The Good Life – July-August 2017

“Because of my time in the service,
I am more focused.
I treat my everyday life with focus.
My kids may say that some days
I act like a drill sergeant.
Discipline is still a big thing for me.”
and stopped at many ports all over the world, including Iraq, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and more. He added, “In addition to
the work, we did also get to have some necessary stress relief and fun
on the way, stopping in Guam, the Philippines and Hawaii.”
His first WESTPAC was during Operation Desert Storm from January-
July 1991 and the second was from June 1993 - January 1994. During
that time he was part of the Battle of Mogadishu – Operation Gothic
Serpent.
In addition to serving as a damage controlman doing firefighting
and ship preservation, Tibiatowski was also part of the security
force, working closely with the Coast Guard. “We would go out into
international waters near Mexico and Panama and board ships that
were carrying drugs. There were yachts with helicopters on top of
them dropping drugs. We had boats trying to outrun us and even to
ram us. We were a strong steel ship, so trying to ram us just wasn’t
going to happen. I experienced some interesting situations, some of
which I can’t talk about.”
Tibiatowski describes boarding a yacht near Mexico: “They were trying
to outrun us and throwing drugs in the water when we finally stopped
them. We pointed all of our weapons at them. We watched the Coast
Guard board their vessel. The smugglers’ hands were zip tied. They
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