Coast Guardsmen get holiday call from President Obama

Written by: LT Connie Braesch

Part of President Obama’s Christmas morning included a personal phone call to members of the military, thanking them for their service.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Dustin Monroe, a yeoman assigned as a hazardous materials inspector to the Coast Guard’s Redeployment Inspection-Assistance Detachment (RAID), spent about two minutes chatting with the President.

“It was definitely an honor and a cool experience,” said Monroe, a Missoula, Montana native who is halfway through a yearlong deployment with the 17-member RAID team. “He asked me how things were going so far and wished us a happy holiday season. It was fun and I’m glad I was able to share the experience with my Coast Guard and Army teammates.”


“Today, we’re also thinking of those who can’t be home for the holidays – especially all our courageous countrymen serving overseas,” Obama said in his Weekly Address with the First Lady. “America’s brave servicemen and women represent a small fraction of our population. But they and the families who await their safe return carry far more than their fair share of the burden.”

Monroe has spent the past six months at forward locations throughout Iraq in order to help Army units return equipment and personnel to the States. The RAID team is one of a handful of units assigned to Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, a 300-member strong unit based in Bahrain, which supports missions throughout the Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn theaters.

Monroe was one of just two Coast Guardsmen to receive phone calls from the Commander in Chief this holiday morning. The other is aboard a Coast Guard patrol boat in the Arabian Gulf.