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My Coast Guard
Commentary | Sept. 17, 2020

A Request for Nominations: The 2020 Captain Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence and Superior Cutterman Awards Call and Its 2019 Winners

By Shana Brouder, MyCG Staff

Nominations for the 2020 Captain Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence and Superior Cutterman Awards are due in less than seven weeks. These awards, which honor the Coast Guard’s legendary sea-going forbearer, Capt. Hopley Yeaton, are given to celebrate and recognize cuttermen and cutter crews who best exemplify what it means to be a top-tier Coast Guard cutterman in spirit and in action. 

The 2020 Captain Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence Award will be presented to the crew of a large cutter (399 feet and above), the crew of a mid-sized cutter (WMEC, WLB, WLBB), and to the crew of a small cutter (175 feet and below). Cutter crews recognized for this award will have demonstrated exceptional performance in areas such as operations and mission accomplishment; commitment to crew and families; cutter training and readiness; and engineering. 

The Captain Hopley Yeaton Superior Cutterman Award is a special category of the award. It will be presented to one officer and to one enlisted member from across the fleet. Nominees for this award must be cuttermen, permanent or temporary with at least one year of sea time, and currently assigned to an afloat unit. 

Individuals recognized for this award will have demonstrated excellence in various areas, such as contribution to operational success; training and other administrative proficiency; personal leadership and adherence to the Coast Guard’s core values. In addition, they should embody  the cutterman “can do” mentality; notable acts of personal heroism and/or positive engagements with the public or professional mariners; proficiency in ship handling, navigation, boat handling, deck operations, cutter engineering, law enforcement, and/or other professional mariner skills; attainment of shipboard qualifications beyond normal expectations.

If you need inspiration on what makes a Cuttermen or cutter crew worthy of this honor, last year’s winners embodied the cutterman spirit and exemplified Capt. Yeaton’s legacy. The Captain Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence Awards went to Coast Guard Cutter James (Large), Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (Large), and Coast Guard Cutter Ocas (Small). The Captain Hopley Yeaton Superior Cutterman Awards went to Chief Warrant Officer Brad Jopling (Officer) and Petty Officer Second Class Samantha Tober, a yeoman on Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock. You can learn more about why these cutter crews and Cuttermen were chosen by reading last year’s announcement.

To nominate a cutter crew or cutterman for an award, submit a nomination package to Lt. Cmdr. Paul Ledbetter at Paul.A.Ledbetter2uscg.mil no later than Nov.1, 2020. Award nominations should highlight performance during the period from Oct. 1, 2019 through Sept. 30, 2020. More detailed nomination criteria and instructions to submit can be found on the COMDT (CG-751) portal page (CAC access required). For any additional questions, please contact Lt. Cmdr. Ledbetter directly via email. 

Resources: 
Additional nomination criteria and instructions for submission
ALCOAST 340/20: SEP 2020 Captain Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence and Superior Cutterman Awards
ALCOAST 377/19: DEC 2019 Winner Announcement - 2019 Hopley Yeaton Cutter Excellence and Superior Cutterman Awards