On October 25, 2012, U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Brian Sattler presented a Commander’s coin from Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Rendon, Director of the Joint Interagency Task Force West, to Jefferson Bobo, currently the only Marshallese graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Mr. Bobo now works for the government of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) as a Civil Engineer at the Ministry of Public Works.
Through the Compact of Free Association, as amended, Marshallese citizens are eligible to enroll in U.S. service academies such as the Coast Guard Academy. After the presentation of the coin, Ambassador Armbruster told RMI government officials that Embassy Majuro wants to encourage other Marshallese students to apply themselves in school and take advantage of this excellent educational opportunity to better themselves and to serve their country, such as Mr. Bobo has been able to do.
