Executive Petty Officer Jordan Baptiste returns to homeport at Menemsha
Six years ago, Jordan Baptiste joined the U.S. Coast Guard and left Martha's Vineyard, his birthplace and home for 20 years. Last week, his career brought him full circle, as he reported for duty as the new executive petty officer (XPO) at U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station Menemsha.
"I never thought my profession with the Coast Guard would bring me home, so it's kind of a whole new definition of the term 'Homeland Security' for me - it means all the much more," said XPO Baptiste, in an interview at The Martha's Vineyard Times office last Thursday.
Executive Petty Officer Jordan Baptiste of Vineyard Haven arrived at Station Menemsha last week.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
"I've been wearing this hat, and it still doesn't seem real," he added, pointing at his navy blue cap emblazoned with its gold Station Menemsha insignia lying on the table.
In his new job, XPO Baptiste works as second in command to Senior Chief Stephen Barr, the Officer in Charge. "It's my job to act as the supervisor for everybody at the station and make sure everything runs smoothly - and, of course, to keep Senior Chief happy," he said.
XPO Baptiste spoke with unabashed enthusiasm about the options and opportunities his Coast Guard career has offered to date. "I've done everything," he declared. The list includes working with Secret Service in Kennebunkport on security for former President George Bush, boarding high-interest vessels off Portsmouth to check for weapons of mass destruction or illegal immigrants, enforcing fisheries laws, patrolling New York Harbor when the United Nation's General Assembly met, commissioning the first national security cutter and bringing it through the Panama Canal, and enforcing drug-trafficking laws and chasing drug-runners.
"It's been fun," the 27-year-old concluded with a smile.
XPO Baptiste's course steered towards Menemsha last year when he applied to qualify as an executive petty officer, for career progression on the way to taking command of a unit someday. After consideration by a screening board last fall, Petty Officer First Class Baptiste's name was published on a roster of qualified XPO candidates,
Shortly afterwards, a list of the upcoming year's open XPO assignments came out. At that time he was serving on the Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Bertholf out of its home port in Alameda, Calif., and his goal was to be stationed on the East Coast, closer to family and friends.
"So I saw Menemsha on the list, and after speaking with my girlfriend, who's from California, I said, it doesn't get closer than that," XPO Baptiste said. Candidates are given a few weeks to pick and rank assignments in order of preference. "So I picked about 10 choices, with Menemsha at the top, and we waited, waited, waited, and finally the message came out last November, and it was just unreal to see my name," he said.
Given that assignments are based on qualifications, XPO Baptiste explained, "The fact that I'm from the Vineyard had nothing to do with it." He did mention in his resume that he was from southeastern New England and would like to get back to that area.
"Luckily for me, I think what helped me get the job was the fact that the station I was with in Portsmouth was a very similar station to Menemsha," he said. "It has the same boats, a 47-foot and a 25-foot. It's a little bit larger but the same type, as a level one port and waterways coastal security station, and it's also a heavy weather station. So all of the qualifications I had from Portsmouth will transfer here to Menemsha."
Tisbury School student Jordan Baptiste plays taps during Memorial Day ceremonies at the Oak Grove cemetery on May 29, 1995.
File photo by Robert Schellhammer.
His first experience on Vineyard waters came from helping launch and drive boats as a child at Tashmoo Boatyard, owned by his grandfather, Lester Baptiste Sr., and uncle Kim Baptiste. The future Coastguardsman worked at Vineyard Haven Marina for four years starting at age 15. He earned his captain's license at age 19 from Vineyard Maritime and worked as a launch captain for two years at Oak Bluffs Marina.
"One of the great things about getting stationed back here is I love the Vineyard so much," XPO Baptiste said. "You know, my family has so much history here - I'm a fifth-generation native Islander."
XPO Baptiste developed a strong sense of connection to the military through his grandfather, a former U.S. Marine who was active in Vineyard Haven's American Legion Post #257 drum and bugle corps for many years.
XPO Baptiste learned to play the trumpet at age three and marched in numerous parades with his grandfather while growing up. He also helped out by playing taps at military funerals when he got older.
Although XPO Baptiste was considering military service after high school, his experience as quarterback for Martha's Vineyard Regional High School's championship football team in 1999 lured him in another direction.
"That's when I started getting letters in the mail from local colleges, saying, hey, would you be interested in coming to play football," XPO Baptiste recalled. "And I had never even really thought about that opportunity, and so I was thinking, Marine Corps boot camp. College football... it didn't take much for me to say, okay, let's do the college football."
After playing football for a year at Bridgewater State College, he did not know what he wanted to major in, so he took the next year off to try to find some direction. After talking to a friend in the Coast Guard who spoke enthusiastically about career, travel, and education opportunities, he enlisted for four years in October 2002.
"The fact I had all this experience, since I was a little kid up until that time, made the Coast Guard a natural fit for me - I just took off running," XPO Baptiste noted. "My qualifications, being out on a boat, certifying, and knowing a little bit about the military from being around the Legion, all of that helped as preparation. I did really well and was able to advance rather quickly."
After reenlisting for another six years in 2006, XPO Baptiste was assigned to the pre-commissioning crew for the Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Bertholf. While waiting for the ship to be built, he worked on the CGC Chase out of San Diego and on one patrol helped rescue a crew of six whose fishing vessel capsized, for which he received a commendation medal.
The Bertholf, completed in May 2008, was the first national security cutter built as part of the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program. XPO Baptiste served onboard as the lead training petty officer in law enforcement and small boat operations.
After the Bertholf's commissioning ceremony last August, XPO Baptiste took leave and brought his girlfriend, Kristan DuVall of Clearlake, Calif., to the Vineyard for a visit. "We never expected in a million years that I would be stationed here and we would end up living here the following spring," he said. Ms. DuVall left Santa Rosa and her job as a manager for MAC cosmetics to join him on the Vineyard.
XPO Baptiste has continued his college education since joining the Coast Guard and plans to complete his last three courses towards a bachelor's of science degree in business online through Columbia College.
"It's a great time to be in the Coast Guard - there are a lot of changes, a lot of improvements, and a lot of good leaders and people to learn from," he said.
XPO Baptiste is the son of Lester Baptiste of Vineyard Haven, who retired from the Steamship Authority after 32 years, and Elizabeth Russo, who works as a registered nurse in St. Petersburg, Fla. His half-siblings, Josh and Mindy Baptiste, live in Falmouth, and he has numerous family members on Martha's Vineyard.
