Gullo enjoys camaraderie at Small Boat Station

BY JULIAN EURE Managing Editor

Vincent Gullo considered joining the U.S. Coast Guard for the same reason a lot of other young people do: because he had a friend who had joined.

Gullo, a 19-year-old native of Ocean City, New Jersey, says he saw what his friend was doing in the Coast Guard and thought “it looked awesome!”

But the two things that clinched his decision to join were his patriotism and pragmatism.

“I could do something awesome for my country and get a college education for free out of it,” he said.

Gullo is stationed at Small Boat Station Elizabeth City, said he isn’t planning to make the Coast Guard a career. But he does believe what he’ll do and learn in the Coast Guard will “aid me in my future career.”

That’s why Gullo, who is currently non-rated, plans to seek either an aviation mechanical technician or boatswain mate’s rate. He believes either will provide him with the training and skills he’ll need to pursue career opportunities outside the Coast Guard. Among the awards and honors he’s already earned are a National Defense Service Medal and Coast Guard Marksman Pistol Ribbon. Coast Guard. He’s only been the service nine months and seven of them have been spent here.

Gullo’s job duties include taking part in “multi-mission operations” that he says help “ensure the safety of people on the water.” He also works to keep the station’s boats in a state of constant readiness for the unit’s missions.

He says the most interesting mission he’s participated in so far was a search and rescue case where station personnel were searching for a person in the water.

“I learned how important the Coast Guard missions are and why we train so hard,” he said.

Gullo said he “loves” his assignment at the small boat station, particularly because of the camaraderie he has with fellow Coasties whom he considers “my second family.”

In fact, when he’s not on duty, Gullo says he likes going to the beach and hanging out with friends he works with at the station.

So what’s the best part of Coast Guard life for him? Getting paid to travel, he says.

“The advantages of that is that I get to see the world for free,” he said.

The one challenge he has is one all service people experience: “being away from my family in New Jersey,” he says.

Asked if he would recommend Coast Guard service to others, Gullo indicated he would.

“I would tell them it is a great time; you will face some challenges but everything is what you make it,” he said.