The moving trucks, a major diplomatic dinner, and two holiday receptions all hit at once.
But Petty Officer 1st Class Jessica Wernicke didn’t flinch.
In a matter of days, she secured a new residence for the district commander after his initial one failed inspection, executed a fancy five-course dinner for senior leaders of the Mexican Navy from a mobile kitchen, and hosted two events back at the admiral’s home–-all while solo-parenting two children during her husband’s deployment.
“I was just like, go, go, go, go,” she said. “I just pushed myself until I got it done.”
In the end, every event was a success. Wernicke’s composure under pressure also helped her earn the Coast Guard’s Special Command Aide of the Year award for 2025.
What is the SCA award?
The Special Command Aide of the Year award is given annually to a Coast Guard culinary specialist serving in an SCA billet who demonstrates exceptional performance in support of senior leaders. SCAs are entrusted with representing their commands at the highest levels, often managing official residences, coordinating high-profile events, supporting diplomatic engagements, and ensuring seamless daily operations.
In selecting Wernicke, who is SCA at the Heartland District in New Orleans, her supervisors cited not just technical excellence, but her calm leadership, discretion, adaptability, and ability to earn trust quickly—an essential quality for aides who operate inside senior leaders’ homes and daily lives.
“You’re stepping into someone’s comfort zone,” said Wernicke, a poised 37-year-old with a contagious smile. “They have to trust you. My goal is to make sure they feel comfortable and taken care of.”
The award is highly competitive, drawing nominees from across the service. Wernicke herself applied the previous year and was not selected. “I wasn’t sure I’d get it,” she said.
She credits much of her success to the crew around her and is proud to have mentored junior culinary specialists who were later selected for SCA assignments.
Units are encouraged to nominate outstanding SCAs whose performance reflects the professionalism, trust, and excellence required in these uniquely demanding roles. Submissions for the 2026 award will be solicited soon. To get an application and learn more about the program, please contact: contact the SCA Program Manager, Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey Vangrove, at (202) 372-4412 or Jeffrey.A.Vangrove@uscg.mil. can find out more information here.
A longer road to success
Wernicke’s journey to the Coast Guard—and to this award—was anything but straightforward. 
Raised in North Carolina, she began waitressing at 13 and struggled in college before deciding she wanted something more.
“You have those high school kids that are doomed to be in jail or dead before they graduate,” she said. “I was one of those kids.”
Her mother’s steady support helped change that.
“She fought hard to get me out of that life,” Wernicke said. “Everything I do now, I know I made her proud.”
In 2008, looking for purpose and a way to make a difference, Wernicke joined the Coast Guard intending to become a boatswain’s mate. While striking, she filled in temporarily for an injured cook. One night, her chief called her to the mess deck and changed her trajectory.
“He told me, ‘I think you’d be a good BM, but I think you’d be a better food service officer,’” she said. “He explained that as a cook, you can be a day maker and a day breaker. You’re still part of the mission.”
Wernicke wasn’t sold at first. She wanted boats and the intensity of being on the front lines. Her chief promised she could have both. Wernicke qualified for boat crew, served on cutters and small boats, and built a 17 ½ -year career across Seattle, North Carolina, and now New Orleans.
Along the way, her understanding of the job deepened.
“I learned on my first 87 that sometimes you’re people’s therapist,” she said. “They come talk to you when you’re cooking about what’s going on in their lives or at home. It’s about more than the food. It’s the whole picture. It’s about making sure people know their hard work is seen.”
Always pushing forward
Wernicke first became interested in the SCA program while stationed in Seattle, watching another culinary specialist serve in the role. Even then, she faced skepticism.
“A lot of people told me I couldn’t do it,” she said. “I was like, ‘Watch me.’ I’ve learned that you have to push through obstacles. And here I am.”
She has since served two admirals and expects to work for a third before her tour ends. Outside of work, she’s raising an 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, coaching soccer, and earning her law degree, while maintaining a perfect GPA along the way.
“I keep a 4.0 so I can show my kids that if I can work and do this, they can too,” she said.
Her husband is now a lieutenant in the Coast Guard, so colocation challenges loom and retirement decisions are still ahead. But Wernicke already knows what’s next. Driven by her own experience navigating the legal system during a previous marriage, she plans to continue her education after earning her paralegal certification. Her goal is to become a lawyer and eventually work to address gaps in how domestic violence cases are handled.
“There’s more to domestic violence than just marks on someone,” she said. “I want to help the system understand that.”
For Wernicke, the mission hasn’t changed.
“It kind of falls into the same mindset I had when I joined the Coast Guard,” she said. “I want to help and save people. I want to make a difference.”
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