May 15, 2004 – Coast Guard Seaman Apprentice Scott Ledee, son of Evelyn and Gregory Ledee of St. Thomas, is scheduled to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J., on Friday, May 21.
On graduation day, Ledee will have completed an eight-week training program, a vigorous training curriculum consisting of academics and practical instruction on water safety and survival, military customs and courtesies, seamanship skills, first aid, fire fighting and marksmanship. A major emphasis is also placed on physical fitness, health and wellness.
Ledee and other recruits also received instruction on the Coast Guard's core values — honor, respect and devotion to duty — and how to apply them in their military performance and personal conduct. He will join 39,000 other men and women who comprise Coast Guard's force under the U.S. Homeland Security Department.
In 2003, Ledee met Coast Guard COMPASS outreach personnel Chief Warrant Officer Flavel Blyden and Machinist Mate First Class Edwin Blyden. Ledee's mother heard the Blydens on the radio, Officer Flavel Blyden wrote in a report; she called in and asked them to give him an interview. The interview was conducted late into the evening.
He will be urged to enroll in SOCCOAST, the Service-members Opportunity Colleges degree program for the Coast Guard. It consists of colleges and universities that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or accessible to Coast Guard installations worldwide.
"I am confident he will be a future leader and maybe an officer in the Coast Guard, Blyden wrote.
Ledee is a 2003 honors graduate of All Saints Cathedral High School. He is the "Guidon" in his recruit Company Bravo-168, his mother said. His grandparents, Cyril and Anna Querrard and Emelda and Joseph Ledee, have been instrumental in his life and, she added, "I am extremely proud of his accomplishments."
His parents plan to attend his graduation. He will be home on leave until he reports to Coast Guard Cutter Pamlico (WLIC-80) in New Orleans, La., on June 3.
Editor's note: This article was prepared for release by Chief Warrant Officer Lt. Alvin Dalmida Jr.
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