{"id":19930,"date":"2010-12-16T21:51:55","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T01:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miserybay.usanethosting.com\/wordpress\/?p=19930"},"modified":"2010-12-16T21:51:55","modified_gmt":"2010-12-17T01:51:55","slug":"ayoub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stjindy.com\/archive1\/ayoub\/","title":{"rendered":"From the farm to Philly"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A young woman’s transition to the Coast Guard
\nStory and photos courtesy Petty Officer 2nd Class Crystalynn A. Kneen
\nShe poked her thick brownish-blonde hair out of the non-skid covered deck of the dull gray 41-foot boat where she had been working inside an engine room. Her wide, faithful grin in place as she waved animatedly from her area of obligation. Her petite green eyes were illuminated with a child-like gaze. Her face still showed the roundness of her cheeks like most 18-year-olds. Her lengthy frame carefully maneuvered off the boat with two small red-capped oil samples in her slender hands.
\n\"\"
\nShe was only 18-years old, but Fireman Kira Ayoub walked with a sense of gratification and dignity. Her uniform was neat but showed signs of drudgery. There was no evidence of shyness or insecurity as she bantered alongside her co-worker at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. Ayoub has transitioned to a completely different life than what she had before she joined the Coast Guard.
\nAyoub\u2019s life before was opposite from her military calling. She is from a small 6,000 resident town called St. Johns in Central Michigan. Her parents operate a livestock farm. She has never boarded a boat, was homeschooled and she journeyed to church almost every Sunday.
\nThis Sunday ritual is how her Coast Guard life began.
\n\u201cMy recruiter was a member of my church,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cHe took me to an air station and a small boat station to show me how the Coast Guard works because I didn\u2019t even know what it was.\u201d
\nIt was these tours that sold Ayoub on the Coast Guard.
\n\u201cSeeing so many different insights with such positive reflections of the Coast Guard are what persuaded me to join,\u201d said Ayoub.
\nAyoub never pictured herself in the military before so she asked her recruiter a million questions and began preparing for boot camp.
\n\u201cI was nervous, and scared to death,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cI wanted to fully understand everything, and I prepared by studying and working out before I left.\u201d
\nFor Ayoub, boot camp really started with the formation of her new family.
\n\u201cMy Company was Tango-183,\u201d she said with pride.
\nAyoub was a normal recruit; she kept quiet and moved quickly. By week five, boot camp had become routine and she was familiar and comfortable with the people around her.
\n\u201cIt was totally different than I\u2019ve ever known,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cNothing was similar; I came from working in a small town hardware store to complete madness, but I volunteered for everything I could and put myself out there.\u201d
\nAfter boot camp, Ayoub was allowed a week to go home and visit her family as a new Coast Guard member.
\n\"\"
\nFireman Kira Ayoub, a crewmember at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia, uses a Honda diagnostic tester to check for bad sensors on a 25-foot Response Boat at the station, Nov. 30, 2010. Ayoub is required to work on these engines when they break and also do preventative maintenance.<\/em>
\nThe hardest thing I had to do was get on that plane after that week and go to my new duty station she said.
\nWith Yukon, her stuffed lamb, in tow she boarded the plane to where her new life would begin in Philadelphia.
\nAyoub arrived at station Philadelphia with the outlook of taking everything in stride.
\n\u201cI am the only girl at the station, but it does not intimidate me,\u201d she said. \u201cI was sat down and given ground rules by my supervisors. I guess you can say they laid down the law on what they expected from me as a Coast Guard member.\u201d
\nThe expectations of Coast Guard members require you to perform as a team and individually to your full potential.
\nHer performance reflected positively to her supervisors and co-workers.
\n\u201cFireman Ayoub is a good worker,\u201d said Petty Officer 2nd Class Lonny Burris, her supervisor at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. \u201cShe is willing to work very hard. She even studies for her qualifications on her off time.\u201d
\nBeing a fireman at a small boat station requires her to be qualified on certain equipment and boats. She must get boat crew qualified as well as boarding team member and engineer. All these qualifications make up what it takes to respond to the Coast Guard\u2019s daily challenges such as search and rescue, law enforcement and safety on the water.
\n\u201cThe qualification process here is not what I expected, but I\u2019m adjusting well and adapting to what I have to do,\u201d Ayoub said. \u201cAt least once a week I stop and think to myself, I\u2019ve never pictured myself doing this.\u201d
\nHer smile and positive attitude also reflects on her co-workers and supervisors in daily activities.
\n\u201cShe is really intelligent,\u201d said Petty officer 1st Class Robert Panish, the engineering petty officer at the station. \u201cShe seems happy to be here and is responding well to this transition and lifestyle.\u201d
\nAyoub said she believes she is transitioning so well because of the people she works with daily.
\n\u201cThe crew here has made it an easier process,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cThey have good morals and are passionate about the Coast Guard. They care about each other and help whenever they can. Everyone is willing to help, explain or teach me something. I had to just jump right in and get my hands dirty.\u201d
\nThe help Ayoub receives does not come without jokes or teasing.
\n\u201cAll the guys think I\u2019m sheltered,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cI get teased all the time about it. The other day, they sent me to go look for a flux capacitor and plutonium. It\u2019s all in good fun.\u201d
\nAyoub\u2019s so called sheltered life reflects in her barracks room located in the small dark brick building not 50-feet away from the station she works at daily. Her bed is covered with a purple blanket given to her by her grandmother. She also brought with her a wood framed needle point lamb with the words \u2018the Lord is my Shepherd\u2019 embroidered on it. Showing signs of the values and faith she has instilled in her.
\n\u201cAlthough nothing else is familiar, the values here are,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cThe only thing that has made the transition possible is the people in the Coast Guard. They have a great outlook.\u201d
\nAll in all, Ayoub says her development as a Coast Guard member has been full of experiences and life.
\n\u201cShe is a sharp kid,\u201d said Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Stoltzfus, the executive petty officer at Coast Guard Station Philadelphia. \u201cShe is good spirited and wants to work and do well. She has jumped right in and has made herself available. I am really happy to see that. We are lucky to get such a smart kid out of boot camp.\u201d
\nAyoub is now going through boarding team member training. This training includes law enforcement and tactical skills, which are one of the other qualifications she must have for Coast Guard missions besides her boat crewman and engineering demands.
\n“It\u2019s a challenge everyday here,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cFrom beating someone up in tactical training to replacing a turbo charger in an engine room, you have to adapt to everything and make the best of it. I enjoy it.\u201d
\nAnother Coast Guard mission Ayoub is excited to be a part of is search and rescue.\u201cMy first search and rescue case was an overturned kayak in the Schuylkill River,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cI thought to myself, this is it; this is the day I save someone in the Coast Guard. When we got there, it was a piece of blue Styrofoam. I was a little disappointed.\u201d
\nEven though this particular case was a false alarm, she says her goal is to get qualified so she can make a difference. To save someone in need would make it all worthwhile she stated.
\nAyoub says she does not know what her long term goals are yet in the Coast Guard. After she gets qualified, she will start looking into a Coast Guard rating. As of right now, she says she is happy and content with her life.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to me and neat how all this good in my life has led me to the Coast Guard,\u201d said Ayoub. \u201cThe experience has changed my life so much, and I will take everything I\u2019ve learned and will learn, with me, whatever I do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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