Your Ombudsman
The morale and mission readiness of Coast Guard personnel relates directly to the health and well-being of their families.
Your ombudsman is your point of contact between YOU and the COMMAND.
The Ombudsman (usually a spouse), is an official member of the unit’s command staff, a resource for the unit’s families, and the primary link and communicator of information between the command and unit families.
Our Ombudsman are trained to disseminate information and resources on a variety of topics to include housing, permanent change of station (PCS), relocation information, childcare, spouse employment, TRI-CARE and more; to our members and families. Ombudsmen serve the Coast Guard’s most valuable and important asset – our people. They will support members and families in their most joyous moments and in their most challenging.
Please reach out to your ombudsman so they can welcome you to the area. They are ready to provide information and resources to help ease the transition to a military lifestyle.
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If you are moving OCONUS (Outside the Continental U.S.), contact your Ombudsman before you move!
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Should you have an emergency when your spouse is deployed (underway, temporary duty, etc), contact your Ombudsman for assistance.​​
​Find your Ombudsman HERE. In order to contact your Ombudsman, make sure you are familiar with what Coast Guard District your spouse's unit is in. See the maps below for reference. ​​​​
The RedCross is also able to help you in a time of need. Click HERE to find out more.
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How Do I Find My Ombudsman?
Click the map to message the Ombudsman in your area
If your Ombudsman could speak directly to you they would say -- things may be rough in the beginning starting over in a new place from scratch -- but you are within a community of people who faced similar challenges and can relate to what you may be going through! Reach out to your new community and make a friend! And while you're doing that, here are some very important things to keep in mind:
​Spouses DO NOT wear rank. This means it doesn't matter if your Coast Guard member is Captain or brand new out of boot camp; we are spouses.
We do not have a rank, and nor should we act like our spouse's rank is ours. Whether you are an enlisted spouse or an officer's spouse, we are ALL THE SAME.
Take what people say about a duty station with a grain of salt. Remember that phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? Just because someone had a miserable time at one station, doesn't mean that is your fate.
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YOUR fate is what
YOU make it.
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If Alaska isn't someone else's jam, but you love the great outdoors and adventure, then that person's opinion of Alaska doesn't apply to you. This should be the same for ANY duty station info people give on Facebook.​
Posting that you are home alone during a spouse deployment puts YOU in danger!
Keep you and your children safe by not announcing when you're home alone.
Facebook should be used as a reference, NOT as your bible. People may choose to complain and vent their frustrations online, and that is their right -- but you should be wise enough to know that once something is online, it can be found by anyone (including anyone in the military who is considering your member for a security clearance).
This means any issue you choose to vent online COULD, and WILL, prevent your member's security clearance and career trajectory.
Posting anything online about where your spouse's boat is, when they leave, what they have on board, and when they come home
violates Operational Security (OpSec).
Remember that our loved ones are on that boat, and by posting details about when they leave and come home, you are putting our loved ones lives in jeopardy. Bad guys are watching everything, everywhere, and you wouldn't want to let them know anything about a deployment that could mean putting lives at risk.
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When command sees these posts of yours, and THEY DO, they will most often reroute the boat and go to a different port for the safety of the mission and the crew.
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They've even been known to cancel coming home and stay out to sea longer to keep everyone safe. And the person who posted the information will be in big time trouble with the command.
Please be sure to share this information with any parents/inlaws who love to boast and brag about their Coast Guardsperson, and let them know that anything that violates OpSec is a risk to all.