Local Coast Guard worried about another shutdown

The federal government has been open for a few days now after a historic partial shutdown forced thousands of workers to go without a paycheck.

But back pay could take longer to go through, and with another shutdown possible next month, many in the Coast Guard on the Central Coast are worried.

For Lieutenant Commander Brendan Blain and his family, the partial government shutdown was a long one.

“My wife and I definitely planned out, looked at our finances and set like a hard date that if this shutdown goes past X date, we’re going to be in trouble,” he said. “We reached out for backup plans and prepared just in case.”

Now, more concerns for Blain and his family because unless a deal in Washington is reached, the government will only stay open until Feb. 15. And Blain says his superiors have told him to be prepared.

“Don’t go out and buy the new corvette or whatever this week,” he said. “You know, kind of pretend that the shutdown is still going on.”

“The longer this goes on, the worse it gets for a lot of people,” said Dan Miller, a Coast Guard lieutenant. “I think a lot of us…I think we’ve kind of been relegated to the fact that we think it’s going to happen again, we almost expect it to happen again.”

These families have had to tighten their financial belts, but they have also seen a lot of generosity from the community. Businesses in Pacific Grove held a fundraising event for Coast Guard members and their families on Tuesday.

Organizers say many of them had to take out interest loans just to make ends meet.

Patrons at the Monarch Pub and Restaurant Tuesday evening got 20 percent of their checks donated to the Monterey Coast Guard Spouses’ Club to help with groceries, gas and other necessities.

They also got matching donations from other businesses.

“It’s been incredibly busy since 5 p.m. this evening since the event started,” said Paul Whitecross, the owner of Monarch Pub and Restaurant.

“A lot of the patrons here at Monarch tonight are fellow military families that are here to give back,” said Allison Chance, an organizer of the fundraising event.

“The community support has been incredible,” said Amy Miller, the wife of Dan Miller. “We had nonprofit groups dropping off gift baskets to our front door.”

For these families, watching the news from Washington can sometimes be disheartening.

“We’re kind of caught in the middle of two proverbial parents having an argument, and we’re kind of helpless in the situation,” said Dan Miller.

But that is no reason for them to not keep on fulfilling their duty.

“We all signed on the dotted line and we knew the sacrifices that we’d have to take,” said Blain. “At the end of the day, you save a life, it makes it all worth it.”

According to fundraiser organizers, there are 66 Coast Guard members in our area who are affected.