Editor’s note: Vice Adm. Brown will be available for interviews upon his arrival at Jacksonville Beach Pier in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, Thursday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. Please RSVP with Donnie Brzuska to attend.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A retired Coast Guard Vice Admiral is celebrating his 70th birthday by riding more than 2,000 miles to support Coast Guard families facing financial hardship.

Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown, USCG (Ret.), the first African American to achieve the rank of vice admiral in the Coast Guard, is cycling from Key West, Florida, to Bar Harbor, Maine to raise funds for Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA), the official aid society of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Supporters can follow his journey and contribute here: https://bit.ly/Riding-4-CGMA

“For more than 40 years, I had the privilege of serving alongside extraordinary Coast Guard men and women,” Brown said. “This ride is about paying it forward to those currently serving—especially when they or their families face personal crisis or significant need.”

Brown’s ride comes amid renewed uncertainty around federal funding. During the 2019 partial government shutdown, approximately 55,000 Active Duty, Reserve, and civilian Coast Guard members went without pay for 35 days, the first time in recent history a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces served without compensation. Coast Guard civilian employees were again impacted during a subsequent funding lapse in 2025, with many going 43 days without pay.

“Financial disruption for Coast Guard families is becoming the norm, not the exception,” said Brooke Millard, CEO of CGMA and a retired Coast Guardsman. “Government shutdowns, deployments, economic volatility, and constant relocations create ongoing financial stress. When service members are worried about paying rent or fixing a car, that affects mission readiness.”

In 2025 alone, CGMA delivered more than $12 million in assistance to over 4,000 members of the Coast Guard community. More than $3 million went toward basic living expenses, rental assistance, and debt management. CGMA also provided $1.9 million to civilian employees during the 2025 funding lapse.

Brown departed Key West on Thursday and plans to complete the journey in three phases:

• Phase 1: Key West to Jacksonville Beach, Florida
• Phase 2: Jacksonville Beach to Washington, D.C.
• Phase 3: Washington, D.C. to Bar Harbor, Maine

Battling wind gusts of 25–30 mph during the opening leg, Brown said the ride is already testing his endurance. Even though the wind is dying down in Florida, Brown expects the most challenging parts of the ride are in front of him, including the hills of New England and congestion around New York.

CGMA provides daily updates from Brown about his journey. Please follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

About CGMA
CGMA is designated as the official military welfare society for the U.S. Coast Guard by Title 10 of the U.S. Code.  CGMA provides grants and interest-free loans across more than 40 individual programs, to support our entire Coast Guard community. Funded entirely by donations, CGMA ensures short-term financial challenges do not become long-term crises. Since 1924, CGMA has delivered more than $260 million in direct assistance.

About Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown, USCG (Ret.)

Brown joined the Coast Guard at age 17 as a cadet at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. He became the first African American to attain the three-star rank in the service’s history. His career included senior leadership roles at Coast Guard Headquarters and operational commands in the Pacific and Middle East. In 2014, he was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction at NOAA, where he oversaw environmental satellite programs and modernization of the National Weather Service. He returned to retirement in 2017.

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SOURCE Coast Guard Mutual Assistance