On Watch. Always Ready. Always Here.

If shutdown results in a pay halt, CGMA is here to help

The partial government shutdown in December 2018/ January 2019 resulted in the single largest relief effort in CGMA history as the Coast Guard workforce experienced work without pay. During this 35-day period, CGMA’s incredible team delivered $8.4 million in assistance to 6,200 Coast Guard members.  

At the time, I was the Executive Officer of Eagle, and our crew was preparing the tall ship for a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Work on a ship is risk-inherent whether at sea or in port. In our case, it was winter at Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, and we had junior enlisted members 120+ feet aloft, bending on sail and tarring ratlines. This type of work becomes far more dangerous when crews are distracted. And our crew was distracted. As many on board lived paycheck to paycheck, when funds ran out, minds automatically sought creative ways to put gas in the tank, pay rent, and place food on the table. It was Maslow’s theory in action.

Fortunately, we had CGMA.

One of the reasons I joined the CGMA team was because I saw firsthand how relieved crew members were to receive financial support from CGMA. Thanks to CGMA, Eagle’s crew was able to get their minds off finances and back on the mission.

As we enter another government shutdown, I want all we serve to know that CGMA is here for those who need help.  CGMA’s mission has been and always will be to support the financial resilience of the Coast Guard workforce.  This time around, CGMA is prepared to provide an interest-free loan up to one month’s Basic Allowance for Housing to those Coast Guard Active Duty, Reservists, and Civilian Employees who need it. Because CGMA has limited resources, we ask those who bank with USAA, Navy Federal, and First Command to go to them first, as they each graciously offer an interest-free pay-roll loan for these types of situations.

If this shutdown does not affect you, please consider donating to CGMA. CGMA is 100% funded by donations.  As CGMA is largely a “For Coasties, By Coasties” organization, when the workforce does not get paid, CGMA also loses substantial income since the bulk of our revenue comes from the very people we serve. All donations—big and small—enable us to continue Helping Our Own™. 

With love and gratitude,

Brooke Millard, CDR, USCG, (Ret.)
Chief Executive Officer
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
Official Relief Society of the U.S. Coast Guard