UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARYauxpa.cgaux.org/Navigator/2004SPRING.pdf · Auxiliarist Greg Clark docks a small boat into Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin ... visionary project that

UN

ITED S

TATES C

OA

ST G

UA

RD A

UX

ILIA

RY

U.S.CO

AST

GUARD

AU

XIL

IAR

Y

Am

eric

a’s

Vol

un

teer

Lif

esav

ers

® VOL. 31, NO. 1 — SPRING 2004

AUXILIARIST FINDS

HIS ‘NOTCH’ ABOARD

THE YELLOWFIN

see page 20

page 5

page 17

page 38

2 • Spring 2004 • NAVIGATOR

2004 EDITION

DEADLINESSUMMER EDITION

May 15

FALL EDITIONAugust 15

WINTER EDITIONNovember 15

Telephone numbers andaddresses of membersare protected by thePrivacy Act of 1974. Asa matter of policy, ros-ters of names, address-es and telephone num-bers shall not be madeavailable to the generalpublic or any outsideorganization. Privacy ofall rosters shall be safe-guarded and the pageclearly labeled. Thepublication of theserosters, addresses andtelephone numbers onany computer on-lineservice including theInternet is prohibited bythe Privacy Act of 1974.

Contents

Send submissions to Navigator

Mike Harris2924 Emerson St.Suite 200San Diego, CA 92106

[email protected]

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Paddling into history 3Commandant commends DHS 4Winter security patrols 5Commodore Edgerton 6Commodore Seibert 7Commodore Jeandheur 8Commodore McAdams 9Commodore Morris 10Recruiting is everyone’s job 11Making preparations to relieve watch 12Safety events ‘on the air’ 15Memorial to CG member 16Operation Safe Crab 17New Navigator editor named 18COVER STORY: Mission impossible 20NACON ’04 24A Chorus, of course 26ISAR 2004 27Detection and recovery in the ICW 28‘You’re in Command’ 34Writing for Navigator 35Auxiliarist praised 38

NationalCalendar

2004NATIONAL

CONFERENCE,September 2-4Costa Mesa, CA

ON THE COVER

Auxiliarist Greg Clark docks a small boat into Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin’s (WPB87319) notch under theinstruction of BM2 Scott Braithwaite. SEE PAGE20 USCG photo

VOL. 31, NO. 1 — SPRING 2004

BY ED SWEENEYDVC-AP

In 1803, President Thomas Jeffersonwon approval from Congress for avisionary project that was to becomeone of American history's greatestadventure stories.

Jefferson wanted to know ifAmericans could journey overland tothe Pacific Ocean following two rivers,

the Missouri and the Columbia, whichflow east and west, respectively, fromthe Rocky Mountains. If the sources ofthe rivers were nearby, Jefferson rea-soned that American traders wouldhave a superior transportation route tohelp them compete with British furcompanies pressing southward fromCanada.

Well, as the saying goes, “ … therest is history.” As the nation cele-brates the bicentennial journey ofLewis and Clark, which foreverchanged the face of our nation, there isyet another innovation/journey ofsorts that is being launched by mem-

bers of the Coast Guard Auxiliary’sDistrict 13.

Just as the Lewis and Clarkexploration changed

American history, thisnew program is likely

to forever change the face of Auxiliaryoperations. Using the same means asLewis and Clark did to explore thegreat Northwest, Auxiliarists in D13recently established a program whichuses kayaks and other paddle craft asoperation facilities.

The program was the brainchild ofJohn Reseck Jr, SO-MT 4 D13, fromPort Ludlow, Wash. The reason for itscreation was simple, according toReseck.

“The Lewis and Clark trips beingpromoted by ‘adventure tour operators’along the river trail for the Centennialof their exploration has many worriedbecause of the increase in the ‘FamilyAdventure’ business. We hope ourPCO program will help promote safety,and make the edge a little wider forthose intrepid families who dare to liveon the edge.”

Reseck, an avid Kayaker, developedthe Paddle Craft program at the urgingof Lt. Cmdr. Kelly Boodell, Director ofAuxiliary, D13. According to Reseck,

NAVIGATOR • Spring 2004 • 3

Paddling into historyUSCGAUX D13 adds paddle craft

to their operational facilities

SEE PADDLING PG. 32

Auxiliarist John Reseck, SO-MT 4 D13, on environmental patrol with paddle craft.


is the official magazine of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

www.cgaux.orgEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

National Commodore

COMO E.W. (Bill) Edgerton, NACONational Vice Commodore-Chief of Staff

COMO Gene M. Seibert, NAVCO-COSNational Vice Commodore - Atlantic East

COMO Mary Larson, NAVCO-A(E)National Vice Commodore - Atlantic West

COMO Stephen B. Reams, NAVCO-A(W)National Vice Commodore - Pacific

COMO Gail Ramsey, NAVCO-PImmediate Past National Commodore

COMO Viggo C. Bertelsen Jr.,IPNACOChief Director, Auxiliary

CAPT David Hill USCG

DIRECTORATE COMMODORES

National Directorate Commodore for Operations and Marine SafetyCOMO George E. Jeandheur, NADCO-OMS

National Directorate Commodore for Member ServicesCOMO Charles (Tony) G. Morris, NADCO-MS

National Directorate Commodore for Recreational Boating SafetyCOMO Warren E. McAdams, NADCO-RBS

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Department ChiefFred Gates, DC-A

EditorMike Harris, BC-APN

Copyright 2004Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.

