HONOLULU, Hawaii-“Fantail, Conn, put over line six! Foc'sle, Conn, hold line two!” These are the commands Ensign Christine Dela Cruz Torres gives to crew members on deck aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Jarvis as the ship makes her approach toward the pier at Integrated Support Command Honolulu on July 1, 2009. Torres, who is 25, and the crew of the Jarvis were two days shy of being six months away from their homeport in Honolulu.
On Jan. 3, the Jarvis departed Honolulu for a Central America Counter-Drug Patrol. However, they were diverted to Alaska's Bering Sea for a winter fisheries patrol-Torres's second Alaska patrol since reporting aboard the Jarvis in June 2008.
After a successful patrol and 11 boardings later-including one on the Farwest Leader, a fishing boat made famous by Discovery Channel's “The Deadliest Catch”-the Jarvis headed for San Francisco, California, for a 10-week drydock maintenance period, in which the ship's hull was repaired, equipment replaced and tested, and the ship given a new paint job.
“San Francisco was a welcome change in weather from the Alaska patrol,” Torres smiled. “The 50-degree weather was balmy compared to our minus 22 degrees Farenheit in the Bering Sea!”
During the drydock period, Torres got a chance to go onboard the USCGC Sherman, a 378-foot high endurance cutter (the same type of ship as the Jarvis), for the Central America Counter-Drug patrol, which the Jarvis never got to complete.
While onboard the Sherman, Torres qualified as an Underway Officer of the Deck, the most significant qualification in a junior officer's career.
Officers of the Deck, OOD's, are directly responsible to the ship's captain for the safe navigation of the ship and the safety of the crew. OOD's must display an aptitude for shiphandling, engineering, and navigation during the course of their hands-on studies aboard their ships, which culminate in sitting for an oral board in front of the ship's captain, navigator, engineer officer, executive officer, and weapons officer. When the board panel feels confident the junior officer will succeed, the officer is given their qualification letter.
“During the first three weeks of being on the Sherman, we floated around, not catching any drug boats. The night after I received my qualification letter at the end of the third week, we had a drug bust-and then every night after something big happened!” Torres recalled.
The Sherman trip ended up a success for Torres.
In addition to being added to the short list of qualified Underway OOD's, Torres and the Sherman rescued two men whose sailboat sank 200 miles off the coast of Costa Rica, boarded several drug boats and seized millions of dollars worth of cocaine bound for the United States, seized a boat carrying Bangladeshi aliens off the coast of Panama, and helped navigate the Sherman to some amazing places for the ship's R&R.
“One weekend we were in Costa Rica, the next weekend we were in El Salvador, and I ended my trip on the Sherman in Panama City, Panama. I'm forever grateful to the Coast Guard for the opportunity to see these beautiful countries,” Torres said.
At first glance, Torres looks like any island girl-long brown hair, tanned skin, and a big smile. But looks can be deceiving. Torres is the Combat Information Center officer aboard the Jarvis, who has a team of 14 enlisted operations specialists working for her. Together, they collect and use intelligence to determine operations during patrols, distribute and destroy classified material, and maintain the communications systems that Jarvis needs to work with other vessels during patrols.
Torres is responsible for much of the intelligence information the ship's captain is briefed on-and uses to make decisions.
“The hours are long, the job gets tedious at times, but when you're pulling dozens of bails of cocaine out of the water, you feel like you have the best job in the world!” Torres said.
Torres graduated in May 2008 from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, with a bachelor's degree in Government, and received her officer's commission on the same day. Prior to the Academy, Torres was enlisted as a Fireman aboard the USCGC Mellon in Seattle, Washington from 2002-2003. She was accepted to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island for a year before reporting to the Academy in June 2004.
She was the first woman from the CNMI to graduate from any of the U.S. Service Academies. The other four are: U.S. Military Academy (West Point, NY), U.S. Air Force academy (Colorado Springs, CO), U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD), and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kingspoint, NY). Those who attend the five Service Academies receive a fully-paid college education, complete with room, board, medical and dental benefits, and a monthly stipend. Graduates receive a bachelor's degree in the major of their choosing, and their commission as an officer in their respective service.
When asked why she wanted to become an officer in the Coast Guard, Torres said: “I like a challenge. While most people think to enlist in the service, which I also did, I never lost sight of my goal to reach higher and tackle the Academy. Also, the Coast Guard is such a small service (38,000 active duty), that regardless of your rank, you are all working together to accomplish the mission. I may be the qualified OOD on the Bridge and solely responsible to the captain for the ship's safe navigation, but on my watch I have enlisted quartermasters, helmsmen, lookouts, boatswain's mates, engineers, all helping me in this very significant task.”
As for the best part of being in the Coast Guard, Torres immediately said, “The travel. I have to pinch myself sometimes because I can't believe I'm getting paid to see the world. I've drunk Guiness beer in Ireland, and drunk sakau in Pohnpei. I've driven through 15-foot seas in Alaska's Bering Sea, and walked along the beaches of El Salvador and Costa Rica. All these experiences are truly a blessing.”
Torres graduated from Mount Carmel School with honors in 2002. She is the daughter of Antonio T. and Consolacion Dela Cruz Torres, of Capital Hill, Saipan. She has one sister, Ana Maria, 10. Torres is engaged to Sylvan O. Igisomar, director of Fish & Wildlife, and the two are planning a Summer 2010 wedding. (USCG)
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