Honoring Veterans: Coast Guard Veteran Alvin O’Brien

Petty Officer First Class Alvin O’Brien served in the Coast Guard from 1996 to 2012, including stints with the USGC Dallas (WHEC-716), where he was stationed for three years before being transferred to Oregon Inlet, NC. He also served in California, Indiana, and Hawaii.

When talking about his decision to enter the Coast Guard after graduating high school, O’Brien said, “I looked at the Armed Services, more particularly the Air Force. My dad mentioned the Coast Guard, and I said who? He said USCG… we decided to see a recruiter. When he showed me the recruiting video of a 44 MLB crashing through the surf, I said that is what I want to do. He said sign here, and the rest is history.”

During his service, O’Brien told Together We Served that he earned multiple certifications, such as the 47 Coxswain Qual, Coxswain 41’ UTB, Coxswain 47’ MLB and Coxswain 25’ RBS.

“Out of all the awards I have, I would say that qualifying as a Coxswain was the best. There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that went into earning that certification. I was sent to Coxswain “C” school in Yorktown, VA, for 30 days. It was there I met a great mentor and instructor, Mary. Watching and learning from her made me want to be just like her. Anyhow, after 30 days of this school, it was back to my unit (Oregon Inlet). From there, I had a few more sign-offs to get done, and then I could take my Oral and Practical boards for Coxswain. Eventually, I was certified on the 41′ UTB.”

O’Brien retired from the Coast Guard in 2012 and now works for the Department of Interior under the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

We honor his service.

A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.

TogetherWeServed

This ‘Honoring Veterans’ story was prepared with the assistance of Togetherweserved.com, an online community where Veterans can reconnect with those they served with and preserve the memories and photographs of their military service so that this may live on for their family and future generations. Find out more at TWS online.

Nominate a Veteran for Honoring Veterans

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s Honoring Veterans social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Writer: Tcherika Petit-Frere

Editors: Tayler Rairigh, Endreyah Middleton

Researcher: Paola Negron

Graphic Designer: Sydney Burton