GATHER Veterans-Warriors-Heroes Mar/April 2022 Magazine

Featured Coast Guard

Women Can Do It And Rise To The Challenge

Lauren Cook - First Class Yeoman E6

Strong support is an essential part of success, and that fact is no different for our local Coast Guard and their team. While the pilots and rescue members are tasked with the adrenaline rushes of searches or recovery events, behind the scenes help is ongoing and important. “People are still surprised when I say I’m in the Coast Guard,” laughs Lauren Cook, “but I am!” As a First-Class Yeoman E6, Lauren works what she calls the human resources side of the organization. Her primary duties are in administration, helping with written orders, filing claims, ensuring proper benefits and pay, and even coordinating logistics when Coast Guard members are moving. “It’s a less glamorous job, but I still feel like part of a team,” she says. “I’m not flying the planes, but we all work together to keep our community safe and secure in different ways.” Lauren is a key part of the action through answering the distress calls, starting the alarm, and communicating with the helicopter. “I love supporting my co-workers and working with these heroic people,” she says.

Lauren over the Niagara Falls

A Coast Guard career wasn’t on Lauren’s radar when she graduated from college with a degree in International Relations. She had the misfortune of graduating during the recession, making the path to her plans much tougher. She hoped to find a job in the government or attend law school, and both were impossible to do with the hiring freezes and lack of jobs in the fields. Unsure how to move forward, Lauren took a position in Puerto Rico through the Enterprise Car Rental Management Program. While there, she met a group of Coasties who inspired her to join in their talks of adventure through their missions. She joined the Coast Guard at age 26 and could have been stationed at any unit, but to her happiness, that unit was Michigan.

What Lauren dubbed as a trial turned into a job she’s been at for eight years. She first worked in the Detroit area and was part of the cases, even flying over Niagara Falls on a mission. She was transferred to Traverse City in 2020 and brought her husband and two kids with her. “I’m gaining so much experience here,” she says. “I’ve learned practical skills to have in this field that would translate to the civilian sector, and I’m able to have a work-life balance that fits our family.”

Marching at a Veterans Day parade

Calls to the Coast Guard range in drama and needs. “It can be a false alarm, like when there was a sick person on a freighter they thought would need to be airlifted out, but later didn’t have to be,” Lauren recalls. “But then we answer frantic calls about lost people, where time is running short. On Christmas Day, we picked up a missing hiker. While winter slows down here, people are still ice fishing, snowmobiling, and exploring the outdoors, and we’re on call when they need help. Christmas doesn’t stop the Coast Guard; COVID doesn’t stop us. We are available 24/7 for our community.”

The team spirit of the Coast Guard is prevalent for everyone involved. “My position at the Coast Guard isn’t operational, but with this particular unit, we have that team bond. Also, the residents here LOVE the Coast Guard and are proud and thankful that we’re here,” Lauren says. “It feels good to live in an area where we are so appreciated.” Lauren and many members of the Coast Guard give that feeling of appreciation right back to the community. “We just started a Coast Guard enlisted association chapter here in Traverse City, and I’m the Vice President. We do fundraisers to help both local coasties in need as well as the community and plan to volunteer as well to give back! We recently did a food drive over the summer and a coat drive in December - both for Father Fred’s,” says Lauren.

Lauren volunteered at an air show at Selfridge ANGB outside of Detroit

“There’s a different perspective as a woman in a mostly male-dominated field,” Lauren reflects, “although we have amazing aircraft mechanics and pilots who are female. I’m lucky to be at an air station that can be more flexible, but juggling a job and children can be hard. Our night calls go for a full 24 hours, and we can’t leave, so I have to make sure to coordinate with my husband’s schedule. Fortunately, our unit is incredibly family-friendly!”

Lauren says that many of her female friends and coworkers are gone for a month at a time for service, and don’t bat an eye. “Women can do it and rise to the challenge,” she says. “I see it every day.”