SoFlo Chapter Cgtlea

09/11/2026

“All available boats.” Three words at 10:45 that morning turned Lower Manhattan into the largest waterborne evacuation in history — bigger than Dunkirk. Before the sun set, roughly 500,000 people had been moved off that island by mariners who didn’t wait to be asked twice.

9/11 didn’t just change what the Coast Guard did that day — it changed what the Coast Guard became. The boatlift proved what maritime professionals could do under pressure with no plan and no playbook. What came next was the Coast Guard building the plan.

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 didn’t just add a mission — it forced the largest organizational shift in the service since World War II, from a force built on safety and traditional law enforcement to one carrying real homeland security weight. Out of that came the Maritime Safety and Security Teams, then the merger that produced MSRT in 2006, standing alongside TACLET and PSU as the Deployable Specialized Forces, with SMTC training the operators who fill their ranks. 2,977 people never came home to their families that morning. Every operator who has since pinned on a DSF qualification owes a debt to the ones who ran toward the smoke with nothing but a boat and a bad idea of what they were about to see.

Never forget.

#911

07/04/2026

They don’t do it for the recognition. That’s exactly why they’ve earned it.

Today the nation celebrates its freedom. Some spent 20 years defending it from the deck of a cutter, over the horizon, in the dark, where the flag flies but the cameras don’t.

To the operators of Coast Guard Deployable Specialized Forces — past, present, and future — this one’s for you. Semper Paratus isn’t a motto. It’s a way of standing the watch.

Happy Independence Day from CGTLEA South Florida. 🇺🇸

Fair winds to those still on the line today.

06/06/2026

81 years ago today, while the Army stormed the beaches and the Navy held the line offshore, the United States Coast Guard was quietly doing what it always does — the hard, unglamorous work that makes everything else possible.

Coast Guardsmen crewed the Higgins boats that carried Army Rangers and infantry through open fire toward Omaha and Utah beaches. They pulled drowning soldiers from the surf. They navigated the chaos of smoke, wreckage, and bodies to make run after run under fire — because the mission wasn’t done until every wave was landed.

No headlines. No glory. Just service.

On this day, we remember the Coasties who answered the call on June 6, 1944 — and every generation of Coast Guard men and women who have carried that same quiet devotion forward.

Semper Paratus.

05/25/2026

Today we pause.

Not to celebrate — but to remember.

Memorial Day belongs to those who gave everything. The ones who deployed and didn’t come home. The ones who stood the watch and paid the final price so the rest of us could keep standing ours.

To every Coastie, Sailor, Soldier, Marine, Airman, and Guardian who made the ultimate sacrifice — your names are carried forward. Your mission lives on in every operator who laces up, badges up, and steps into the breach.

To the Gold Star families: we see you today. We honor your loss. We will never forget what was given.

From our community to yours — hold the line. Honor the fallen. Never forget.

🇺🇸⚓

“All gave some. Some gave all.”

03/24/2026

Join us for the 17th Annual Nate Bruckenthal Memorial Golf Tournament, a meaningful event benefiting the Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Foundation (CGTLEA) and providing essential support to our local South Florida Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) veterans and their families.
Date: April 24, 2026
Location: Miami Springs Country Club
This four-person scramble tournament honors the legacy of Nate Bruckenthal, who made the ultimate sacrifice on this date in 2004—the first Coast Guardsman lost in combat since Vietnam.
The day includes:
• 9:00 AM registration
• 11:00 AM sh***un start
• Lunch buffet, exciting raffles, awards, and vendor displays
Whether you’re participating as a golfer, securing a sponsorship, or attending to show your support, your presence helps honor the dedicated men and women of the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces who have served and sacrificed for our community.
Registration is open now—spots are limited and filling quickly. Visit the link in our bio to secure your place.
We look forward to seeing you on the course as we come together in brotherhood and remembrance.

03/04/2026

Link is in the Bio! Join us in April for the must experience time of the year.

02/20/2026

This incredible event benefits the Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Foundation (CGTLEA) and supports our local South Florida U.S. Coast Guard veterans and their families.
🗓 April 24, 2026
📍 Miami Springs Country Club
🎟️ Scan the QR code above or visit https://events.golfstatus.com/event/nate-bruckenthal-17th-annual-golf-tournament/
Follow for updates!
It’s more than golf—it’s a day of brotherhood, remembrance, and giving back to those who’ve served and sacrificed for our community and country.
Whether you golf, sponsor, or just want to support a great cause, join us! Let’s show up for our USCG heroes. ⚓️🤝🇺🇸

11/25/2025

09/11/2025

24 years ago today the greatest act of aggression since Pearl Harbor set America on a new trajectory. It was a pivotal point for many of us and directed our life further down the rabbit hole or left a mark that led us to the service. No matter what path we took it will always serve as a reminder for the type of evil that exists and that there needs to be those willing to answer the call and stand in its way. 9/11 Never Forget.