CAPE MAY, N.J. – A change-of-watch and retirement ceremony for the Coast Guard Training Center Cape May’s Command Master Chief is scheduled for Wednesday at the training center.
Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Cowart, a Savannah, GA., native and 1982 graduate of Savannah High School, will be retiring after more than 30 years in the Coast Guard. His replacement as Command Master Chief will be Master Chief Petty Officer William Hollandsworth.
Cowart joined the Coast Guard Jan. 1986 and attended Aviation Maintenance Technician “A” school at the Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.
His previous assignments included the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous, Coast Guard Station Tybee Island, Air Station Savannah, Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., Air Station Elizabeth City, Air Station Sitka, Alaska, Aircraft Repair & Supply Center Elizabeth City and Coast Guard Training Center Cape May.
“I feel blessed to have had the privilege to serve in America’s Coast Guard,” said Cowart. “I planned on staying for four years and getting out. However, a couple of serendipitous search-and-rescue cases allowed me to experience the immense sense of accomplishment that comes with pulling survivors from the ocean. That feeling, along with the look of relief and gratitude in the eyes of those who were rescued, changed the course of my future.”
The executive officer of the training center, Cmdr. Joe Meuse, said, “Terry has devoted more than 30 years to our service. For that, the Coast Guard is better for having had him and those people that had the opportunity to know him, and work with him, are better for it as well. He truly has represented the Coast Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty and we wish him the absolute best of luck for the future.”
The change-of-watch and retirement ceremony are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
The ceremony will also be live streamed and can be viewed by clicking HERE.
Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Cowart, a Savannah, Ga., native, served in the Coast Guard for more than 30 years. His last assignment before retirement was serving as the Command Master Chief at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, N.J.