All rights are reserved. No portion of thispublication can be copied or otherwise beused without written permission of the editor.NAVIGATOR is an official informationaland educational tool for the U.S. CoastGuard Auxiliary and is intended as a training vehicle and publication to keepthe membership and the U.S. Coast Guardapprised of the activities of the Auxiliary.Accordingly, all articles published in NAVIGATOR must be consistent with thestated policies of the U.S. Coast Guard andthe U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. All articlesand pictures submitted to NAVIGATOR become the property of the Coast GuardAuxiliary Association, Inc.

Navigator

BY JEREMY SMITH IPDCP Div. 13, D7

“When the Commandant of the CoastGuard comes to town, it’s a special occa-sion. When the purpose of his visit isspecifically to recognize the achieve-ments of our local Coast Guard forcesand our partners in the Department ofHomeland Security, it’s an event no onewants to miss,” said Jim Dennen, RearCommodore (East), Seventh District

Coast Guard Auxiliary. Such was the case at Coast Guard

Group Key West on Feb. 11, whenAdmiral T. H. Collins, Commandant, pre-sented the Coast Guard’s MeritoriousTeam Commendation Award to mem-bers of the DHS Alien MigrantInterdiction Operations (AMIO) Team inthe Florida Keys at a special ceremonyhosted by Admiral Harvey Johnson,Commander of the Coast Guard’sSeventh District and Captain PhillipHeyl, Commander of Coast GuardGroup Key West.

The Department’s AMIO Team, con-sisting of DHS personnel fromImmigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE), Citizenship and Immigration

James Dennen, Rear Commodore East, District Seven Coast Guard Auxiliary(left) accepts the Coast Guard’s Meritorious Team Commendation Award fromAdmiral Collins on behalf of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Photo by Jeremy Smith

Commandantcommends DHSAlien MigrantInterdiction OPs Team in theFlorida Keys

SEE DHS PG. 33


BY HARWOOD MARTIN SO-PA, Div. 4, 5SR

The wind this morning is northerly,about 15 knots, temperature near 20degrees. It’s early January—Somewhere on the Chesapeake Bay.

In summer this would be a goodbreeze for sailing, but today the air iscold — biting cold — and dense. Itpacks enough punch to raise waves oftwo to three feet, with heavy spraythat freezes on decks, handrails,antennas, and windshields.Everything is quiet except for wind,waves, and the steady dieselrumble. Pleasure boats have longsince settled in their shrink-wrapcocoons, and today even commercialwatermen are working in creeks andsmall rivers. Only a distant freighterpaints itself on the radar screen.

Who does come here in small craft

on days like this, and why? TheUnited States Coast Guard is hereguarding the waterways — alwaysprepared, as they say. Over the holi-days, the President and HomelandSecurity Secretary Ridge alerted thenation to an increased risk for ourcountry and its citizens, and men andwomen of the Coast Guard areanswering the call. However, Americahas over 350 ports, as well as powerplants, major bridges, and docksidestorage facilities of various types. Theactive Coast Guard cannot be every-where at once, so it calls upon itsreservists and Auxiliarists forsupport.

That’s why three of us onMaryland’s Eastern Shore are heremanning a small cruiser today. We’reAuxiliarists and in times of need theAuxiliary expands its more traditionalroles of vessel inspection and public

boating education to join in securityoperations. We don’t carry weapons;we’re non-combatant, but we’retrained for just about everything elsethe Coast Guard does. In these times,saving lives is not limited to searchand rescue; it also involves safeguard-ing sensitive facilities and sites fromour country’s enemies.

So when the Coast Guard askedwhat assets the Auxiliary could pro-vide, Division 4 responded with eightoperational facilities, nine coxswains,and seven crewmembers. While 2003ended, Flotilla 45 joined Flotilla 15from the Chesapeake’s western shoreto operate one and often two daylightpatrols each day. On Jan. 9, notifica-tion came to stand down, as boats andcrews breathed a sigh of relaxation,and Activities Baltimore and StationOxford signaled a hearty “Well done”to their Auxiliary support.

Winter security patrols –regardless of the weather

Coxswain T. J. Ridgeway mans the wheel of an Auxiliary Facility on the Chesapeake Bay in freezing winter conditions.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


COMMODORE

E. W. (BILL) EDGERTON

NATIONALCOMMODORE

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Recently I had a telephone conver-sation with a long time (as opposed to‘old’) friend in the Auxiliary. Duringthe discussions we touched on someof our Auxiliary experiences and therelationship that has developedbetween us over the years. Withoutgoing into details, it is significant toknow that this friend, who I will referto as Walt for ease of reference, wasfairly well up the elected chain of lead-ership and management while I wasjust a couple of rungs up the ladder.

Walt appointed me to an investiga-tion with another Auxiliarist and afterthe grunt work was complete hecarefully reviewed our oral report.At times he stopped us to advise usas to the different aspects and inter-pretations of the information we hadcollected. At no point did he attemptto influence our opinions. When wehad completed the review he spentsome time reviewing with us the pos-sible effects that our findings andrecommendations could have, notonly within the unit subjected to theinvestigation, but also on the divi-sion, district and the Auxiliary as awhole. Without my realizing it at thetime, Walt was mentoring me as aleader.

