Editor’s Note: This open letter to Coast Guard retirees was written by RADM (ret.) Jeff Hathaway & MCPO (ret.) Lloyd Pierce, co-chairs of the Coast Guard National Retiree Council. The CGNRC was chartered in 1982. Its primary mission is to sustain open and positive lines of communication between the Commandant and the entire Coast Guard military retiree community through the Commandant’s executive agent, the Director of Military Personnel (CG-13).
Happy New Year to all. We hope that you are all healthy and looking forward to 2021 as the year that gets us back to near normal footing. The 2020 CG National Retiree Council Annual report to the Commandant has been fully endorsed and returned to us.
It is now available for viewing by all on the Retiree Services webpage. (Home Page – Most Recent Notices, CG National Retiree Council – CGNRC Documents)
We met with ADM Karl Schultz in mid-December to discuss retiree council issues. Among many items, we highlighted the success of the new Long Blue Line retiree newsletter, the positive progress on Audit Error Worksheet processing and, most importantly, that our RRCs had weathered the pandemic in good shape and are looking forward to resuming a “battle rhythm” in 2021.
Speaking of the Long Blue Line, in the Winter issue you will find a new “pre-retiree” section as we have begun providing the newsletter to all active Coasties with retirement orders in hand. Also, in the TAPS section you will find that we have added original retirement dates alongside the names of our departed shipmates; a feature that many retirees requested.
As you know, our 2020 CGNRC meeting was held entirely online last August. We would really like to meet in person this year if at all possible. Thus, we are going to delay the 2021 CGNRC meeting, normally held in April/May, until mid to late August once again. The hope is that most/all will have received their COVID-19 vaccinations and travel will have returned to near normal. We will track closely and provide updates as the year progresses.
In the meantime, we will be developing our meeting agenda. Any and all suggestions for inclusion to the agenda are welcome and encouraged. Feel free to socialize ideas with either of us or forward directly to Bob Hinds, at: Robert.C.Hinds@uscg.mil
Semper Paratus
RADM Jeff Hathaway, USCG (Ret), and MCPO Lloyd Pierce, USCG (Ret)
CGNRC Co-Chairs