Internship at USCG Air Station Elizabeth City
By Wyatt Sebourn | AUP Unit California Maritime
As part of AUP, students involved are eligible to apply for an internship with the USCG. These internships typically follow the interests of involved students as a way of putting all the classroom knowledge to work. In the case of Mr. Jacob Marx from Flotilla 9-5 out of Davenport, Iowa and a member of the Remote Collaborative Unit, it was a way for him to become more familiar with the workplace at a Coast Guard air station. Mr. Marx is currently a senior at Monmouth College studying political science and journalism with a desire to give back to the community and serve the nation. Flotilla 9-5 (Davenport, Iowa) is incredibly supportive of his ventures. His goals are to build up his resume for Coast Guard’s OCS this winter and to eventually go through flight school and fly for the USCG.
In the near future, Mr. Marx plans to use his background in journalism and his internship experience to pursue the Auxiliary Public Affairs Specialist qualifications. Since he was only seven years old, he has had the desire to become a USCG Aviator, and his experience at Air Station Elizabeth City has certainly fueled that desire.
In his three weeks at Air Station Elizabeth City, Mr. Marx assisted in everything from watch standing to station related Public Affairs. “One of the most exciting/interesting moments from the internship was assisting the PAO with the media after Air Station Elizabeth City rescued four Naval Aviators after their two FA-18F Super Hornets out of Naval Air Station Oceana crashed off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Being someone already involved with journalism, it was fascinating to be on the other end of the story and seeing how the Coast Guard responds to the media.” Mr. Marx also engaged with the pilots by getting to know them and how they got to where they were.
Mr. Marx as the "victim" of a water rescue training exercise.
Mr. Marx shares his experiences at the air station: “The most rewarding experiences that I had while out at Elizabeth City was being able to fly along with the aircrews on training flights and missions. Being someone who loves flying, it was very exciting to be able to experience the Coast Guard aviation missions first hand, whether it was training flights in the MH-60T Jayhawks or maritime fishery patrols in the HC-130J Hercules. Another exciting moment that I had was being hoisted from the Pasquotank River by a MH-60T Jayhawk as part of the DUCK syllabus. Getting to experience from the flipside of what the Coast Guard aircrews do was very cool… The most difficult thing that I did while at the Air Station was attempting to assemble a pair of study cubicles for the training department. It certainly did not help that the company failed to send the right parts and I did not realize it until I was about two hours into the project…”
For anyone looking to join or has recently joined AUP or the Auxiliary, Mr. Marx gave some advice for success. 1) Network whenever you can. Mr. Marx wouldn’t have heard about the internship with the Air Station had it not been for his friend in AUP. This friend put him in contact with an AUP graduate who was involved at the Air Station before going active. 2) Pay attention to what the Chiefs have to say at your internship; they truly know how the Coast Guard is run and will always have good insight into everything going on.