For the next several years, as weboth moved up the chain, Walt, as Icame to fully realize later, continuedto mentor me in leadership and someof the nuances within the Auxiliaryand Coast Guard. At no time wasthere any formal or informal designa-tion or recognition of Walt as being amentor. This is important and will bediscussed later.

Walt has completed his service tothe Auxiliary as an elected leader buthas continued to subtly mentor me,

not only as an elected leader but alsoon what to expect as a past officer.

During my time in the Auxiliary, Ihave been knowingly mentored byseveral Auxiliarists and have soughtmentoring from others. In each casethe position as mentor was readilyaccepted and, at least in my opinion,continues to be honored to this date.

Mentoring is normally associatedwith the designation of a member as amentor to assist a member to becomemore familiar with the Auxiliary andits programs, successfully complete atraining course or obtain a qualifica-tion/certification. The point of theabove anecdote is twofold:

Mentoring is not just limited to theachievement of training goals but alsoincludes the development of thosemembers who display the potential tobecome future leaders within theAuxiliary, and:

Mentoring is often accomplishedwithout the formal designation of amentor and without the realizationthat mentoring is being accomplished.

The mentoring of our future leaderscan and must be accomplished ineither way, openly or subtly, in orderto ensure the future of the organiza-tion. Individually, we bring certainleadership skills with us from our pre-vious experiences but there is alwaysroom for that little bit of extra knowl-edge that comes from those who havepreviously walked in the footsteps ofprior Auxiliary leaders.

Does this mean that only com-modores should mentor the futureleaders? NO. Current and past flotil-la commanders, division captains, rear

Mentoring –revisited

SEE EDGERTON PG. 14


COMMODORE

GENE M. SEIBERT

NATIONAL VICECOMMODORE

CHIEF OF STAFF

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Key to defending our nation is theeffective knowledge of all activities,events, and threats within any speci-fied domain (air, land, sea, and cyber-space). This “domain awareness”enables identification of threats asearly and as distant from our bordersas possible in order to provide maxi-mum time to determine the optimalcourse of action.

Since September 11, the Auxiliaryand the nation, have been swampedwith new programs, titles, logos andphrases, all designed to better prepareAmerica for this new century and thechallenges it brings. Indeed, there isso much happening that you may won-der, “What does it all mean and how doI fit in?”

Two new initiatives for the CoastGuard Auxiliary are Maritime DomainAwareness (MDA) and OperationPatriot Readiness III (OPR III). Theirexecution and deployment will affectyou. The question is, how?

First, let’s see if we can’t make ourway through these new initiatives andpave the way for each of us to partici-pate.

● MDA is a broad-based CoastGuard initiative focusing on maritimehomeland security.

● OPR III is an Auxiliary program insupport of MDA.

Let’s look at MDA first. PresidentBush, in January 2002, said, “Theheart of the Maritime DomainAwareness program is accurate infor-mation, intelligence surveillance andreconnaissance of all vessels, cargoand people extending well beyond ourtraditional maritime boundaries.”

For the Coast Guard, this directionmeant standing up a new directoratefor MDA. It was created in 2003 and is

to be fully functional in 2005. While the Auxiliary will not likely

assist in foreign countries or on thedistant oceans, our role will be inshoreand in-continent activity of a highlyimportant nature. The Auxiliary isworking closely with the new CoastGuard directorate to assure that we arefully in synch with what is being devel-oped. You will hear much more of thiseffort in future months and be assured,the Auxiliary will play an importantpart in MDA.

While totally in support of MDA,Operation Patriot Readiness III (OPRIII) is, at the present, a much more tac-tically oriented approach than the over-all MDA thrust. Think of OPR III asthe Auxiliary’s current effort in sup-port of MDA. The key words of OPRIII are “execution and deployment.”

For the first time, the Auxiliary andthe Coast Guard are working togetherwith a new kind of joint planning andexecution. It calls for the CoastGuard’s identification of critical areasand sites, then the Auxiliary identify-ing available assets (land, sea, and air)and, with the Coast Guard, planningthe use of those assets in meaningfulpatrol activity. Such planning and exe-cution will be different, depending onwhich of the three levels of MARSEC(Marine Security) is in effect.

When MARSEC goes from level 1 tolevel 2 or 3, our operations will surgeto take a much larger role in jointoperations with the Coast Guard. Forus to stay sharp and focused, all ofthese operations are to be pre-plannedand practiced with periodic drills. Nolonger will we have to ask the Coast

Your part in America’smaritime security

SEE SEIBERT PG. 14


Greetings from the OMSDirectorate. There have been severalirons in the fire since my last article.In the Marine Safety program, lastyear’s numbers are extremely impres-sive. The number of hours spent in Mrelated missions increased to over87,000. That is a 262 percent increaseover the previous year. The numberof courses taken to prepare for theTrident award increased over 1,700percent from the previous year.

It is clear that the M community hasembraced the Coast Guard Auxiliaryand is moving out smartly. There isclearly a closeness evolving betweenthe active duty and the Auxiliary.Recently, at the Marine Safety work-shop held at N-TRAIN, CMDRSuzanne Englebert, CO of MSO St.Louis, gave a presentation. In it, shementioned the area she is responsiblefor (12 states) and strongly empha-sized her need for the Auxiliary. I wassurprised and impressed when shemade the statement, “I only see blue.”Clearly, she makes no distinctionbetween the gold and silver.

