May 25, 2007 — Delegate Donna M. Christensen on Thursday presided over the retirement ceremony of U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Alvin Dalmida, who concluded 25 years of service.
(See "Lt. Alvin F. Dalmida, St. Thomas Native, Retires from U.S. Coast Guard.")
Dalmida, who served as an electronics engineer at TISCOMM, the U.S. Coast Guard's telecommunication facility in Alexandria, Va., received a certificate of congressional recognition from Christensen for his volunteer work as a recruiter of young Virgin Islands students for the Coast Guard Academy, according to a news release from the delegate's office.
"My staff and I are most familiar with Lt. Dalmida as the Coast Guard Academy recruiter for the territory who seeks out and encourages young men and women who are interested in entering the academy, and once accepted, keeps us posted with their progress," she said. "He has ensured that interested, qualified young men and women who want the opportunity to attend the academy and serve their country as a member of the Coast Guard have the opportunity to do so."
Several cadets attended the ceremony in support of Dalmida, including Elroy Allen of St. Thomas, who graduated Wednesday from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., in a ceremony keynoted by President George W. Bush. Christensen and other Coast Guard officials pinned Allen in a short ceremony before the retirement event began on Thursday.
Allen has been accepted into an elite flight school as he continues his military career.
Over the 25 years, Dalmida served the Coast Guard as lead navigation, communication and cryptographic specialist aboard the Coast Guard Cutter THETIS in Key West, Fla.; he coordinated and directed counter-drug assets in response to inter-agency drug interdiction and search and rescue as part of Operations Bahamas, Turks and Caicos; he served as technical advisor to eight eastern Caribbean countries under the Department of State's regional security system and at the US Coast Guard Navigation Center in Alexandria, Va.
Retired Coast Guard Commander Lt. Austin Callwood of St. Thomas served as master of ceremonies at the event.
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