Feature Story

The deck of a Coast Guard buoy tender ship can be a very dangerous place. From working with objects that weigh in at more than nine tons to the sea and weather conditions it is absolutely necessary to have a highly qualified and trusted person leading the crew.

For the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Fir, the senior qualified buoy deck rigger, and one who the command places a great deal of trust in, is Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Cordova.

Originally from Bakersfield, Calif., Cordova entered the Coast Guard in Jan. 2005 and arrived to the Fir April 29, 2006.

Although one of the most junior members of the ship’s crew Cordova was shown just how highly his command thinks of him by his nomination for the 2009 Enlisted Person of the Year (EPOY).

 

SEATTLE – Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Cordova (holding certificate) was awarded as his unit’s 2009 Enlisted Person Of The Year and nominated as the 2009 Pacific Northwest Enlisted Person Of The Year (EPOY) during a ceremony held at the Coast Guard base here March 12, 2010. In the photo (from left to right) Coast Guard Reserve Forces Master Chief Jeffrey Smith, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexander Cordova, and Rear Adm. Gary Blore Thirteenth Coast Guard District Commander. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class David R. Marin.

Every year Coast Guard units are asked to nominate crewmembers for the Coast Guard’s EPOY. Being that the Coast Guard is divided into nine regional districts, members are first nominated to be their district’s EPOY. From there each of the district’s EPOYs is nominated for the chance to become the Coast Guard’s EPOY.

Lt. Molly Waters reported as the Executive Officer aboard Fir July, 2009. Cordova’s name consistently came up as the go to guy when discussing the crew with the command her new command.

“I’ll tell you the way I know him,” said Waters. “Cordova is the senior qualified person down on the buoy deck. On a cutter where we regularly work nineteen thousand pound buoys that carries with it a tremendous responsibility. The senior qualified person on the buoy deck is not only responsible for teaching the break-ins but for keeping them safe as well. That is really illustrative of the leadership role that he has stepped up to assume. Down on that buoy deck he is both an excellent teacher for the break-ins and a very vigilant leader. Time and again he will identify dangerous situations and get people out of them.”

In the command’s EPOY nomination letter for Cordova he is highly praised for his knowledge as an electrician’s mate 3rd class (EM3). Cordova has taken care of projects far beyond what is expected of a 3rd class petty officer. One such project was troubleshooting the ship’s gyrocompass.

A gyrocompass is a compass that finds true north by using an electrically powered spinning wheel and friction forces in order to find true north, or the direction of Earth's rotational axis, as opposed to magnetic north as other compasses do. This makes the gyrocompass far less susceptible to external magnetic fields like those created by ferrous metal in a ship's hull.

“The gyrocompass is an electrical nightmare,” said Waters. “He methodically went through every single component in the system and trouble shot everything until he found one tiny trouble making capacitor that was causing the whole system to go on the fritz.”

When a component this difficult to fix starts malfunctioning, the component is often completely removed and replaced.

“Instead he found a ten-dollar capacitor that was the problem removed it and even soldered a new one in,” added Waters. “So what could have cost the Coast Guard thousands of dollars to fix in addition of thousands of dollars of tech support, he ended up spending ten dollars and a great deal of his own time to repair.”

Also mentioned in Cordova’s EPOY submission was his work on the Water Quality Package, a piece of equipment that plays a major role in stern tube cooling and keeping the main shaft bearing from burning up while underway.

Cordova didn’t have much guidance, on how the Water Quality Package would be installed. So he and Chief Petty Officer David Mooney had to get it installed and do all the plumbing and electrical work for it.

“Cordova spearheaded this project,” added Waters. “Which is way above and beyond what you would expect of a third class and he did it admirably. He did a perfect job and ended writing up the installation procedures for other cutters to follow.”

“When we received the Water Quality Package it didn’t fit into the spot it had to go into,” added Cordova. “We had to cut up the mounting brackets and fit it into place. We also had to install new fittings and the low flow alarm system that’s wired into the package.”

“These sorts of projects are normally handled by chiefs, maybe a warrant officer in some cases,” added Waters. “However his entire chain of command trusts his integrity and his technical expertise enough to be assigned these projects to take care of and he never disappoints. Every time he has delivered. In fact it would be difficult to find anyone who could execute theses things as well as he did.”

Cordova not only is an example in regards to his work but also to his commitment to others both on and off the cutter while on and off duty. Aside from performing his duties well beyond the standard and taking care of projects that would normally be assigned to someone far more senior than him, he has been near single handedly responsible for getting us a great gym onboard.

“I’ve never seen such a nice gym on a Coast Guard cutter,” said Waters. “I was told that it was all Cordova. He has done all the equipment procurement and instillation; he laid down rubber matting, and has also gotten a trainer certification and has been providing free personal trainer services not only to the crew but also to some of the crew’s families. All of that has been done outside of his normal work hours.

In addition to his commitment to his and other’s health, two years ago Cordova became certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

“My fiancé has a son,” said Cordova. “And I felt that I would like to be prepared and know everything I could about emergency medical response in case anything happens to him or anyone around me. That’s probably the worse feeling, you know? When something happens and you just have to stand back and watch.”

With his EMT training he has been able to respond to several different medical emergencies including a shipmate choking, another breaking an ankle and a car crash.

“I was driving home from work one day when I was flagged down by a shipmate who had stopped on the side of the road to aid a car crash victim,” said Cordova. “The man was having seizures and I assisted by removing his dentures and clearing the vomit from his throat.”

Cordova then stood by until an ambulance crew arrived.

When the unit’s only corps man, Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Miller, went on leave Cordova, with his EMT training, stepped in to fill the void.

“Aside from having the EMT training he has a caregiver demeanor,” said Waters. “He’s just real empathetic to people and just really interested in making sure that they’re doing all right onboard. He was the perfect person to fill that role.

His work assisting and covering for Miller is yet another example of this 3rd class electrician’s mate, a very junior member, stepping out into a leadership role that is not only held by a senior petty office but that is also outside of his rate specialty.

“He’s one of these infuriatingly humble guys,” added Waters. “You’ll tell him that he’s the man and he’ll find some other person or circumstance to credit instead when the credit is only due him. He’s got the type of personality that really earns people’s respect puts them at ease and makes them want to learn from them.”

Cordova, like every one of the service members nominated as an EPOY, is an exceptional representative of the service.

“It sure is an honor and a privilege to work with him,” concluded Waters. “Seeing that junior of a person operating at such a high level makes me think that the service will be in good shape for the years to come.”