The M Department is workingclosely with Training on the MarineSafety AUXOP course. We have nospecific date for completion. DC-Mhas proposed a temporary entitlementof the Trident device similar to whatexists with the regulars. The require-ments have been approved by NACO.Next steps are to go through concur-rent clearance at headquarters. Whenwe have final approval, informationwill be distributed via Safety Lines.

The Operations Department hasbeen extremely busy. Currently, weare working with G-WKS(humanresources) to identify Auxiliarists whohave completed TCT training. Once

we have this information, it will besent to every DCO. TCT is a require-ment in surface operations and every-one must complete the eight-hourworkshop every five years. TheOperations Department is workingwith the Boating Department on aNOAA initiative on reporting of ATONdiscrepancies. We are in the begin-ning stages on this and will have moreinformation as it develops. TheOperations Policy manual has beenthrough a review by the division chiefsas well as NEXCOM and is currentlyat headquarters being edited. It willhave one more review prior to printingand distribution. The Operationsworkshop for 2004 is posted on theAuxiliary web page and is being print-ed for distribution to all members ofthe Boat Crew Program. Distributionwill be through the flotilla command-ers.

A reminder that everyone involvedin the surface operations program(except radio watch standers) isrequired to attend this workshop priorto June 1. As before, non-attendancewill prohibit operational orders beingissued until the workshop is complet-ed. The Operations workshop willcontinue to be a mandatory require-ment in the years to come.

We have been working with head-quarters monitoring the availabilityand issuance of PEPIRBs. TheALCOAST requires all operationalfacilities to be equipped with PEPIRBsby the end of June 2004. Currently, 93percent of the 5,500 plus operationalfacilities have been outfitted with apepirb. The remaining seven percent

COMMODORE

GEORGE JEANDHEUR

NATIONAL DIRECTORATECOMMODORE

OPERATIONS ANDMARINE SAFETY

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

OMS initiativesheat up

SEE JEANDHEUR PG. 13

This article is going to deal in facts,feelings and emotions. I will attempt toclearly lay facts but, for many of you,your feelings or emotions will haveproblems with what is presented.

Where feelings and emotions comeinto play, facts do not necessarily causeevery individual to buy into a givencourse of action or direction. Also, ifthere are any gray areas, then discus-sions on various topics can get verycomplicated.

So, what are we going to talk about?We need to examine how the variousprograms are funded and what is OKand not OK in terms of fundingsources. We will focus on RBS pro-grams but most of the discussion canbe applied to any USCGAUX programarea.

First, much of what we know orthink we know is shaped by theAuxiliary Manual COMDTINSTM16790.1E. Outlined in the manualare policies on solicitation/accept-ance/use of funds/property/services;commercial advertising; the CoastGuard Auxiliary emblem and officialseal; public education course fees; andmany other important topics.

When it comes to the funding need-ed to conduct our programs, mostAuxiliarists probably feel that the fundsshould come from the Coast Guard. Ingeneral, the Coast Guard providesmember training manuals and mayfund certain operating supplies such asdecals and literature display racks. Inthe public education area the cost toproduce and publish all PE text booksis borne by the Coast Guard AuxiliaryAssociation, Inc. Since program re-engineering efforts commenced in2000, the costs to operate the VesselSafety Check program and

Recreational Boating Safety VisitationProgram have come from BoatingSafety Grants.

As re-engineering efforts are com-pleted, operating funds for VSC andRBSVP will probably find their wayback to CG budgets. However, withthe Coast Guard’s ever expandingresponsibilities, competition for budgetfunds will never cease. Adding to ourneeds in the funding arena, the CoastGuard Auxiliary is a key action agentin delivering maritime domain aware-ness messages to the boating publicand general population. In addition,responses to regional or national emer-gencies can create situations wherefunds are drawn from ongoing pro-grams to meet the crises at hand.

To meet demands, the Coast Guardis building strategic partnerships inboth public and private sectors. By thesame token, the Coast Guard Auxiliaryand/or the CGAuxA are looking forpartnerships that can enhance ourcapacities to serve Coast Guard inter-ests in both recreational boating safetyand homeland security efforts.

To those ends we are reaching out topotential partners across the countryand offshore. For example, we nowhave eight states participating in thevessel safety check program. To helppromote VSCs, several merchandisingcompanies, with proof of a VSC, offerdiscounts on boating safety equipment.Private companies have and will contin-ue to fund brochures and safety pam-phlets on a wide range of topics. Thisyear a prominent company producedour VSC decals. In addition, we areconstantly searching for third parties

Funding RBS programs

SEE MCADAMS PG. 19


COMMODORE

WARREN E. MCADAMS

NATIONAL DIRECTORATECOMMODORE

FOR RECREATIONALBOATING SAFETY

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


Academy recruitingIn the last issue of the Navigator,CAPT Bibeau, Director of Admissionsat the Coast Guard Academy,described some significant changes inthe Academy recruiting program. Iurge you to read it with care, but letme underscore just a couple of keypoints:

The Academy needs to greatlyincrease the pool of applicants fromwhich it can select those most suitedto the needs of the Coast Guard. Thatwon’t happen without our help. Thisis not just a job for CC officers. Eachof us needs to be on the watch foryoungsters who might be qualified tobe Coast Guard officers.

