Coast Guard Leaders Recognized for Devotion to Duty

On Friday, the Sea Service Leadership Association recognized two promising U.S. Coast Guard leaders with awards for distinguished service. Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Koski was the recipient of the 2016 Capt. Dorothy Stratton Leadership Award and Petty Officer Second Class Ashley Cruz was the recipient of the 2016 MCPO Pearl Faurie Leadership Award.

The awards were presented Tuesday during the Sea Service Leadership Association’s 29th Annual Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia.

Lt. Cmdr. Koski is responsible for administering planned maintenance for over one hundred patrol boats world-wide. This includes managing over $40 million in maintenance funding and supervising nearly 40 geographically-distributed asset project managers and port engineers from Guam to Bahrain. In the course of her duties, Koski implemented a new program for maintenance efficiencies, saving the service nearly $3 million in recurring costs. She is also very active in her community as a leader of volunteer groups.

“To receive an award at this event was almost surreal, and of course, a huge honor," Lt. Cmdr. Koski said. "It is a testament to the amazing leaders, both men and women, that I’ve had the pleasure of working for and with so far in my career, who taught me to put others first.”

Petty Officer Second Class Cruz serves as the only electrician's mate at Station Port Canaveral; she also routinely volunteers in the armory, the galley, and in the classroom as a tutor, and provides services to new mothers at the Cape Canaveral Hospital's maternity ward.