Coble to be honored by Coast Guard tonight
Washington,
Jul 25, 2012 -
(Washington, D.C.)----To thank him for his dedicated support of the United States Coast Guard – in both uniform and as an elected official – U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) will be honored on Capitol Hill tonight by the service. Congressman Coble will be awarded the Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf Award by the Coast Guard.
"Congressman Coble was selected for his unwavering and long-standing support of the Coast Guard and its members," said Commander Bion Stewart, Coast Guard Liaison for the U.S. House. "His service and friendship to the men and women of the Coast Guard is as valuable to the Service as the attentive and diligent oversight he’s provided since serving as the inaugural Chairman of the Coast Guard’s Subcommittee in 1995. It is the Commandant’s honor to recognize his service and dedication to the Coast Guard with the Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf Award."
Named for the first Commandant of the modern Coast Guard and sponsored by the National Capital Council of the Navy League of the United States, the Bertholf Award recognizes each year one congressional leader for his or her long-term vision and support of Coast Guard men and women and for promoting maritime safety and security.
Congressman Coble will be presented with a watch glass to represent the award. "The watch glass (telescope) is a traditional nautical tool," according to CDR Stewart, "which sailors have used throughout history to identify friends or foes, read signals from other ships, or to identify landmarks or navigation aids. It represents long range vision."
A perpetual plaque will hang in the Commandant’s office at Coast Guard Headquarters displaying the same watch glass with the individual names of the recipients listed below on individual brass plates. Past Bertholf Award recipients are:
2010 Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
2009 Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
2008 Sen. Frank Lautenberg (R-NJ)
2007 Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)
2006 Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
2005 Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
2004 Sen. John Breaux (D-LA)
2003 Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
2002 Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
2001 Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
2000 Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Congressman Coble served in the U. S. Coast Guard for five-and- a-half years and more than 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He retired with the rank of Captain. Coble will receive the Bertholf Award tonight from the Commandant of the Coast Guard in ceremony on Capitol Hill.
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