The Academy is also increasinglyinterested in applicants who have aninterest in engineering (naval architec-ture and marine engineering, civilengineering, mechanical engineering,or electrical engineering). In turn thatmeans that to a greater degree than inthe past, we need to seek out potentialapplicants who have a strong back-ground in science and math.

Finally, what the Academy needsmost from us are simply leads –-names and addresses of promisinghigh school students with whom theycan then follow up.

Please take a moment NOW to thinkabout just one high school studentwho might fit the Academy’s needsand give his or her name and addressto your FSO-CC at the next flotillameeting. If your flotilla doesn’t have aCC officer, send the information via e-mail or phone to the admissions offi-cer responsible for your state (see thelist online athttp://www.cga.edu/admissions/con-tactanadmissionsofficer/admissionsof-ficers.htm) Or simply send it to:Office of Admissions, U. S. CoastGuard Academy, 31 Mohegan Avenue,

New London, CT 06320-9807

Active duty and Reserve recruitingThe article by CAPT Viekman in on

the next page addresses the criticalneed for more active duty and reservepersonnel. With the new homelandsecurity responsibilities, there are sim-ply not enough people to do the job.At the same time, jobs in the civiliansector are not easy to come by. TheCoast Guard IS HIRING! You canmake it possible for the Coast Guardto meet its needs and for young peopleto get a job that has lots of benefits.

Visit the Coast Guard recruitingwebsite and browse the "FAQs" athttp://www.gocoastguard.com/faq.html to become aware of the generalissues. Scan the rest of the site athttp://www.gocoastguard.com toround out your knowledge of the basicrequirements to join and currentincentives available.

Think of young people you knowwho might be interested in servingand encourage them to talk with alocal recruiter by calling 1-877-NOW-USCG or visiting http://www.gocoast-guard.com/offices/recindex.htm.Talk to your family, friends, co-work-ers and acquaintances about theopportunities in the Coast Guard andencourage them to pass the word.Working together with your flotillaCareer Candidate officer, contact anearby recruiting office, get somerecruiting materials, and display themin your community where they will belikely to be seen by young people.

Talk with your local high school andnearby colleges to arrange for a CoastGuard recruiter to visit on careerdays. Tell prospective recruits aboutthe benefits available to them. Thepossibilities are endless.

And yes, you WILL make a differ-ence!

Everyones a recruiter

COMMODORE

CHARLES G.“TONY”

MORRISNATIONAL

DIRECTORATECOMMODORE

MEMBER SERVICES

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY CAPT B.E. VIEKMAN, Captain, Commanding Officer Coast Guard Recruiting Command

As Commanding Officer, CoastGuard Recruiting Command, I thankthe editor of the Navigator for featur-ing Coast Guard Recruiting informa-

tion in theseissues. Efforts ofthis nature go along way in help-ing us inform andeducate the entireworkforce on thecurrent state ofevents in therecruiting arena.

Bringing in thenext generation ofCG members isan important pri-

ority of mine, and it’s critical to thestrength of the Coast Guard team. Weare dedicating resources, creating astrategic recruiting plan, and empha-sizing the importance of attractingdiversity within our recruiting missionlike never before.

I’m asking for your help, asAuxiliarists, to help meet our recruit-ing demands. In your network of con-tacts, you touch more possible recruitsthan our recruiting offices could everreach. Your contacts might be valu-able additions to the Coast Guardteam! Informing them about theopportunities in the Coast Guard andReserve, the benefits of Service, andyour own dedication to maintainingAmerica’s Shield of Freedom will likelyencourage others who are ready toanswer the call. There are also impor-

tant recognition programs for yourhelp in recruiting!

Coast Guard Recruiting welcomesinformation on potential recruits, andappreciates your help in this criticalmission.

What can the CG Auxiliary do tohelp CG recruiting?

The Coast Guard RecruitingCommand in Arlington, Va., is lookingfor individuals who want to serve asenlisted or officers, on active duty oras a reservist. In FY04, our greatestchallenge will be filling the needs ofthe Coast Guard and Reserve (whereReserve vacancies exist). As anAuxiliarist, here’s how you can help:

● Ask the local CG recruiting officeabout their recruiting goals/programsand offer your assistance (contact yourlocal recruiter at 1-800-GET-USCG)

● Ensure people are aware that boththe CG/CGR are hiring

● Encourage people to contact theirlocal recruiting office by calling 1-877-NOW-USCG or visiting the CG recruit-ing website at www.gocoastguard.com

● Promote and/or host CG commu-nity involvement and events for thepublic

● Distribute Coast Guard magazinesand recruiting literature to the public

● Request to become a career coun-selor or attend Coast Guard recruitingschool through your division officer.

Recruiting IncentivesALCOAST 471/02 outlines the

renewal of an incentive program forassistance to recruiting entitled the“Everyone is a Recruiter” program.There are three incentives: Awards,Liberty, and Readiness Management

Periods (RMP). All members of TeamCoast Guard are eligible for incentivesexcept those assigned to recruiting bil-lets. Upon enlistment, the recruitedperson must advise the recruiter thatthey were referred by a member ofTeam Coast Guard. Recruiters mustobtain the name, SSN, and unit title ofthe CG member making the referral.

