Station Cape May engineer receives rank upgrade During a “virtual” Sector Del Bay all-hands held Dec. 12, 2020, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Raymond was called out by Rear Adm. Laura Dickey, who let Raymond know he was out of uniform. As his shipmates looked on, some of the more senior ones wearing knowing smiles, the admiral advised the MK2 that his crows were the wrong rank, and then, with a smile, meritoriously advanced him to the rank of first class petty officer. “I knew they put me in for something, but everything takes such a long time, so when the admiral mentioned my name, I thought she was just giving me a shout out,” said Raymond. “When she said I was out of uniform, I had a semi-panic for a minute, but when she said she was advancing me, I was just shocked.” A month later, in a ceremony held at Station Cape May, N.J., Jan. 23, 2021, the commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Franklin firefighter relishes role with Coast Guard By Carole Robinson, Williamson Herald After serving their country through military service, many veterans find a way to continue serving. Jonathan Dye, assistant fire marshal for the city of Franklin, Tenn., has found several ways to do just that. Dye is a 1996 graduate of Columbia High School and a 1998 graduate of Columbia State Community College. After 14 years of school, Dye still didn’t know what he wanted to do with is life. His older brother had joined the Marines. “I was not going to let him beat me,” Dye said. “I went in the Marines. The recruiter told me engineer was building stuff, instead I got combat engineer, dealing with land mines. The life span of a combat engineer is very short.” Dye signed up for the Marine Corps Reserve. In 2003, his reserve unit was called for deployment to Afghanistan. He was in 29 Palms, California, ready to leave, when the deployment was cancelled. That same year, he joined the Franklin Fire Department as a firefighter after serving over three years with the Columbia Fire Department. “I was 22 and a year out of Marine training and was exploring options when a couple friends in the Columbia Fire Department suggested I try it,” Dye said. “I was still an adrenalin junkie from the Marines, so I went for it and got the job.” In 2004, his six-year contract with the Marine Corps was up. Dye and his wife had a 2-year-old and another on the way. He didn’t re-up, but while he was serving his community as a firefighter, he had a strong desire to serve his country. “I had some regrets I didn’t deploy,” he said. “I was ready, but we didn’t go.” Something Dye heard about the Coast Guard intrigued him. Although he had to drop rank to E-3 seaman, he entered the Coast Guard in 2007. “I’ve been in the Reserve ever since,” he said. In August, Dye earned the rank of chief petty officer assigned to Station Destin, Florida. The Coast Guard responds to natural disasters and maritime law enforcement all over the world. During the past 13 years, Dye has been activated numerous times. 40 RESERVIST � Issue 1 • 2021 “The Coast Guard is so versatile,” he said. Dye was active at Port Arthur, Texas, for a year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. “The Coast Guard has deployed to all the major hurricanes,” Dye said. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Coast Guard responded in New Orleans and along the Alabama-Mississippi coast. Dye spent three weeks in Texas when Hurricane Ike hit in 2008. During the Great Mississippi Flood of 2011, Dye spent three weeks deployed to the areas of Opelousas and Butte La Rose, La., checking bayous for people who might be stranded. In 2016, Dye and his crew were activated to the Coast Guard Station (Small) Alpena, Mich., on Lake Huron for four months to backfill the gaps of active duty crews during the heavy summer season. They performed drug interdictions on a couple of the small islands in the lake and worked with Homeland Security since part of the lake is in Canada. “I love the Coast Guard,” Dye said. “When we go to drill, we don’t just train, we actually fill roles. We fill in positions for search and rescue and maritime law enforcement.” �
