Бывший офицер береговой охраны США Эдди Портер: карьера за компьютерами и цена семейных разлук

Editor’s note: The Journal’s Unsung Heroes series spotlights a local veteran each week from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. If you would like to nominate an Unsung Hero, email [email protected]. For Eddie Porter, a 20-year military career was built largely behind the scenes. His work with technology may not have put him in the spotlight, but it helped Coast Guard crews do their jobs, from search-and-rescue operations to counter-drug missions and environmental response. It was a career Porter found rewarding, but one that came with a cost he recognizes more clearly now. “I wish I would have taken time to enjoy moments with my family. Sometimes I went weeks without seeing my kids. That’s my only regret,” he said. Porter’s path to the Coast Guard actually began while serving in the U.S. Air Force. Born in Japan while his father was stationed there with the Navy, Porter spent his early childhood overseas before his family settled in Milton, Florida, when he was about 9 years old. After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of West Florida. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, prompted him to consider military service, following the example of his older brother, Kenny, who served as an Air Force linguist. Porter enlisted in the Air Force in 2002 and was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. It was there that he got his first close look at the Coast Guard. A visit to the service’s Sand Island base and a small-boat exercise caught his attention. The Coast Guard offered something he found particularly appealing — a smaller service where junior members were given significant responsibility and where the work had a direct humanitarian and lifesaving component. “I was impressed by the missions, the smaller service culture, the responsibility given to junior members and the humanitarian and lifesaving aspect,” Porter said. A Coast Guard friend, retired CDR Chris Wolfer, eventually introduced him to the Direct Commission Engineering program and the technology work being done to improve the service’s capabilities. Porter applied and was accepted. In early 2006, he left the Air Force for the Coast Guard, commissioning as an ensign and beginning his career as an IT officer. His first Coast Guard assignment took him to St. Louis, Missouri. There, he worked with the electronics and IT systems aboard river tenders that operated along the Mississippi River, maintaining the navigation markers that guide commercial vessels through constantly changing waterways. The assignment also reinforced one of the lessons Porter would carry throughout his military career: success depends on the people around you. “In the Coast Guard, it can be difficult to do anything completely alone,” Porter said. “You have to rely on your shipmates, and they’re relying on you.” As his career progressed, so did his responsibilities. Porter attended Old Dominion University through a Coast Guard advanced education program and earned a Master of Engineering Management degree. He went on to hold a variety of technology and leadership positions in St. Louis and Kearneysville. His work included managing critical software systems, responding to major IT incidents and eventually overseeing teams responsible for enterprise systems used throughout the Coast Guard. For Porter, leadership was less about having all the answers and more about creating an environment where people could work together and trust one another. He made a point of being honest with his crews — including acknowledging that he would not always get things right. “I reminded the crew a few times that I was human too, and I guaranteed that I would make the wrong decision from time to time,” Porter said. “Even an imperfect plan can be successful if the team gave its best effort, communicated, and worked together.” Porter returned to Kearneysville in 2017, where he would spend the remainder of his active-duty career. By then, however, another part of his life was becoming increasingly important. Porter and his wife had raised five children during his military career, moving nine times in the first 15 years. For the children, each move meant leaving behind friends and starting over somewhere new. “My kids moved away from their best friends eight times,” Porter said. “If you think back to your childhood and think about that happening to you, I think you could see how that may be difficult.” So, when Porter was selected for promotion to commander in 2022, he faced a decision that had less to do with his career than with his family. He could continue advancing in the military, or he could stay where his family had finally established roots. By then, West Virginia had become home. The family had friends, church, school and a community they had grown to love. “In 2022, I had the first chance to make the decision to not move for my family, and I didn’t hesitate,” Porter said. “I owed it to them.” Porter retired from active duty in November 2022. Retirement, however, did not take him completely away from the Coast Guard. He continues working with the service as a civilian in Kearneysville, helping modernize its IT infrastructure and developing the next generation of server infrastructure for Coast Guard cutters. And while he has no regrets about choosing his family when the opportunity finally came, Porter remains proud of what his military career accomplished. Much of his work was technical and happened out of public view, but he knew the systems and infrastructure he helped develop ultimately supported the men and women carrying out the Coast Guard’s most visible missions. For young people considering military service, Porter believes the opportunity remains a valuable one. “Our young generation will be even better and do incredible things,” he said. “The military will always provide good training and it has proven to take people who may struggle academically and they become the best at what they are trained to do.” For Porter, the experience was about more than technology or career advancement. It was about learning to depend on others, leading people through difficult situations and contributing to missions that could ultimately save lives. “The Coast Guard core values are a mindset, a lifestyle, and a path to success,” Porter said.