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:: Cordova, AK - VT
Station/Boat Location~
USCGC SYCAMORE (225')

Date there~
July 2005-May 2007

Weather~
October - March: Wet, Dark and Cold (10-30F), April - June: Wet, Not so Dark and less cold (30-50F), July - Sept: Mostly dry, bright and better temperatures (50-75F)
During the winter, there are some awesome dry, sunny days which are spectacular with the snow cover. The rain can last for days at a time! Up to 180 inches of precip per year. Bring lots of wet weather gear: waterproof clothes and shoes (yet almost no one uses an umbrella).

Military facilities~
None: Elmendorf Air Force Base is in Anchorage a one hour flight or an eight hour ferry/car trip.

Medical~
Cordova has a lot of problem with medical in the last 15 years. There is a small "hospital" called the Cordova Community Medical Center and a out patient clinic called Ilanka ('ee-lonka' : local native Eyak word for Family). The CCMC is basically an emergency room and all major cases will be airlifted to Anchorage. Ilanka is a family clinic that had a rather good doctor while we were there, but he just left (summer 2007) and they are struggling to find a permanent replacement.
Any referrals to Anchorage require medical travel which has to be approved and paid for through the Coast Guard separately. Thus, it is a huge hassle to go to the local doctor, get a referral, request medical travel, get an appointment at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, schedule travel and then go.
Also, if you have children, the Coast Guard does not pay for all of you to travel, so if your husband is underway and you have to go for medical you either have to get a local family to watch your children (and/or pets) or pay yourself for you all to go. Overall medical is sketchy in Cordova and difficult. It is not the place for someone who is Special Needs or who likes having top notch, instantaneous medical care.

PREGNANCY: You can not give birth in the CCMC in Cordova. You can, I guess, use a midwife at home, but if there are complications, you will have to be airlifted to Anchorage. The Coast Guard sends pregnant women about a month ahead of due date to Anchorage and most stay on base. You don't get to see a OB/GYN just the regular general practitioner in Cordova unless you are high risk.

DENTAL: There is a really bad, part time dentist/part time fisherman who practices out of his house. His equipment, skills and manners are from the 1970s and he doesn't seem to even care about being up to date. But since he is the only United Concordia provider, you have to go to him or pay for your own trip to Anchorage to get real dental care. I went to him for a cleaning and he (since he has no hygienist) was really heavy handed and my mouth was all bloody and I had to take ibuprofen for three days because my gums were throbbing. I filed a complaint with United Concordia and the Coast Guard, but all that did was help document his malpractice and a year later, I was paying my own way to Anchorage for dental.

EYES: There is a traveling eye doctor that comes three or four times a year and you can go to him or you can pay your way to Anchorage and go see any Tricare approved eye doc.

So basically, since most families end up going to Anchorage at least once a year for shopping and entertainment, they schedule as much medical in Anchorage as they can.

Housing~
The 20 unit housing (four 2 bdrm apts and sixteen 3 bdrm two story townhouses) was labeled as the "worst housing in the USCG" by the past Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (who was stationed early on in his career in Cordova). Heated one car garages were added in 2006 which have greatly increased livability.
I think the housing was basic but above par when compared with the rest of the dilapidated housing in Cordova. It is below average when compared with all USCG housing in the US.
There are no yards and the way the housing is situated you are looking out at other people or they are looking in on you, so you feel you have to have your shades closed a lot for privacy.
If you have a dog it is hard because you can't 'let them out' or leave them staked out. To play with them you have to drive 'out the road'.
There are new housing plans and money to completely rebuild housing. This is supposed to start in 2008 and so if you transfer or live there between around 2008 and 2011, it will most likely be constant construction.
There is a nice covered play ground and a community center which has a small gym, kitchen and meeting room.

Shopping~
There are two small grocery stores: Alaska Commercial (AC Value) and Nichol's Front door/back door store. AC is a chain in Alaska, and Nichol's is a local family. Both have a limited selection and are really expensive. Also, fresh fruit and vegetables are of a poor quality. During the winter, there were times when there wasn't milk or eggs. AC likes to mark expired food "½ off" even a week or more after the expiration date. There is a Radio Shack (in the pharmacy), Salvation Army store, True Value Hardware, Orca bookstore, and a gift shop. It is basically impossible to buy clothes unless you are a fisherman. Almost all shopping has to be done online or when in Anchorage. There is also a small craft and quilting store, fishing supply store and fleece clothing store.

Dining: There are very few restaurants and many of them close during the winter.

Child Care/Schools~
The elementary and high school are pretty good. The HS has limited extracurricular activities and sports, so check with them (example, no football). There was a child care place in the back of a pizza/ice cream store, and I think also at one of the churches, however, most spouses didn't work.

Adult Schools~
Prince William Sound Community College: Most courses were taken via video from the Valdez campus. A fellow spouse took some classes and was frustrated with the college administration and always having to take long distance courses. It is a good opportunity if you are starting out with college, but not if you want to continue or have an advanced degree.

Fun Activities~
Festivals: Iceworm in February, Salmon Jam in July, Bidarki Bazaar in December. The majority of fun activities involve the outdoors: hunting, fishing, hiking, sight seeing.
Going 'out the road' means driving out of Cordova thirteen miles on paved road (the Copper River Highway) to the jet airport and then continuing on gravel road for about 45 more miles until you reach the end of the road where there is Child's Glacier and the Million Dollar Bridge. We often drove 'out the road' to play with our dog or just because we were bored and wanted to drive somewhere.
There is not a movie theater, bowling alley, arcade, etc. They have an OK library and a really nice museum (I'm partial though since I worked there).

Additional Info~
The overseas screening does not adequately screen families for assignment in Cordova. Cordova is a very isolated and economically depressed fishing community (famous Copper River Salmon). You can only get there by ferry or plane. Going to Anchorage by either means is about $250 at least per person. Families expect a certain level of care, housing and amenities when the USCG stations them somewhere, but Cordova is sub par on all levels when compared to other USCG locations. Many families get cabin fever and the winter blues since they feel very isolated and affected by the darkness and remoteness.

The cutter has a very demanding and hectic schedule, so my husband was gone about 50% of the time we were stationed there. So the guys don't feel the strain because they are 'getting out.' I was the ombudsman for a year and also very busy with the Cordova Historical Society, so I was able to make a lot of local friends and keep busy. The people of Cordova can be very warm and helpful, but there is some friction between the USCG and the community. My recommendation is that you don't put Cordova on you dreamsheet unless you are willing to deal with the medical constraints, housing upheaval and limited local resources. We had some great times but also some depressing times and I found Cordova to have too many 'extremes' for my personality. Also, the SYCAMORE is the only cutter in the Coast Guard to get Hardship Duty Pay Location which is usually reserved for land facilities where the USCG needs to be but the local area is hard to live in...the SYCAMORE is kept in Cordova not because of necessity (it could easily move to Valdez) but due to political reasons, thus it is the only cutter to get HDP-Location because as a cutter it could move but it doesn't.

Homeport AK

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