FORKS — Peninsula College Forks will feature Coast Guard Station Quillayute River Operations Petty Officer Shawn Marshall and Engineering Petty Officer Jeremie Kozakiewicz at Studium West at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Studium West is a free lecture series hosted by Peninsula College at the Forks branch at 481 S. Forks Ave.
The officers will discuss the variety of missions the Coast Guard undertakes, the training required and some of the courageous acts that are part of Station Quillayute River’s history.
Station Quillayute River in La Push was established in 1929.
Its primary missions are search-and-rescue and law enforcement. It is responsible for an area stretching north 18 miles to Umatilla Reef, south 45 miles to the Queets River, and west 50 nautical miles offshore.
It includes the treacherous inlet at the mouth of the Quillayute River, where jagged rocks and unpredictable surf zone make it a challenge to navigate.
The station’s lifeboat crews are trained to conduct rescues in rough weather using two 47-foot motor lifeboats, which are capable of operating in 50-knot sustained winds, 30-foot seas and 20-foot surf.
Kozakiewicz has almost 14 years of service in the Coast Guard, starting at Small Boat Station Neah Bay, a heavy weather station. He has also served out of Port Angeles; New Haven, Conn.; and Bodega, Calif.
Marshall joined the Coast Guard in 2006. Before coming to Quillayute Station, he served on the 378-foot cutter Hamilton out of San Diego, Station Portage in Dollar Bay, Mich., and Station Siuslaw River in Florence, Ore.
The two officers will share some of their own backgrounds and will allow time at the end for a question-and-answer session.
For more information contact Deborah Scannell at dscannell@pencol.edu.
