The Olympic games date back more than 2,000 years. Many of the ideals we value about competition today originated from them — physical challenge, goodwill, and a spirit of mutual understanding, friendship and camaraderie amongst athletes from around the world.
The Department of Defense’s Armed Forces Sports teams were founded on similar ideals in 1947. Today, Armed Forces Sports (AFS) attracts the best and brightest talent inside the purview of active-duty athletes from among the six branches. The Coast Guard joined AFS in September 1998.
Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Collins said about the AFS, “The morale is over the top. Our athletes take so much pride in what they do.” Collins leads the Coast Guard Sports Program, which falls under the Community Services Command. “We assemble the official service team; when they put on their jerseys, they put on another uniform, and it’s the same level of pride,” he said. “The retention piece is amazing; many people have told me they extended their contract for the opportunity to continue representing the Coast Guard in military sports.”
The Coast Guard has three native teams: rugby, golf, and gaming. The other sports — including basketball, softball, wrestling, triathlon, marathon and cross country — are played through Navy partnerships. They are all sponsored by the Morale, Well-Being and Recreation (MWR) Program through non-appropriated funds.
“It’s an honor to experience music as one international language and golf as another,” said Chief Petty Officer Laura Pirruccello, who is a full-time piccolo player for the Coast Guard and competitive golfer in AFS. “Golf is a completely different medium.” Pirruccello has been in the Coast Guard band for 17 years and represents our service at the national and international levels.
Having accomplished much musically, Pirruccello said it has created space for her to focus on golfing and to apply the same practice and discipline to the sport. Although she’s actively developing her skills, she has formerly excelled at it. “I played division one golf at the University of North Texas and received a full academic scholarship for music and golf.”
Even so, Pirruccello shares she didn’t really get serious about her golf game until the age of 40. “I share that for anybody who thinks it’s too late.” But get serious, she did. As a member of the Coast Guard Golf team competing in the 2024 Armed Forces Golf Championship, she qualified for the World Military Golf Championship out of all the Armed Forces; she was chosen as one of the top three women to represent the United States in competition in Zimbabwe, Africa, against 20 countries this past April. Unfortunately, due to logistical constraints, the United States could not travel.
The people and the deep connections Coasties form through AFS are boosting retention and keeping members in the service. Chief Petty Officer Syreeta Bromfield has served in the Coast Guard for 16 years, starting as a non-rate. Now a yeoman by trade, Bromfield works in the Coast Guard Recruiting Command (CG-RC). She loves serving and “working with people.”
After being introduced to AFS by a mentor in 2008, she went on to play from 2008 to 2012. She was even selected to travel to South Korea as part of an All-Armed Forces Team. “It’s like the military Olympics,” she said. The honor was well-deserved and was years in the making.
Even among Coast Guard athletes, Bromfield boasts a unique background. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she came to the United States to play basketball for Tallahassee Community College, ultimately transferring to Michigan State University’s prestigious program. She was later drafted 28th overall in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) 2003 draft.
“I don’t talk about it much,” she said. After she got cut from the WNBA, she went overseas to play. “It wasn’t the most glamorous,” she remembered. This led her to return to the states to work at a local gym in Lansing, MI. Then she decided to get her Master’s degree and soon after she decided to join the Coast Guard.
For Bromfield, basketball made all the difference during a difficult time in her life and career. “Basketball actually saved me and made me stay in the Coast Guard,” said Bromfield.
Bromfield’s decision to stay paid-off. She won the prestigious title of the Coast Guard’s Elite Athlete of the Year three times: 2008, 2010 and 2012. Bromfield also started coaching the Navy-led women’s basketball team three years ago — her irrefutable credentials won her the position as a Coast Guard athlete. Understandably, Bromfield was also the first Coast Guard member to be inducted into the Military Basketball Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
Last year she was invited by the Air Force to help coach the All-Armed Forces team competing in Belgium for the Shape International Basketball Tournament. The team won a gold medal in 2023. “Seeing the world, meeting new people, and learning about the other branches and what they do reminds me of why I joined the Coast Guard and what we do as a branch,” reflected Bromfield.
In 2023, the Coast Guard received 141 AFS applications. The Navy selected 14 to compete in basketball, softball, wrestling, triathlon, marathon and cross country. The AFS is open to active duty personnel and reservists serving on active duty orders. You can download the Coast Guard Sports application: https://www.coastguardmwr.org/cg-sports.
“I want to give a huge shoutout to Ken Collins and all of the work he’s done behind the scenes to allow the Coast Guard to compete in this way,” added Pirruccello.
Collins credits, “a lot of people in the background who put in a lot of work on their own time to make the program successful. From my perspective, one neat piece is that members get to step away from their commands and daily lives, and it’s their moment to shine in their passion.”
Collins has been in the assignment for nearly five years now. “Coming into this job, I never knew the Coast Guard had a sports program, and I’ve been in the service for 24 years, so we need success stories to help spread the word. By far, this has been the most rewarding job that I have had in my career. I get to be the person to help our athletes pursue their athletic goals, whether that’s by serving at the elite level on a Coast Guard or Navy team or by sponsoring athletes with a sports grant for running a weekend 10K. It’s an absolute honor and privilege to manage our teams, support our people, and spread the word about this fantastic program.”
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