The following is a press release about the retirement of Chief Petty Officer Tyler Benson from The U.S. Coast Guard. The release appeared on the Coast Guard Facebook Page:
Chief Petty Officer Tyler Benson, Executive Petty Officer at Station Saint Ignace, Michigan and celebrated author of Coast Guard themed children's books retires today after 23 years of service.
Boatswain's Mate by rate, Chief Benson is best known for his work on the Adventures of Onyx children's book series. He served at #SaintIgnace units three times since his entry to the Coast Guard in 2000. #BravoZulu
The Adventures of Onyx book series follows the adventures of Onyx, a black lab who has been enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard to work alongside Coast Guard men and women as they conduct rescues.
The real Onyx came to Station Saint Ignace in 2008 as a rescue puppy when then Petty Officer Benson was assigned to the station. Chief Benson shares that while the stories are historical fiction, the real Onyx played a critical role at Station Saint Ignace providing comfort and a sense of #Family to Coast Guard members assigned there.
Onyx passed in 2020, having honorarily achieved the rank of “Chief Pawty Officer". She is buried in #LakeHuron and #LakeMichigan under the center span of the Mackinac Bridge. Proceeds from the book series have helped support the Coast Guard Foundation, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and regional children’s hospitals.
Chief Benson will be remaining in the northern #GreatLakes area with his wife and four children, but with the completion of the tenth book, the Onyx series has come to a close.
He has accepted a position with a local camp as their program director, but has not ruled out the possibility of authoring future books on #Leadership and self-improvement largely guided by his Coast Guard #Career When asked what he will miss most about the Coast Guard, he states, “the people.”
Congratulations Chief Benson on your #MissionComplete and best of wishes on your future endeavors!
