Yeoman First Class Erica Walkinhood is Flying Through the Ranks

CAPE MAY – Yeoman First Class Erica Walkinhood has been in the Coast Guard for five years, but in that short time, her dedication to the service has propelled her to the same “E-6” pay grade as her husband Brian, who has served for a decade. “We have a friendly competition,” she laughed, in an interview with the Herald.  
For many years, Coast Guard life seemed like an impossibility. Walkinhood’s husband enlisted five years before she did thanks to encouragement from his mother. Though she hoped to join the service, she was rapidly approaching the age limit to enlist in basic training.
 “By the time I had my son, I was rapidly approaching 27, which was the age limit for enlisting at the time” She remembers being overjoyed when her husband told her the news that the age limit would be bumped up to 30.  
“It felt like a miracle,” she said. So, with just a month to go before her 30th birthday, Walkinhood shipped off to Cape May to go through the same rigorous boot camp that welcomes Recruits of all ages.  
“As an older Recruit, I think I more clearly saw the benefits of the Coast Guard,” she said. She was married with two kids, but the Coast Guard makes sure that she and her husband are stationed in the same places, and that their children always have a parent at home.  
Walkinhood’s first assignment after basic training was to Base Miami Beach, where she was a line handler for incoming vessels and one of many who helped offload narcotics seized from the high seas. “I was just one cog in the machine,” she said.  
But her primary responsibility is as a Yeoman, a job that roughly equates to human relations. She performs a suite of administrative and clerical work.  
“I hit the ground running,” she said. “Being here at Training Center Cape May has given me a lot of opportunities to do great things and be recognized for them. I love being a Yeoman, but I try to do things that go beyond my job title.”  
Walkinhood played a huge role in putting together this year’s Southern New Jersey Coast Guard Ball, a yearly formal event that brings prominent members of the community together with Coasties of all ranks. She explained that this year’s ball was the first that Coasties could attend sans uniform. Though this change might seem small to those who aren’t in the service, Walkinhood said that this gesture caused a lot of hype at Training Center Cape May; attendance was stronger than ever as a result.  
It was at the 2023 Coast Guard Ball that Walkinhood sang the National Anthem and was given one of the biggest surprised of her career. She – an E-5 at the time – had been working and studying to advance to E-6 pay grade, a process that takes over a year and puts her in competition with hundreds of other Coasties.
She was given a surprise meritorious advancement by Vice Admiral Paul Thomas in the middle of the Ball. Thomas is only allowed to give three of these advancements per year, and he chose to honor Walkinhood’s hard work by bumping her up a pay grade and giving her the shock of her life.
“I was honored, truly honored,” she said.   
Walkinhood lives with her husband in Court House – she says that the log cabin they purchased, nestled in the woods on three acres of land, has been an absolute joy for her. “Selling that place is going to be incredibly painful,” she said.  
Coasties like Walkinhood deal often with the pain of moving. “As much as I love new places, I build strong friendships wherever I am. It’s so painful to leave them,” she said. 
When the time comes to leave Cape May County, it will be bittersweet. “I love the summer here, I love the fall here, I love the easiness of living here with kids. My kids love it here, their schools are great,” she said. Her favorite local restaurant is Harpoons on the Bay.  
There was a time that Coast Guard life seemed impossible for Erica. She nearly gave up on the dream many times. With two kids and pressed against the age limit, she certainly had plenty of excuses to pursue a different career.  
“Don’t let fear keep you from making a decision. If I let it stop me from joining the Coast Guard, I would never have known the world of opportunity that was there for me.” She ultimately credits this leap of faith to her mother-in-law, who passed away in 2015. “I never imagined Coast Guard life for myself, but it has been more, and better than either my husband or I could have imagined,” she said.