As a chief marine science technician, Robinson is responsible for enforcing maritime safety and security regulations across the United States. His missions range from pollution response to the inspections of port facilities and foreign and domestic vessels, along with ensuring proper documentation, safety procedures and other requirements are met.

A Beaver Dam, Ky. native, Cody enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2007. He is currently stationed at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia, Pa. Throughout his military career, Robinson has served throughout the nation including: Galveston, Texas where he served on the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless, the lower Mississippi River region in Memphis, Tenn., the Ohio Valley in Louisville, Ky., northern New England in Portland, Maine and the Puget Sound area in Seattle, Wash.

In 2010 he deployed in support of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill support, where he was tasked with locating and cleaning oil from the ocean’s surface using an on-board skimming system. One of his favorite memories in the Coast Guard was on the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless during operations in the Caribbean Sea. He recalls standing watch when the boat would go dark and all lights were turned off, the water was completely still and he witnessed “a perfect canvas for a moon lit sky full of bright stars.”

Robinson is surrounded by a family of Cardinals; his wife, father, sister, and brother in-law all earned degrees from UofL. He hopes the organizational tools and management techniques learned through his UofL education will help him succeed in senior leadership roles within the Coast Guard.

He said the Organizational Leadership and Learning program is perfect for working adults because, “in each class you are provided with a new organizational tool you can immediately implement or try out at your workplace.”

He and his spouse Shelby live in the Los Angeles area where he is the Operations Officer for the Maritime Safety and Security Team, Los Angeles Long Beach. Ross oversees all training, deployments, and operations for a unit whose primary missions include Maritime Law Enforcement, Drug/Migrant Interdiction, Search and Rescue, and Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security.

Originally from San Diego, Ross joined the Coast Guard in 2015 and was stationed in Seattle for one year where he worked in base security and port operations. After attending Boatswain’s Mate “A” School, his next assignment took him to San Diego, where he served as a Non-compliant Vessel Pursuit Coxswain and Search and Rescue Coxswain. During this period, he was the small boat operator and person in charge during law enforcement, search and rescue, and migrant/drug interdiction cases on the maritime border of the United States and Mexico.

Following this assignment, Ross attended Officer Candidate School in 2018, and was assigned to New Orleans as the Deputy Enforcement Division Chief and Command Duty Officer, responsible for coordinating all law enforcement and search and rescue cases in Louisiana. From Louisiana, Ross moved to his current position in Los Angeles.

During his time in the Coast Guard, Ross has qualified as a Deployable Team Leader, Flood Response Team Leader, Counter Drug Boarding Officer, Command Duty Officer, Fisheries Boarding Officer, and Non-Compliant Vessel Pursuit Coxswain. He has traveled across the country for operations from Alaska to Puerto, as well as deploying 10 times in support of hurricane responses across the Gulf of Mexico.

His favorite Coast Guard memories come from periods when deployed for hurricane responses and mass rescue operations. He said hurricane deployments are especially rewarding because you are often, “on your own with minimal resources and you must find a way to rescue people with often no means of communication.”

During hurricane response in 2018, Ross and his team located an elderly care facility which had been without power for over 24 hours, had no communication, and their generators were about to kick off. The team was able to procure school busses and the team loaded 127 senior citizens and their life-sustaining equipment onto the busses and took them to safety.

Ross’  awards and decorations include One Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, Three Letters of Commendation, One Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, One Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Advanced Boat Forces Insignia, and various other team/unit awards.

­He started UofL’s Online Master of Science in Criminal Justice program in spring 2020 and is in his final semester. He said he chose UofL due to the university’s great reputation, and because a friend highly recommended UofL Online to him. As a UofL Online student, he has been able to continue his education while taking classes from five different states over the past three years.

He hopes to use his Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree to help compete for promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and then to use the skills he learned as he continues his career as a law enforcement supervisor.

Not only has UofL challenged him as a student, but he has become “a better leader and thinker.” Ross said he has enjoyed taking courses which pushed him outside of his comfort zone and challenged him to be a critical thinker, adding that the entire Criminal Justice Department is “tremendous.”

On Aug 4, 2022, UofL recognizes and celebrates the 232nd birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard and its precursors, the Revenue Marine, the Revenue Cutter Service, and the U.S. Life Saving Service.

As a Marine Scientist, Heming enforces maritime environmental laws, investigates oil and hazardous waste spills and manages federal disasters, such as hurricane response.

In 2006, Heming was deployed to New Orleans in support of hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. In 2017, she was activated for hurricane Harvey recovery. In 2019, she was activated to respond to the longest-running oil spill in in U.S. history in the Gulf of Mexico, where recovery efforts have resulted in the capture of almost 800,000 gallons of oil leaking from a downed oil rig.

Heming’s early time in the Coast Guard saw her serve onboard the largest icebreaker on the Great Lakes, ICEBREAKER MACKINAW WAGB-83, known as the “Queen of the Great Lakes.”

When she was looking for MSSW programs, Heming said some of the other schools she looked into were not as understanding of her “winding academic journey.” She said the fact that UofL has been repeatedly designated a “Military-Friendly” institution is what sold her on becoming a Cardinal. She intends to use her MSSW degree to help those with trauma via nontraditional and alternative therapies, including the new wave of psychedelic research that seems promising for PTSD treatment.

On Aug 4, 2021, we recognize and celebrate the 231^st birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard and its precursors, the Revenue Marine, the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life Saving Service.

Story submitted by Kyle Hurwitz, UofL director of Military and Online Initiatives.