Coast Guard Station Chatham Earns Downey Award

CHATHAM – U.S. Coast Guard Station Chatham is the recipient of an award that bears the name of one of its legendary leaders, the late Command Master Chief Jack Downey. 

The honor, given on May 12, recognizes the station’s exemplary performance in 2024, “despite unprecedented personnel shortages.” During that time, Chatham’s crew carried out 78 safety and fisheries enforcement boardings and responded to 33 search and rescue cases, saving 37 people and about $2.5 million in property. The Master Chief Jack Downey Award was given by Capt. Jason Aleksak, the Coast Guard’s chief of boat forces; the nomination was made by the station’s officer in charge, Senior Chief Petty Officer Ross Comstock.

Command Master Chief Downey, who died in 2022, had a distinguished 41-year career in the Coast Guard and is remembered as a skilled lifesaver, a competent mariner and a leader who built strong connections with Chatham and the other communities he served.