News Release

NOTE: Members of the media are also invited to attend this screening and cast their vote along with recruits. They’ll have opportunities to interview the recruits and training staff before and after the screening.  Please contact Donnie Brzuska at O: 609-898-6362, C: 609-224-0214 or E: Donnie.c.brzuska@uscg.mil to RSVP. High resolution video from the Top 10 Videos of 2011 can be downloaded by clicking here.

CAPE MAY, N.J. – Coast Guard recruits at Training Center Cape May will get a sneak peek at all of the Coast Guard’s Top 10 videos of 2011 Thursday at 9 a.m.

The Coast Guard announced Dec. 21 the release of its Top 10 video compilation for 2011, highlighting the year's most compelling cases from the work done every day by America's Coast Guard. The Coast Guard also announced its 2011 Video of the Year contest in which the public is invited to vote for their favorite video. The staff at Coast Guard Headquarters wanted to give some of the Service’s newest members a chance to see the videos and let them vote first.

“We’re glad to have this opportunity to show these soon-to-be Coast Guardsmen what they’ll be doing when they leave here,” said Cmdr. Matt Smith, the training officer for Training Center Cape May. “Most of these men and women will be conducting Coast Guard missions within a week of graduation, so for them to get a taste of it here, it helps us keep them motivated during training.”

The contest began Thursday, with voting open through Jan. 13, 2012. Starting Thursday, and continuing through Dec. 31, the Coast Guard's official blog, the Coast Guard Compass, will publish one of the Top 10 videos each day including commentary from a service member who participated in the mission. Voting for the 2011 Video of the Year will remain open through Jan. 13, 2012, so each video will have ample opportunity to be "Liked." Each day of the contest people may vote for their favorite videos by choosing “Like” on the Coast Guard's Facebook page or on the Coast Guard’s YouTube 2011 Videos of the Year playlist.

The members of recruit companies Zulu 185 and Alpha 186 won’t have to wait until New Year Eve to see all of the videos with the commentary and cast their vote for their favorite video. The recruits will view the videos at Ida Lewis Auditorium aboard Training Center Cape May, and their votes will be tallied with the rest of the participants who vote on the top Coast Guard video.

"The service of Coast Guard men and women is often out of sight of the public occurring offshore, at night or at the height of a ferocious storm at sea, so we are proud to show citizens our Top 10 videos that represent this work," said Capt. Ron LaBrec, chief of Coast Guard public affairs.