LT. COLLEEN CAIN: PIONEERING US COAST GUARD PILOT

 

Photo: US Coast Guard

By Vinny Del Giudice

On Jan. 7, 1982, Lieutenant Colleen A. Cain, the U.S. Coast Guard's first female helicopter pilot, died in the crash of an HH-52 chopper at Hawaii's Molokai Ridge, responding to an emergency at sea. 

Cain, 29, was the co-pilot of the orange-and-white craft, CG-1420. She received her wings in 1979 as Coast Guard Aviator #1988. 

The pilot, Lieutenant Commander H. W. Johnson, 34, and a crewman, Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class David L. Thompson, 23, also died responding to the distress call from the Pan Am, a 74-foot fishing boat taking on water off Maui.

Weather conditions were abysmal.

Their helicopter lifted off at 4 a.m. into torrential rains and heavy winds from Air Station Barbers Point. Radio contact was lost about 5:15 a.m. The wreckage was located that afternoon on a steep slope at an elevation of 2,200 feet. Cain and Johnson were pinned in the wreckage. Thompson's body was located nearby. 

The fishing boat was assisted by others and towed to shore.

Coast Guardsman Michael Fratta, who was on duty at the air station, recalled that day in a post on the Airborne Public Safety Association website, written in 2010:

"I was a non-rate seaman standing security watch the evening of her final flight. My recollection of the weather that night is still vivid in my mind. The winds were howling and it was pouring rain, as they taxied to the heli-pad for takeoff. I could hardly believe the crew was prepared to take their single engine helicopter offshore in these extreme conditions."

In 1981, Cain, who hailed from Burlington, Iowa, was awarded the Coast Guard's Achievement Medal for resuscitating a 3-year-old boy injured in a boating accident, according to a dispatch by United Press International.

Johnson, of Orange, California, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, seldom given in peacetime, for a 1976 rescue, UPI said. Thompson was from Sequim, Washington.

COMMANDANT LINDA FAGAN DISMISSED; ASSAILED FOR 'EXCESSIVE FOCUS' ON DIVERSITY

The first woman to serve as the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Linda Fagan, was relieved from duty - reportedly in a petty and humiliating fashion - on Inauguration Day 2025.

Fagan, 61, had been a proponent of diversity and inclusion - an effort opposed by the White House. The U.S. Coast Guard and other armed services have since cancelled diversity programs.

The New York Times reported the commandant learned she had been relieved of duty while waiting to take a photo with the new president at the "Commander in Chief" inaugural ball. She was also "evicted" from her government housing, NBC News reported.

Retired Admiral Thad Allen, who served as Coast Guard commandant from 2006 to 2010, told Miltiary.com: "Her dismissal is not a matter of her performance. It is political performance. One that should cause great concern for current and future military leaders."

In a statement issued Jan. 21, the acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman, said Fagan "has served a long and illustrious career."

However, in a separate statement to Military. com, a Department of Homeland Security official said Fagan "was terminated because of her leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard."  

The Homeland Security statement also assailed her for "excessive focus on diversity" efforts, Military.com said. 

Fagan is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.