Awards: Active duty and Reservepersonnel are eligible for aCommandant’s Letter ofCommendation for recruiting one per-son, a memento item for a second per-son, and an Achievement Medal for athird. Awards are earned when arecruited person signs a contract toenter the Coast Guard. Civilians andAuxiliarists are also entitled to a Letterof Commendation and Auxiliary Awardof Merit, respectively (see ALCOAST471/02 for more details).

Liberty: Active duty members areauthorized 72 hours liberty upon areferred recruit’s graduation fromrecruit training at Cape May, NJ.

Readiness Management Period:Reservists may apply to receive anRMP (the equivalent of one singledrill) as an incentive for aiding CoastGuard recruiting efforts per 37 U.S.C.206(A)(2). They can apply for an RMPfor each person recruited but mayreceive no more than up to four RMPsper fiscal year. Reservists serving inrecruiting billets and those supportingrecruiting offices on any form of activeduty are not eligible for this incentive.Selected Reservists wanting to applyshall submit a written request to theirISC (pf) office via their chain of com-mand and the responsible recruiter.See ALCOAST 471/02 for details.

RECRUITING IS EVERYONE’S JOB

CAPT B.E.Viekman

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY CAPT P.B. SMITH

Well, it feels like I’ve done thisbefore - springing up the ladder to thepilothouse to relieve the at-sea watch.

If I can absorb the situation sur-rounding our Auxiliary “ship”, I’ll be

well prepared torelieve CaptainDave Hill as ChiefDirector,Auxiliary, some-time this earlysummer. The actof relieving thewatch can go pret-ty well if I endeav-or to understandwhat’s going onand if the sailors

on duty have all under control - or itcan be painstaking. But from what Ihave seen and heard so far, the currentwatch section, headed up by CaptainHill, Commodore Edgerton and theirfastidious crewmembers, is really ontop of the situation. So as long as I lis-ten, ask pertinent questions, and makean honest effort to learn the currentconditions, I should be ready to utterto CAPT Hill that famous mariner’sproposal - “Sir, I offer my relief.”

But does the act of relieving as ChiefDirector mean I will be immediatelyexpert on all that’s going on? Ofcourse not! I will need time andpatience from many of you to deter-mine if we should adjust our speed ormake course corrections. So I ask thatyou work with me.

As is the case with many active dutyCoast Guardsmen, my interaction with

the Auxiliary has been restricted overmy 25-plus Coast Guard years. Ienjoyed having some fine Auxiliaristsstanding helm watch on cutters I’veskippered, worked alongside manyduring the preparation and executionstages of the 2002 NACON andCaribbean Volunteer SAR Conferences,and have had the privilege of workingwith a terrific Auxiliarist at my currentassignment. I also attended theJanuary St. Louis N-Train Conference.And what did I get at N-Train? A “firehosing” of new information from someof the finest, most dedicated and gen-erous folks I’ve ever met. I assure youI will put this new information to gooduse.

Who am I? I’ll keep it brief - I’mfrom Massachusetts (yes, a Pats andRed Sox fan), earned a BS in BusinessManagement with a minor in MarineScience. I did some quartermastertime on a high endurance cutter, com-pleted Officer Candidate School andserved as a deck watch officer andfirst lieutenant on a high endurancecutter. I skippered an 82’ patrol boatout of Cape Cod, was an instructor atOfficer Candidate School and com-manded a Surface Effect Ship out ofKey West. I served on the AtlanticArea operations staff and earned a MAin National Security via the Naval WarCollege resident program. I wasAssistant Chief of the Office ofDefense Operations at Coast GuardHeadquarters and currently am thePolicy, Planning, and OPs SectionChief of the Commandant’sInternational Affairs staff. I’ve alsoearned an MS in Education. Boating?

Yes - I once owned an 18’ bow riderand currently own a 15’ canoe (you canfind me on the back creeks of LakeAnna or the Northern Neck of Virginiaon calm, sunny days). Family? Yes -married 21 years and have two teenagedaughters. Where do I reside? -Spotsylvania County, Virginia (way toofar from Chesapeake Bay).

What am I going to do as new ChiefDirector, Auxiliary? There are somany fine initiatives now underwaythat I would be remiss if I didn’t helpsee them through. And we will,together, kick-start new initiatives thatwill help us serve our Coast Guard andour United States. I will expect you tocontinue to earn the public’s trust andto be expert and fastidious whilepreparing for and conducting your mis-sions. I will implore you to be carefulin our waterways, on our roads, and inour skies – risk management! And Iwill encourage you to cherish andenjoy the camaraderie that you haveearned as members of the Auxiliary.

Well, enough for now. Thanks forlistening, and believe me when I say Ilook forward to working with you.And remember always – it’s aboutHonor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty.You should expect nothing less fromme, and I will regularly remind all ofyou that these are the principals ofleadership we shall embrace as wecarry out the Coast Guard’s visionstatement - “The world’s best coastguard…ready today…preparing fortomorrow.”

And, as you will hear me frequentlyexpress (I heard it in boot camp in1979) have a great Coast Guard day!

Making preparations to relieve the watch ...

CAPT P.B. Smith

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


will be equipped prior to the deadline. I have made it clearto CHIDIRAUX that no one is to be left on the beach due toa distribution failure. Contingency plans are already inplace should the deadline not be met.

