CEO Update – Fall 2025

As the Atlantic hurricane season reaches its peak, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA) is fully prepared for what are often the most challenging months of the year for our community. These storms can strike without warning—uprooting families, damaging homes, and creating immediate, urgent needs.

Thanks to your continued generosity, CGMA stands ready to respond at a moment’s notice, delivering critical support that allows Coast Guard families to face these hardships with strength, confidence, and security.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina—a storm that left a lasting mark on the Gulf Coast and on the Coast Guard community. In just 10 days following landfall, Coast Guard members rescued and evacuated 33,000 people, putting service before self in the most extraordinary way. Yet when the mission ended, many returned to devastation of their own: 28% of Coast Guard personnel in the region discovered their own homes were damaged or destroyed.

In that moment, CGMA stepped in—delivering over $1 million in immediate aid to 850 Coast Guard members whose lives had been turned upside down by Katrina alone. By year’s end, CGMA disbursed over $3 million in disaster relief aid to members of our Coast Guard community. That legacy of rapid, compassionate support continues to define who we are today.

When disaster strikes—whether it’s evacuation assistance, home repairs, food replacement, or emergency relief—CGMA is there. Just as we were then, we remain ready now.

But preparedness isn’t just about response—it’s also about connection. This summer, we’ve been proud to engage directly with the community: attending the Chief Petty Officers Association Convention and Auxiliary National Training Summit, visiting with cadets at the Coast Guard Academy, and connecting with leadership and trainees at Training Centers Cape May, Petaluma, and Yorktown. These conversations reinforce a core belief at the heart of CGMA: Helping Our Own matters at every stage of service.

If your unit, association, or community is hosting an event, we would be honored to join you. Every gathering is a chance to remind Coast Guard members that they are never alone—support is always within reach.

And for those joining us in North Myrtle Beach, I look forward to seeing you at the CGMA Invitational Golf Tournament, November 12–16!

Together, we ensure that no one in the Coast Guard family faces hardship alone.

Yours in service,

Brooke Millard, CDR, USCG, (Ret.)
Chief Executive Officer, CGMA