PETTY OFFICERS’ LOVE STORY ON KODIAK ISLAND

For Petty O cer First Class Ashley Wallace, a Coast Guard yeoman, occasionally her blue uniform is hung in the closet and replaced with camouflage, zero-degree thermals and hunting boots.

On weekends, she and her husband, Petty O cer First Class yeoman Branson Wallace, layer up, pack their rifles, emergency signaling devices and a surplus of food and clothing. They like to escape the daily grind while experiencing some of the world’s best hunting and fishing opportunities on Alaska’s Kodiak Island …

“My husband and I got orders to Kodiak in 2013 and knew nothing about Kodiak, but we were so excited,” Wallace says.

“We started helping teach at North Star Elementary where they were introducing the National Archery School program in town,” says Wallace. “It’s been part of the Alaska school curriculum or extracurricular activities since 2013, where they teach kids how to shoot compound bows. It was a very cool experience to see them fall in love with archery at such a young age, like I did.”

From there, Wallace says she and her husband got into fishing. But, after the thrill of fishing, it wasn’t long before it gave Wallace an itch to begin hunting, since hunting from a boat is common in parts of Alaska.

“I wanted to spread my wings a little bit, so Branson and I bought a boat,” says Wallace.

“I think it’s important that they [women] see that you can be the girl that puts on makeup and dresses up, and then all of a sudden you’ve got war paint on, and you’re in camo, and guttin’ something and haulin’ meat out,” she adds. -U.S. Coast Guard Petty O

OUT

the fish come to you!