BMC George Williams

While his crews were rescuing residents in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina last year, Chief Boatswain's Mate George Williams led salvage efforts at his station in southern Louisiana, providing leadership and support to 78 people forced from their homes by the storm.

EM2 Rodney Gordon

FAs Air Station New Orleans' senior electrician's mate, Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Rodney Gordon found replacement parts and emergency generators used to power up the station following Hurricane Katrina, then provided the naval fuel farm with power to fuel rescue helicopters.

AET1 Luke Bowe

While at Group Humboldt Bay in McKinleyville, Calif., Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Luke Bowe, an HH-65C rescue helicopter air crewman, helped raise $12,000 for morale events. He also planned and ran the base's Haunted House, which entertained more than 2,000 people.

Lt. J.G. Greg Rogers

When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast last year, Lt. j.g. Greg Rogers wasted no time. The Coast Guard reservist, who lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, immediately volunteered to join the rescue efforts. A former Marine and veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Rogers supervised up to 100 personnel and 24 boats while also coordinating with multiple government agencies.

Over his 17-day deployment in New Orleans - often dealing with scared and angry crowds, downed power lines and stifling heat - Rogers' teams managed 53 documented rescues and 277 sorties. He braved polluted waters, going house to house and roof to roof to rescue citizens and provide them with much-needed food and water.

Lieutenant Kevin Boyd

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Lt. Kevin Boyd provided relief to friends, colleagues and strangers in New Orleans.

When the Coast Guard itself was hit hard by the storm, Boyd helped get food, water and tools to damaged units. And despite the fact that his own house had been damaged, Boyd opened his home to three Coast Guard officers who lost everything in the storm. He even took in a malnourished collie wandering after Hurricane Rita, bathing and caring for it before reuniting the dog with its owner.

Boyd's assistance to fellow Coasties continued well after the storm, as did his efforts to make sure their good work was recognized. In the months following Katrina, Boyd worked long days to make sure 1,300 awards were completed and given to the deserving heroes.

Yeoman 2nd Class Jeff Jackson

Serves as an 8th District Critical Incident Stress Management Team member; works with First Books, a nonprofit that collects books for children.

NEW ORLEANS, La. - At 27, Yeoman 2nd Class Jeff Jackson felt like he'd seen it all, in three months' time.

In August 2005, the New Orleans resident lost everything he owned to Hurricane Katrina.

Working relief after the storm, he maneuvered a small boat through streets he'd once walked, picking up stranded residents.

He found four people dying at a hospice, but left them behind when an administrator told him they wanted to face death in a familiar place.

On Oct. 30, he watched a car stray off road and into a ditch. He removed two children from the shattered rear window. When he tried to extricate the driver - the boys' mother - a half-consumed bottle of rum rolled off her lap.

Then, just four days later, he once again faced a life-or-death rescue situation.

In the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 3, Jackson was looking to relax after completing an 8 p.m.-to-midnight security patrol at an abandoned Coast Guard base.

He and a friend went fishing in New Orleans' Industrial Canal, next to the base. As they fished, they watched cars approach a drawbridge, stuck in "up" position since before Katrina hit.

They watched the cars turn around as their headlights shone on a barricade and the bridge's closed gate.

But one didn't turn back - it kept going, through the blockade and into the canal. "It just launched, 'Dukes of Hazzard'-style," Jackson recalled. "For a split second, we were just, 'Holy s---! What just happened?'" Jackson's shock didn't last long. Before the car sank, he and his friend were running toward it.

Jackson commandeered a nearby oyster boat and convinced its captain to head toward the sinking car. When the waterman refused to draw any closer because of debris in the canal, Jackson dove in.

"The guy was bobbing in the water, semiconscious. He'd been thrown out of the car, but his foot was caught in the window. The car was sinking and about to drag him down," Jackson said.

When the Coast Guardsman freed the man, he realized the victim was a New Orleans police officer who, despondent over his losses from Katrina, had tried to commit suicide. Jackson saved him.

"Without YN2 Jackson's heroic actions, the police officer would not have survived," said Lt. Cmdr. Daryl Schaffer, Jackson's supervisor at the Integrated Support Command.

The yeoman's courage under pressure, tireless efforts in his day job, personal commitment to physical fitness and devotion to service qualify him for Navy Times' 2005 Coast Guardsman of the Year award, his senior officers say.

"His decision to enter the water and rescue someone … truly embodies the Coast Guard's motto" of Semper Paratus, or "Always Ready," Schaffer said.

Jackson, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., has been in the Coast Guard for nearly five years. He joined the service to pay for college, but by mid-2005 was growing restless. He considered volunteering for Middle East duty, but eventually decided to leave service. That was before Katrina.

After the storm, Jackson, who maintained his weapons qualifications after being assigned to the ISC, volunteered to run security detail for New Orleans rescue operations. He then volunteered for security duty to protect the ISC, a target for looters. He stayed on that job until almost Thanksgiving.

His experiences have given him a new sense of purpose, he says, and he aims to make the Coast Guard a career. Close to finishing his civil engineering degree from the University of New Orleans, he plans to try for Officer Candidate School.

Jackson is also an active volunteer, serving as an 8th District Critical Incident Stress Management Team member, helping run his unit's physical training program and working with First Books, a nonprofit that collects books for children who have none. "I'm not a saint or anything," he said. "If an old lady is by the side of the road and has a flat tire, you just stop and help. That's how I was brought up."

Major Wendie Skala

Maj. Wendie Skala organized crew members into air evacuation crews to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, and developed training for the squadron's transition from C-141 to KC-135 aircraft. She takes part in Drug Abuse Resistance Education at local high schools.

Master Sgt. William Chapman

Master Sgt. William Chapman mentors hundreds of students as they prepare for ground duty in Iraq during the Basic Combat Convoy Course. A combat veteran, he was one of the first airmen tasked to carry an M-16 in a traditional Army combat role.

Master Sgt. Troy Lundquist

Master Sgt. Troy Lundquist, working as a quick reaction force controller in Afghanistan last year, rushed close-air support to help soldiers when their helicopter was hit by enemy fire. His swift response allowed the helicopter to be recovered and the soldiers' infiltration mission to continue.

On his deployment, Lundquist taught emergency close-air support to more than 200 troops from five countries.

When Lundquist saw that a fellow NCO was breaking down professionally and personally, he encouraged the NCO, made sure he had counseling, adjusted his workload and helped restore the NCO to his unit.

At his base in Italy, Lundquist mentored junior high and high school students, volunteered as a sports umpire and hosted an Independence Day celebration for Italians in his village.

Master Sgt. Jennifer Anderson

When Master Sgt. Jennifer Anderson arrived at her new unit in Hawaii, she formed a "dream team" and led a unit inspection program that took her flight's rating from "satisfactory" to "outstanding" in 90 days, the first such rating for the flight.

She rewarded team members by putting them in for a commander's award, which they received.

Anderson is "a selfless leader" and volunteer in the community, said Chief Master Sgt. Johnny Hollis. When one of Anderson's airmen became worried because she hadn't heard from her family living in the area hit by Hurricane Katrina last year, Anderson organized a car wash that raised $4,500 to benefit hurricane victims.

She also led the local chapter of the Airlift/Tanker Association and volunteered at the Hawaii Foodbank.