Grandparents spoil their grandkids - By Captain Cari B. Thomas

Okay. All you parents out there remember taking your kids to your parents'
houses. Sometimes you left them alone for a night, for a weekend or a
vacation. For however long, though, it always seemed like the grandparents
were always too indulgent, rarely enough discipline and it took too long to
undo your kids bad habits.

Now certainly, I would never consider myself a grandparent to a recruit. As
a young 46 year old woman I can barely think about my daughter (a college
sophomore) being old enough to live on her own. But she is, and she does.
I miss her every day.

My daughter is a better woman, not only for our parents' indulgence as
grandparents, for the support of her teachers, the persistence of her
coaches, and for the discipline, structure and love that my husband and I
provided.

In the end, the transition from being civilians into military members is
hard. It comes with both the good and the difficult times, not unlike life.
But conducting operations in the Coast Guard sometimes goes smoothly and
other times, is very challenging. Every person at Training Center Cape May
has a role in that transition. Company Commanders operate under my
authority to provide discipline, structure and, yes, love to the recruits.
The medical staff provides a listening ear when recruits don't feel well.
The gym staff provides direction and supervision to improve their physical
fitness. The instructional and seamanship staff provide intellectual and
professional development. My job? Lead by example. Provide discipline
when needed. Be human once in a while. Have fun. If a Company Commander
sees a recruit who might not have used proper greetings or said thank you,
they can correct them. We all play a part in recruit transformation; you
will be impressed!

Although I do not normally comment on the performance of a single recruit or
company, I wanted to pass one thing along. November Company looked amazing
when they marched by Quarters A (where I live) in the pouring rain on
Saturday afternoon. They are progressing well; I look forward to running in
formation with them in the weeks to come.

The journals will continue. We do not edit their tone or content.

Your passion indicates your love and support - thanks for all you've done.
Keep the letters to your loved ones coming!