Episode 60 - Matt Smith of New Jersey talks Coast Guard, Ice-Breaking & Flying Airplanes

American Tributaries

Matt Smith lives in southern New Jersey, where he retired as a Commander after 22 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard. While continuing work with the USCG as a civilian he has also been pursuing flight training and recently earned his Private Pilot certificate to fly under Visual Flight Rules. Matt and host Michael Whidden know each other from when they attended high school together on Long Island.
Our discussion covers, among other things:
*his Coast Guard experiences, ranging from Alaska to Michigan to Florida to Connecticut to Rhode Island to Indiana to Wisconsin and to New Jersey
*ice-breaking on the Great Lakes
*the history of the Coast Guard...and knowing Hamilton was cool before Hamilton was cool
*how high, how fast and how far he can fly with his license
*appreciating the agricultural character of New Jersey from the air
Matt finds hope in the good quality of the many people he has met in the last 35 years (many with whom he probably does not share the same political views) and in the fact that we don’t hear about the good people because they’re not loud (rather they’re doing the good things they need to be doing).