At N-TRAIN, it was announced that an AuxiliaryCutterman’s pin has been approved in concept. It will nowgo through the heraldry process. Requirements for earn-ing the pin will be announced when they are completed.

In the aviation community, we are exploring some newinitiatives. The aviation staff is currently researching thecost and availability of various portable sensors includingFLIR and video downlink equipment, which would greatlyincrease reporting capacity. We are also looking into thepossibility of a pilot program in which AUXAIR would beequipped with some UAVs. Initial steps have been taken in

the initiative and a variety of UAVs have been evaluated foruse.

Progress is being made with the new requirement thatAuxiliary Aviators be trained in CRM and Spatial disorien-tation. Several of our aviators have been through the simu-lator at Pensacola and the CRM training at ATC Mobile.This will continue until everyone has been through thetraining. LCDR Staier is monitoring this. A proposal wasplaced before the National Executive Committee authoriz-ing a standard AUXAIR patch for flight suits. I am happy toreport that the design has been approved and will be pro-duced. Lastly, the aviation staff is at work on the AviationTraining Text and the AUX 3710 (Air Operations Manual).We do not have a completion date on this, however, it is onthe horizon.

As you begin the boating season, please remember to besafe on the water and in the air and keep your situationalawareness.

JEANDHEURcontinued from page 8

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

BY DICK CLINCHYDepartment Chief, Education

In an effort to get far wider distribu-tion of America’s Boating Course(ABC) in the marketplace, a number ofinitiatives are underway with largeretail outlets like West Marine/BoatUS,BassPro, Cabela’s and others as well asworking to get insurance companies togive the course to their customers whobuy boat insurance.

Finally, a member of the NationalMarketing Group, John Whelan, is closeto getting an agreement from a majorboat manufacturer to include ABC withthe delivery materials on every newboat. The purpose of these efforts isquite simple …we want to get somerecreational boating safety educationinformation into the hands of hundredsof thousands of boaters that otherwisewould not seek out such education.There’s also the very real possibility thatthese recipients of ABC that we other-wise would not “touch” might look forfurther education from us or seek outinformation regarding joining our ranks.

In conjunction with these “big sale”efforts a wholesale price list has beendeveloped by the ABC partnershipbetween the Auxiliary and USPS buthere’s the important point relative tothis price list. The lowest price at

which we are offering wholesale is stillnot as low as the price that our Districtspay for ABC! What this means is thatshould you decide, at the flotilla level, toengage marine dealers or book sellersin your neighborhood in the re-sale ofABC, you can get ABC into your handsfor about the same price only beingoffered to those purchasing 20,000 ormore copies annually. That is quite adistinct advantage.

So, now you might ask, “So what?”Well, think about what you could do withminimal additional effort on the part ofyour members…actually your RBSProgram Visitors are the best ones foryou to work with if you choose to givethis concept a try. Try going to some ofthe marine dealers with whom you haveregular contact, or perhaps book dealerswho get boater traffic, and ask them topurchase ABC from your flotilla whole-sale. On that price list already men-tioned, the price for ABC in quantities ofless than 500 is $16 per copy. So, maybeyou’d sell ABC to that dealer at $16 acopy…or, since you’re free to set theprice and the dealer would normallyhave to add shipping charges to thatwholesale price, maybe $20.

On the other hand, if a dealer is a realfriend of the Auxiliary, they might bewilling to pay you full price for ABC,suggested retail of $34.95, and enable

your flotilla to yield 100% of the positivecash flow resulting. Let’s look at a “forinstance” and see what it might do foryour flotilla. You find three marinedealers willing to work with your flotillaand they pay you $20 each for ABC andthen re-sell those copies for $34.95.They make a profit on each sale so willbe willing to prominently display it intheir store. If we assume, just in thiscase, that your District price for ABC is$10 a copy, your flotilla makes $10 oneach sale. If they sell just five copieseach month, this will bring $1,800 intoyour flotilla’s treasury every year.

Think about what your flotilla coulddo with that sort of added revenue eachyear with very little additional effort onyour members’ part. On top of that,even at these levels you’ll be providingrecreational boating safety education toa minimum of 180 more people eachyear and likely more since the wholefamily can share the ABC CD.

This sort of activity is an effectivemeans for your flotilla and the CoastGuard Auxiliary to leverage our effortsto reach more and more boaters.Taken to the extreme, if we could getevery flotilla in the United States to dothis we’d reach out and touch another200,000 boaters each year! Now, that’san impressive leveraging of our effortsindeed.

ABC – wholesale sales by flotillas


Guard how we can help after the crisisis upon us. When the MARSEC levelrises, both the Coast Guard and theAuxiliary will look at their local planbooks and jump into action, both par-ties knowing exactly what the other isdoing.

For those of you involved inRecreational Boating Safety activities,such as Public Education, VesselSafety Check and the RecreationalBoating Safety Visitation Program (for-mally Marine Dealer VisitationProgram), there is an important pro-gram titled “America’s WaterwayWatch.” It is a vitally important CoastGuard public outreach effort. TheAuxiliary has been asked to executeand manage this program, and it willrequire our maximum effort.

So what is America’s WaterwayWatch?

