John Bastek

Captain John A. Bastek USCG (Retired)

1946 - 2018 Obituary Condolences

Bastek, USCG Ret., Captain John A. Spring Lake, Michigan Captain John A. Bastek, USCG Ret. age 71, of Spring Lake passed away Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at Heartwood Lodge. He was born September 30, 1946 in Paterson, New Jersey to Stanley and Eileen (Doran) Bastek. On March 13, 1971 he married Susan Henry in Cape May, New Jersey. John was a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. and University of Miami School of Law. He served in the Coast Guard for thirty years, his assignments included tours as a ship's officer (including two as ship's captain), he was an attorney, a military judge, and did several tours in administrative positions. His last assignment was as Chief of Staff of the Ninth Coast Guard District (the Great Lakes) retiring in 1998. He was an avid baseball player and a fan of all sports. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his loving wife Susan; two sons, Neal (Susannah) Bastek and Ian (Stephanie) Bastek; four grandchildren: Silvia and Emmett Bastek, and Ayden and Owen Bastek; sister, Barbara Proden; brothers: William (Marilyn) Bastek, Robert (Patricia) Bastek, and Stephen (Helen) Bastek; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Stan and Eileen; brother-in-law, Joseph Proden. A memorial service with military honors will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, March 10, 2018 at The VanZantwick Chapel (620 Washington Ave) with Rev. Daniel Anderson officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorial contributions in memory of John may be given to Little Red House. Please sign the family's' online guestbook at www.sytsemafh.com.

Published in Grand Rapids Press on Feb. 25, 2018

Inclusion or Exclusion

 

First African-American vice admiral in Coast Guard kicks off Academy diversity week

New London — Shortly after retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. Manson Brown took over the No. 2 spot at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, he brought in data showing the culture there needed to change. There was a lack of diversity within the organization that was impacting the culture there.

Brown got buy-in from his boss, Kathryn D. Sullivan, who decided to make it an agencywide priority to come up with a strategy to make NOAA more diverse and inclusive.
NOAA officials looked deeper into employee morale surveys. The responses, on their face, generally were good, better than the federal average. But after examining them more closely, serious concerns related to employees' views about top leadership and middle management were discovered, Brown said. A majority of women and people of color were concerned about diversity and recruitment.
Starting with top leadership, the agency started engaging in crucial conversations about diversity and inclusion "that spread like wildfire throughout the organization," he said. Younger employees were engaged and played a crucial role throughout the process. A robust feedback system was established.
"If you do not intentionally, deliberately and proactively include, you will unintentionally exclude," Brown said, quoting diversity consultant and author Joe Gerstandt.
Brown brought that message Friday morning to a full Leamy Hall Auditorium, where cadets, staff, academy leadership and guests gathered to kick off the 42nd annual Eclipse Week, which focuses on diversity, inclusion and mentorship. This year's theme is "Embracing a Community of Respect."
Coast Guard leadership tends to "take a 'mission first, people always' approach. ... and the outstanding mission results we achieve signal to us that our leadership is effective," he said. The "people metrics are generally good," he added, so there's often no efforts to do a deeper analysis that might point to cultural concerns.
Middle managers, on the other hand, tend to focus on day-to-day challenges, and don't believe they have the resources to help change culture. They're reluctant to think change will happen because "so many change strategies come from on high that never produce real results," Brown said.
Employees don't always trust that leadership has a basic understanding of what's happening at their level or that anything will be done to address concerns, so often they choose not to say anything, he said.
"For individuals in underrepresented groups, these challenges are often magnified," Brown said.
He advised that these challenges can be overcome by organizations taking a strategic approach to look at culture. He pointed out that experts say there's a direct link between organizational culture and organizational performance, and that it takes 7 to 10 years for organizational change to firmly take hold.
As for the cadets, Brown encouraged them to call out offensive behavior and to engage in meaningful dialogue when it happens. To those who may be hesitant to speak up, there's safety in numbers, he said.

Published April 06. 2018 5:57PM

By Julia Bergman  

j.bergman@theday.com