Episode 18 with Jacob Trione (13 years in the U.S. Coast Guard)

Tell me a little about yourself and how long have you or served
behind the front line for? In What capacity?   I was on active
duty for over 13 years and served in several capacities. My first 2
½ years was spent on a 210’ vessel out of Galveston TX. Our major
operations were patrols looking to counter drug and migrant
smuggling and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea. I was part of the deck force, and we were the
deckhands who handled all of the vessel mooring unmooring,
helicopters tie down and tie down equipment maintenance,
maintenance of the ships exterior, watch duties, helmsman duties,
watch for rounds on the vessel while underway. I was leading seamen
when I left which is the highest ranking E3 in that department. I
was a vessel rescue swimmer, and I was involved in multiple rescues
and recoveries of both living and deceased victims of human
trafficking. This was one of my biggest operational accomplishments
while on the vessel, and I was awarded a Letter of Accommodation
(LOC) for this and given a challenge coin by the U.S. Coast Guard
Atlantic Area Commander as an E3. I went to my specialty rating
training in 2007 and became a Marine Science Technician Petty
Officer 3rd class upon graduation. I was awarded the most
inspirational and earned the most fitness points while attending
this training out of all my graduating class. Our roles as MST’s
are generally handling the regulation of the United States
commercial storage and transferring of oil and hazardous materials
in the ports and waterways which are subject to the laws of the
Federal Government of the United States. We perform safety and
security inspections on facilities, vessels, local governments and
the other entities involved in the handling of commerce. I was
stationed in Baton Rouge LA enforcing laws in the Mississippi River
and ports around Baton Rouge. I was stationed in Texas City TX
enforcing laws in the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Bay, and the ports
Galveston and Texas City. I was stationed in Houston TX enforcing
the laws in the Houston Ship Channel and the Ports surrounding
Houston.   What was the hardest time of your life? What tools
did you use to get through it?   Well, this question has
layers for me, but I think my life has created a lot of hard times
consistently for me. Faith in God and his promise and the drive to
wake up and do your best, look for the best in all situations and
strive to be better are the things that overcome all for me.
Synopsis of challenges. Parents divorced at 5, moved into a trailer
park without any money, mom married an alcoholic and addict with
three sons who didn’t necessarily like me, lived in a financially
poor situation and constant fighting and chaos. Meanwhile, my
father remarried and had two stepchildren who were well off
financially I didn’t get along with my stepmother either. My father
never had to pay child support, while he and his new family were
going on vacations buying homes and property. We eventually had
seven children living in a three bedroom sharecroppers home built
in the 1800’s often without heat due to lack of funds and the
choice between electricity or gas. My mother worked 12-hour shifts
as a waitress and was also an addict. Because of this, my oldest
sister took care of us. She took her frustrations of having lost
much of her childhood out on me mainly, and I can’t blame her for
that. It was just a roller coaster of a childhood, and I ended up
living in 10 different homes with different family members by the
time I left for boot camp at the age of 20. I also started drinking
heavily at a young age and tended to make a lot of bad decisions as
a teen and an early adult. When I first joined the USCG, I was
still making very immature decisions and got pulled over and
arrested in 2005 and was Captains masted twice within my first nine
months in the U.S. Coast Guard. I thank God that I was not
discharged as that would have probably led to my demise. This was
when I started t