Chief Petty Officer Michelle Houston

By Andrea Busche

WhileChief Michelle Houston is a high-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard today, when she decided to enlist, she was a hardworking but somewhat aimless 22-year old, just trying to figure out her life. Eighteen years later, she remains in the military, and has earned many promotions along the way.

Through a life filled with structure and discipline, Chief Houston has risen in the ranks to become a top leader – her current rank is E-7 Chief Petty Officer, and she is also the Acting Command Chief for the Marine Safety Unit in Duluth. Her job title is marine science technician. Houston remains humble, however, despite her many promotions and career success.

Chief Houston may not have had a clear vision on day one, but the military certainly has a unique way of finding the “diamonds” and helping them shine.

Early life in Washington

Houston grew up in Spokane, Wash., where she lived for the first 22 years of her life. Her dad was an entrepreneur who owned an eclectic variety of businesses, including an employment service, a janitorial company and a nursing school. And her mom worked for a computer company, where she handled software sales along with administrative duties.

Houston started working for her dad at a young age.

“Every day after school, my older sister and I would have to vacuum a church,” she said. “We just hated the fact that my dad was a janitor, but it was actually quite a lucrative business for him.”

After high school, Houston earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts. At the time, she was working as a server in a bar, and wasn’t quite sure of her next step in life. Her entire future hinged on a frank question – along with some solid advice – received from her dad.

“My dad asked me, ‘What are you going to do with your life?’ He had recently taken a fishing trip on the Oregon Coast, and he had seen a Coast Guard station there. He suggested I enlist, so I did. I immediately met with a recruiter, and started boot camp in September 2002.”

Houston truly had no idea what to expect.

“Growing up in a non-military family, I didn’t even know what I was stepping into,” she said.

She was also surprised that, at the tender age of 22, she was considered the “elder” of her boot camp group.

California

Boot camp was held in Cape May, N.J., and lasted eight weeks. After that, she was stationed in Alameda, Calif.

Houston met her future husband, Nate Houston, an electrician, a few short months before she enlisted. The two got engaged in short order, and Houston planned a Washington wedding to Nate while living in military housing in California. Their wedding was a whirlwind, but ultimately, the two settled into spousal Coast Guard housing in Alameda.

At the time, Houston was an E-3 level seaman, working in the shipping and receiving area of a warehouse. After two years, she attended the Coast Guard’s “A” School in Yorktown, Va. Here, she was trained to become a marine science technician, which is still her specialty today. Soon, she was promoted to an E-4 3rd Class Petty Officer, and she and Nate moved to Valdez, Alaska, for her next assignment.

Alaska

The Houstons remained in Valdez from 2004-2009. During this time, Houston was promoted two more times, ultimately becoming a 1st Class Petty Officer. Her next move was to Sitka, Alaska, where the couple remained for four years, followed by three years in Juneau. While in Alaska, Nate began a successful electric company of his own, and the couple had two of their three children – Gaige, now 12, and Sadie, 7.

Houston was promoted again, in 2015, to Chief Petty Officer, which required a job transfer to Duluth. The family was intrigued.

“When you’re in Alaska, people talk a lot about Minnesota,” she said. “They’re somewhat similar. But I’ve learned that the winters are much more extreme here!”

The family settled down in Cloquet in 2016, and Houston reports to work at the federal building located in downtown Duluth. Their daughter, Ember, who is 1, joined the family after they relocated to Minnesota.

Marine safety technician

Houston explained a bit about her job duties.

“My job is very environmentallybased. For instance, the ‘salties’ that come in to port – we go onboard to make sure they’re compliant, have proper documentation, and aren’t polluting the water. We visit neighboring businesses, such as CN Duluth, to check on security issues. And, if there’s a drum floating out in the water or an oil sheen, people call the Coast Guard, and we respond to those types of calls.”

Today, Houston has three direct reports, but also oversees the readiness and performance of the entire area’s enlisted workforce.

While the Houston family misses life in Alaska at times, they love Minnesota, too.

“I love the summers here,” Houston said. “And I love the people. I had heard rumors about ‘Minnesota nice,’ but it’s definitely a thing.”

In addition to her regular duties, Houston also serves as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association, a non-profit organization which promotes community service, scholarships and fundraising, and partners with military and veterans’ organizations both locally and nationally. She also volunteers in her own time, by serving at local soup kitchens, and organizing donations for Safe Haven Shelter and Feds Feed Families.

When she’s not working, Houston enjoys spending time outdoors, sewing and quilting.

“I don’t have a lot of time lately, but I have a fabric stash that’s just calling my name,” she said with a laugh. Eventually, after her military retirement, she would like to go back to school and become either a nurse or chef.

Advice

Chief Houston would recommend a military career to other young people, particularly women, stressing how it can really enhance one’s leadership capabilities.

“I’ve always been a pretty responsible, disciplined, structured, and timely person, but the Coast Guard has taught me to be a leader,” she said. “It’s also taught me to be humble.

“I’d highly recommend the military as a career for young women,” she continued. “I think you have to go into it with the mind frame that, ‘I can do this job as well as a man could.’” D