completing OCS, she was stationed at USCG Marine Safety Office in Miami, FL. During this tour and amongst many responsibilities, she became Chief, Oil Pollution Investigations Division. She was in charge of investigating all discharges of oil into the water occurring in the Area of Responsibility (AOR) of Miami; a job she excelled at.
After successfully completing her tour in Miami, she was transferred to the Marine Safety Office in San Juan, PR. During this tour she continued her professional growth and was plank owner of the conversion of The Marine Safety Office to Sector San Juan. She designed, evaluated and delivered a structural plan suitable for this transition. After completion of her tour in San Juan, PR, LT Pabon was transferred to USCG Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During this tour, she was assigned to the Office of Global Maritime Situational Awareness. She was the coordinator for the joint office and responsible for the sharing of all maritime information with all signatory countries around the world. Today, LT Pabon serves the Coast Guard in two roles, as a Reservist Officer and as civilian employee. As a reservist, she continues with her duties as a Marine Safety Professional and as civilian she is a Contingency Planning Specialist. LT Pabon is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Family Counseling and this fall was selected to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the USCG reserve.
Pabon’s advice is to love what you do and to know what you want to accomplish in your life and career. “It doesn’t matter where you came from, its what you want to become,” she says. “We have the tools in our hands to have a successful career, also you need to care for others and the world we live in. We all contribute one way or the other to make it a better place. I am the Coast Guard and I will always wear my uniform with pride because I make a difference for my children to live in a better and safer place.”
Three different females with one mission: to serve their country while executing their calling.
 LT Katiuska Pabon. |
 View from the lighthouse to the East. |
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