Female Coast Guard pioneer dies at 107

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Female Coast Guard pioneer dies at 107


Capt. Dorothy Stratton, the Coast Guard�s director of women�s reserves during World War II, died Sept. 17 in West Lafayette, Indiana. She was 107.

Stratton was named to lead the reserve, called SPARs, in 1942 when Congress authorized its creation. She had been serving as a lieutenant in the Navy Women�s Reserve, the WAVES, in early 1942.

In November 1942, Stratton received orders to Washington, D.C., to organize the Coast Guard women�s reserve. She received a commission as a Coast Guard lieutenant commander and became responsible for growing a force of 10,000 enlisted women and 1,000 female commissioned officers, according to the Coast Guard.

She is credited for creating the name SPAR � an acronym linking the Coast Guard�s motto, Semper Paratus, with its English translation, Always Ready.

Stratton was promoted to captain before she left the Coast Guard in 1946.

Before World War II, Stratton served as a dean and assistant professor of psychology at Purdue University. Afterward, she continued in leadership positions, working as director of personnel for the International Monetary Fund and spending 10 years as national executive director of the Girl Scouts of America.

Stratton�s service continues to be honored: each year, the Coast Guard awards the Capt. Dorothy Stratton Leadership Award to a female officer who demonstrates outstanding mentorship. Also, the 225-foot seagoing buoy tender SPAR, homeported in Kodiak, Alaska, is named for those who served under Stratton during World War II.

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Dorothy C. Stratton
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For Dorothy Stratten, Playboy Playmate, refer to the article Dorothy Stratten.
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Dorothy Constance Stratton (March 24, 1899 in Brookfield, Missouri - September 17, 2006 in West Lafayette, Indiana) was the director of the SPARS, the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve during World War II.

She graduated from Ottawa University in 1920 and received her Master's degree from the University of Chicago. She received a Ph.D. from Columbia University. She taught at public high schools in Brookfield, Missouri, Renton, Washington and San Bernardino, California (she was dean of girls at San Bernardino High School) before joining the faculty at Purdue University as dean of women and assistant professor of psychology.

She served on the selection board for the Women's Army Corps V Corps area. In 1942, she took a leave of absence from Purdue and joined the WAVES, and was commissioned a lieutenant.

In late 1942, she was ordered to Washington, DC to the office of the Commandant of the Coast Guard to organize the Coast Guard Women's Reserve, and was transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard. She came up with the name SPARS using a contraction of the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus and its English translation Always Ready. She was appointed its first director with a rank of lieutenant commander.

Stratton continued in the post until 1946 and rose to the rank of captain. As director, she oversaw over 10,000 enlisted women and 1,000 commissioned officers.

She left the Coast Guard in 1946 when the SPARS were demobilized. For her service she was awarded the Legion of Merit.

After the war, Stratton served as director of personnel for the International Monetary Fund (1947 - 1950). In 1950, she was national executive director of the Girl Scouts of America, a post she held until 1960.

Stratton died in West Lafayette, Indiana at the age of 107.

The Women Officers Professional Association (now the Sea Services Leadership Association) named its Captain Dorothy Stratton Leadership Award in her honor. Created in 2001, the award is presented to a female officer (W-2 to O-4) of the Coast Guard who shows leadership and mentorship and who shares the Coast Guard's core values.

In 2005, the Ottawa University Alumni Association awarded its Outstanding Achievement Award to Stratton.

Dorothy C. Stratton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Not the playboy model one

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USCGC Spar (WLB-206)
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Career
Ordered:
Laid down: 15 December 1999
Launched: 12 August 2000
Commissioned: 3 August 2001
Decommissioned: Still Active
Struck: Still Active
Fate: Still Active
General Characteristics
Displacement: 2,000 tons (Full Load)
Length: 225 Feet
Beam: 46 Feet
Draft: 13 Feet
Propulsion: Two 3608 Caterpillar Engines
Marine Engines
3100 HP
Speed: 15 knots at full load displacement
(80%) rated power
Range: 6,000 miles at 12 knots
Complement: 8 Officers
40 Enlisted
Armament: 2 x .50 caliber machine guns
Motto: Aleutian Keeper
The United States Coast Guard seagoing buoy tender SPAR (WLB-206) is home-ported in Kodiak, Alaska. The ship tends buoys in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and has acquired the nickname "The Aleutian Keeper." SPAR also performs other duties, such as maritime border security, maritime environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and domestic icebreaking. The Cutter is named after the Coast Guard Women's Reserves, also known as SPARS from the Latin and English translations of the Coast Guard Motto: Semper Paratus! Always Ready!

Contents [hide]
1 History of SPARs
2 Previous ships
3 The SPAR today
4 External links



[edit]
History of SPARs
On November 23, 1942, legislation was passed creating the Coast Guard Women's Reserves. The SPARs were created to allow more men to be sent overseas, while the women tended to duties back home. Captain Dorothy C. Stratton, former Dean of Women at Purdue University , was chosen from the Navy Women’s Reserves to be the director of the group and she coined the acronym. SPARs served throughout the United States . They were involved in both the traditional and non-traditional functions of the Coast Guard. For example, musically inclined SPARs were involved in a song and dance show which toured the country and ultimately inspired the movie Tars and Spars made in 1946. The SPARs were also involved with the then top secret LORAN program. In fact, the LORAN station in Chatham, Massachusetts was completely run by SPARs, and is believed to be the only women-run unit during World War II. While the SPARs filled many important roles, they were not intended to be a permanent part of the Coast Guard and were demobilized on June 30, 1946 after four years of service.

[edit]
Previous ships
The USCGC SPAR (WLB 403) was the first cutter to be named after the Women's Reserve. SPAR (WLB 403) was built at Marine Iron and Shipbuilding, located in Duluth, Minnesota, and was launched on November 2, 1943. The ship was commissioned on June 12, 1944. SPAR's missions included maintaining aids to navigation, assisting in anti-submarine warfare along the coast of Brazil, and completing an oceanographic charting mission in the northern Atlantic Ocean. During the ship's service, it had four different homeports: Boston, Massachusetts; Wood's Hole, Massachusetts; Bristol, Rhode Island; and South Portland, Maine. After 53 years of service in the Coast Guard, SPAR was decommissioned on February 28, 1997. She was then transferred to the Northeastern Maritime Historical Foundation which removed any valuable fittings or parts that could be used in the Foundation’s museum ship, the Bramble. The Spar was then sold in 2004 to the Carteret County Sportfishing Artificial Reef Program to become AR-305. The Spar lies just over 20 miles South of the Beaufort Inlet sea buoy, approximately 30 miles offshore of Morehead City. She rests in 110 feet of water about 300 yards from the Aeolus.

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The SPAR today
The keel for the current SPAR (WLB 206) was laid on December 15, 1999 at Marinette Marine Shipyard in Wisconsin. SPAR was launched on August 12, 2000. She made the trip from Marinette, Wisconsin to Kodiak , AK from March to June 2001 and was commissioned later that year on August 3. SPAR took Alaskan Aids to Navigation responsibility for the waterways of decommissioned USCGC Ironwood (WLB 297) and USCGC Firebush (WLB 393). SPAR regularly sees duty throughout the Aleutian Chain, as far west as Adak, and in the Bering Sea, as far north as the Kuskokwim River.

and here's the other link Welcome to USCG*District 17 - The SPAR

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USCG Katrina Rescue

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Feel The Coast Guard

Go and down load the wmp large version, it'll make you want to call the USCG and wonder if you're not to old and out of shape....