A passion to serve: GM1 Michael Plitsch becomes the D8 REPOY Story by Senior Chief Petty Officer Susan Blake Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Plitsch of Port Security Unit 308 knew very early growing up that he wanted to have a career in the military or in law enforcement. Coming from a long line of law enforcement and military family members, it’s not hard to understand why Plitsch is engrained with a passion to serve. A native of New Paltz, N.Y., Plitsch was named this year’s Eighth District Enlisted Person of the Year – Reserve Component. While enrolled in a criminal justice vocational school during high school, his teacher mentored him and discussed possible careers in the military, specifically the maritime law enforcement missions of the Coast Guard. “After researching other military options, I found the Coast Guard’s mission and core values reflected my personality and devotion to duty,” said Plitsch. “I decided that the Coast Guard would be an excellent path for me to obtain my future goals.” He began his career at Sector New York where he had the opportunity to work on high-profile events like the New York City Marathon, which hosts 50,000 runners each year. In 2010, he was deployed for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to Mobile, Ala. “I was astounded to see the amazing effects of community, which strengthened my goals to ensure the health and safety for both my shipmates and the response crews that helped to restore the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon incident,” said Plitsch. With the intensity of back-to-back hurricane seasons, Plitsch’s response experiences for hurricanes Irma and Michael have had the most impact on him. “I was able to see firsthand the destruction of these storms and it allowed me to help others in ways that I couldn’t have imagined,” said Plitsch. “During these deployments, I was able to aid in bringing food, water and shelter to those that needed it the most.” He made the jump to the Gulf Coast after meeting his wife, Erin, who was working at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab during his Deepwater Horizon deployment. Now married seven years, Plitsch has a real estate investment business and lives in Bay St. Louis, Miss. A well-rounded Coastguardsman, Plitsch enjoys running, weightlifting, and refereeing soccer, and he still has a passion for meteorology from his youth. Previously assigned to Sector Mobile, Plitsch is now stationed at Port Security Unit 308 in Kiln, Miss., serving in the weapon’s division supporting the operational divisions with small arms qualification, small arms training, pyrotechnics training and ensuring the ordnance program is compliant. “The Coast Guard and [Pacific Area] are always making policy changes based on the active duty component,” said Chief Petty Officer Joseph Jones. “GM1 Plitsch has been incorporating these changes into our local [procedures], as well as sharing these changes with other PSUs.” According to Jones, the LPO of the armory is critical to mission readiness and success, and Plitsch’s research and development, including networking with other PSU community members, have been instrumental in keeping PSU 308 on track. His award cites numerous accomplishments, including streamlining and improving the unit’s weapon qualification policy, developing detailed training guides, and setting clear standards that ensured over 100 members achieved proficiency on weapon systems. In addition, Plitsch developed a detailed training guide for firearm marksmanship coaches, which resulted in over 250 weapons qualifications. Leveraging local Department of Defense resources, he identified land- based weapons ranges within reasonable commuting distance, maximizing training and saving the Coast Guard money. “Personally, I am proud of who I have Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Plitsch receives the Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year award during a ceremony at the National WWII Museum in downtown New Orleans, March 6, 2020. In this photo, from left to right, Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Sawyer, Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Plitsch and wife Erin; far right, Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz and wife Dawn. 30 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2020 become and how hard I have worked to get where I’m at in my life,” said Plitsch. “There were many times when I had my doubts about where I should be in regard to my career path. Perhaps the one thing that I learned while in the Coast Guard was the meaning of leadership and the impacts a good leader has on the people.” �
