Many kids take things apart, but only a few kids put them back together. Suki Patterson was one of the latter - and she's made it her life's work to be a mechanic, first for the U.S. Coast Guard and more recently for Alaskan Brewing Co.
 Her father was a Coast Guard pilot, so it came as no surprise when Suki joined the Coast Guard in 1982. "I knew when I was growing up that I wanted to be a mechanic and work on airplanes," she said. She opted for the Coast Guard, because "I wanted to join a branch of service with a worthy peacetime mission that could teach me those skills."
During her 10 years of active duty, Suki's duties were as varied as the locations. Included were tours of duty as a crewman on lifeboats in Oregon, a flight mechanic and helicopter hoist operator in Kodiak, Alaska, and in North Carolina. She racked up nearly 2,000 hours of flight time as a hoist operator performing search-and-rescue missions aboard HH-3F helicopters.
After leaving active service, Suki moved to Juneau, Alaska, where she served another five years in the Coast Guard Reserves. "I had been to Juneau once before in 1984 overnight and thought it was the coolest place to live."
As an FAA-licensed aircraft mechanic, Suki worked for Silver Bay Logging and Wings of Alaska before leaving Juneau for seven years. But she couldn't stay away, and she began working at Alaskan Brewing in 2004. She finds the brewery work fun and challenging, because the brewery is bigger and more complex than airplanes. "You can't see the whole picture like you can with a plane or a car."
Suki says her job is unique, because "I work from one end of the brewery to the other and interact with all departments."
One special memory is enjoying a brewery party at the Prospector, when someone announced that there were whales in Gastineau Channel. Everyone rushed to the windows to look. Even though whales are somewhat commonplace in Alaska, "it was still really cool. We don't take it for granted." Suki also enjoys cross-country skiing, boating, hiking fishing and playing softball.
The Coast Guard's motto of Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready," is also an apt one for Suki. She's always ready for the next adventure, whether at work or at play. |
