Chief Petty Officer Kevin Coyle U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin Metcalf. |
Ask a Responder: Q&A with a Coast Guard Health Services Technician
Chief Petty Officer Kevin Coyle, is a 17-year-veteran, and is currently working in the Unified Area Command in New Orleans in the health and safety division. In Boston, Coyle serves at Coast Guard Detachment Boston in the Health, Safety and Work Life office as the safety occupational health specialist. He is working on his online degree with the National Graduate School of Quality Management.
Q: What have you been doing to assist with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill response?
A: I started working here July 5th, in the health and safety department overseeing the health and safety of the response workers that are in the field. I've been working with newly reporting members here to ensure they understand what we have to offer to ensure that they're working safely and they get the care they need. I also work with the various staging areas and on-scene safety officials to advise them on any safety concerns they have and to address common concerns. Together, we're able to make new policies and keep our workers safe. We preach the saying "safety is everyone's responsibility" and it shows in the decline of health related incidents.
Q: What has your schedule been like?
A: Right now I'm probably working an average of 13-hour days with one day off a week. I get in before six in the morning and don't leave until 7 p.m. on most days. When I first started all I did was work. I don't think I had half a day off until 13 days after I reported to New Orleans. I spent that time learning what roles my position entailed and making sure my pass-down was completed right. It definitely was a lot more chaotic then.
Q: What are some of the difficulties you face working here?
A: The biggest challenge we're still facing is the heat. It's been our most common health concern since we've started and will probably continue to be. We've done a lot to make sure our responders are properly taken care of. However, every time our main objective changes we face new risks and problems. Right now, with boom removal going on, we're getting a lot of people who suffer from lacerations and back strains. Whenever we get new problems like this we change our practices or make sure the protective equipment our people wear is best suited for their tasks.
Q: How do you feel about being assigned to this position?
A: A couple of months before I was sent here I was able to participate in a Spill Of National Significance, or SONS, drill. The experience helped me with my current role. I wasn't expecting to get sent here, I thought I would be sent to one of the incident command posts. This is something I'm qualified to do and I enjoy being able to help.
This is a significant operation with lots of people from the Coast Guard and other agencies and I didn't expect to meet a fellow guardian I'm working on my degree with face to face. I've only dealt with him online until now because he was stationed in Florida.
Q: How do you feel about taking part in this historic response?
A: It's definitely something I probably won't be able to experience again in my Coast Guard career. I'm retiring in two and a half years and the knowledge I’ve learned here will be useful at my home unit.
It is a great collaborative effort from many different agencies. Here I was able to work with the safety chief from BP, the EPA, OSHA, and was even able to give a presentation to NAACP, something I don't normally get to do in my regular duty station.
I miss my family, but in the Coast Guard I know the mission is important.
Interview by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin Metcalf is a public affairs specialist serving at the New Orleans Unified Area Command of the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill Response. An active duty coastguardsman, he is assigned to the Eleventh Coast Guard District’s Public Affairs Detachment in Alameda, Calif.
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