Capt. Prestidge Tells Meaning of ‘Coast Guard Community’

CAPE MAY – When a female driver recently found herself out of gas near Routes 9 and 47 in Rio Grande, she never in her wildest dreams expected to be rescued by the Coast Guard. After a group of recruits on liberty acted decisively to control traffic and push her and her vehicle safely to a gas station, she was so grateful that she called the Training Center and asked if she could make those recruits some cookies.
The Coast Guard then stunned her by instead, inviting her to the recruit graduation ceremony for those recruits. She attended the ceremony and wound up overwhelmed by a sense of humility and thanks for the opportunity to witness this life-changing event that few civilians ever see.
Capt. Todd Prestidge, commanding officer of Coast Guard Training Center Cape May since June 2013, refers to his assignment as the fulfillment of his “career goal.”
He was born and partly raised in Houston, Texas although as the child of a career military member, he moved around quite a bit. His own career led him to many parts of the country, but Prestidge explained he attended a meeting in Cape May in the late 1990s and was impressed with the mission of the training center as the only recruit training center in the Coast Guard.
From that point forward, he wanted to be part of that heritage.
Prestidge explained the exhaustive process that Cape May County completed to be designated a “Coast Guard Community.”
He began his explanation of the application process by holding up a two-inch thick binder that contained paperwork submitted by freeholders. “This binder details the specifics of precisely what the community has done for the Coast Guard to receive this honor, and not what they plan to do,” he said. “The application had to be detailed and specific; no general statements of support were to be considered by the board who would decide the application in Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington.”
He explained that when freeholders Will Morey and Director Gerald Thornton began the process of documenting those interactions for the county, they found that “there were an overwhelming number of concrete examples of support that could be cited.”
The application included several projects that benefit Coast Guard personnel and dependents initiated by organizations and residents such as “Operation Fireside,” a Red Cross initiative that places recruits in local homes for dinner when they are unable to return to their own families during Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Many local businesses offer military discounts to dependent families. Recruit awards are sponsored by local groups such as the Coast Guard Auxiliary, while contributions to various Coast Guard assistance programs flow freely from the Cape May area to help Coast Guard dependent families in need.
There are also the little known instances when military personnel have stood in line at local convenience stores or coffee houses, only to learn that someone “got it” (the bill) for them, without identifying themselves. The list goes on.
Coast Guard personnel are conversely involved in making Cape May County a better place to live.
Cape May City Elementary School has been “adopted” by the Coast Guard, with one Coast Guard family member always seated on the city school board.
Volunteers assist children with homework issues at the school. Other groups such as the Kiwanis Club use Coast Guard facilities, as do local Boy Scouts. The Coast Guard also supports the yearly Ocean Drive Marathon and other events.
The Prestidge family does what they can for the community. The captain’s wife Corry, a former Navy carrier pilot, serves on the board at the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum and will soon deliver the keynote address at the “Women in Business” conference sponsored by the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce.
She has also accepted a position with 1st Command Financial Services and will begin working locally as soon as their office is built.
Capt.Prestidge has a vision for the future of the relationship between our community and the Coast Guard that includes tangible benefits for Cape May County residents. “When travelers to this area see those signs that consist of the shields of Cape May County, and the seal of the U.S. Coast Guard announcing that they have entered a Coast Guard Community, they will recognize that this is a community that is important to the Coast Guard and they will feel more confident in living or investing in this area.” He iterated that Cape May “is where the Coast Guard culture and standards are first formed,” through the training given to the new recruits. “This is also where the standards for how other counties can treat our people can be set as well.”
Prestidge believes that these interactions will continue to strengthen the bonds that have been created over many years and he sees nothing but a bright future ahead for all in this, the newest “Coast Guard Community.”
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.