In the most basic terms, it is a sup-port element of MDA and it’s a “forcemultiplier.” It recognizes thatbetween our coasts, rivers, and lakesthere is far too much water and shore-line in America for the U.S. CoastGuard and local law enforcementagencies to cover completely. By edu-cating and empowering citizens suchas, recreational boaters, commercialboaters, people who live near thewater, and others, we can greatlyincrease the chances that suspiciousactivity will be investigated before a

tragedy occurs. In its basic form, America’s

Waterway Watch is about behaviorchange. We’re asking Americans todo two things they don’t necessarilydo now; to notice suspicious activity,and then to make an effort to report it.

That’s important. Many otherwiseintelligent, responsible people arereluctant to get involved. They don’twant to bother authorities with whatmay be a false alarm. Our job is tohelp these people overcome thatreluctance and to make sure theymaintain an extra degree of aware-ness, and are willing to call in trulysuspicious activity.

What America’s Waterway Watchdoes, is that it allows virtually allAmericans to make a material contri-bution to Homeland Security. With aminimum of time required, at no cost,anyone who lives, works, or plays nearthe water can help the Coast Guardand local first responders protectagainst terrorist attacks.

What’s in it for you and those whomwe make aware of MDA is the satisfac-tion of knowing that all of us are help-ing to keep America safe and secure.Remember, any member or personswho gets involve with America’sWaterway Watch, just might in facthave the power to prevent or avert amajor terrorist action against Americaand its people.

Okay, now how do YOU getinvolved? There are four actions youcan take.

1. Make sure your member and facil-

ity information is accurate, current andin AUXDATA. If you have questionson how to do this, contact your IS offi-cer. Without such information it willbe difficult to use you and/or yourfacility in the joint planning and execu-tion of patrols. And, by the way, thereare plenty of actions you can do withinthe OPR III operations that do notrequire a facility or a crew or coxswainqualification.

2. Go to the OPR web sitewww.uscgaux.org/~opr/ and have anin-depth look at OPR III. Use all of thelinks in the site for a fuller understand-ing. If you still have questions or needmore direction, contact your OPR IIIDistrict Coordinator who is listed onthe site.

3. Read the Coast Guard ALCOASTcommuniqué. It will give you a keensense of just how important the CoastGuard believes the Auxiliary to be insupport of maritime homeland security.

4. Take a leadership role in yourflotilla so that all of the membersunderstand just what OPR III is allabout and how the flotilla, as a groupand as individual members, canbecome a part of homeland security.

It is sometimes difficult to keep upthe ’fire-in-our-bellies’ as time passesfrom the horrific events of 9/11.That’s just what our enemies arecounting on. We must stay the coursewith our enthusiasm and actions. Thatis the framework provided each of uswithin OPR III. Get involved! Go forit!

Semper Paratus.

commodores and vice commodoreshave, through their experiences,gained knowledge that can beextremely valuable to those whochoose to follow them. We, as lead-ers, need to seek out and identify asearly as possible those members whodisplay the interest and potential to

assume leadership positions, and thenwork with them openly or subtly, asWalt did with me, to encourage andcontribute to their development asleaders.

Actually it is part of our job to pre-pare others to assume our positionsand that is not simply to make themaware of the duties of each office. Itis incumbent on each of us to periodi-cally review, at each level, the poten-tial that exist within our respective

units, flotilla to national, and nurturethat potential.

To those that have served and arestill serving me as mentors, knowing-ly or unknowingly, and especially toWalt, I say thanks for your interest,guidance and assistance. To thosewho are not yet mentoring our futureleaders I simply say “Try it!”

You’ll receive a lot of satisfactionand further your contribution to thefuture of the Auxiliary.

SEIBERTcontinued from page 7

EDGERTONcontinued from page 6

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


For Tom Conroy, FSO 13-02, 5thDistrict, Southern Region, radio hasalways been a hobby. In addition tobeing active in Auxiliary functions,Conroy has worked as a DJ onBaltimore radio part time for over 30years.

“The real money is in engineering,”says Conroy. “I began my basic engi-neering while in my teens, and havebeen involved with many commercialbroadcast engineering projects overthe years in Baltimore.”

Conroy recently combined his long-time hobby into an innovative publicaffairs tool. “As an FSO-PA,” Conroysaid, “one must always look for newways to get the word out aboutAuxiliary functions. Radio seemed a

logical choice.”Together with a Canadian company

called TalkingSigns.com, a low powertraveling AM radio station was born.The station operates under Part 15FCC authorization and has a range ofabout 1,500 feet, or up to a mile ormore with their exterior antenna andtuner. Messages are recorded digitallyonto a five minute chip and playedback repeatedly. The transmitter mayalso be backed up with an uninterrupt-ible power supply should a power lossoccur.

Just prior to the arrival of TropicalStorm Isabel, Conroy spoke with KevinMcGuire of Tidewater Yacht ServiceCenter at Baltimore’s Inner Harborabout the possibility of being the first

to host Coast Guard AuxiliaryInformation Radio 1640. “We’re thrilledto partner with the USCG Auxiliary topromote boating safety,” McGuire said.

Sept. 24, 2003 marked the firstbroadcast promoting Flotilla 13-02’sBoating Safety Classes, plus warningsabout heavy debris in the PatapscoRiver from Isabel. “There is tremen-dous potential for such low power sta-tions within the Coast Guard andAuxiliary,” says Conroy.

“USCG Auxiliary Radio 1640 hasbeen welcomed at many marinas with-in our operational area. The transmit-ter will operate up to three weeks atmost locations. My goal is to approachmarine supply stores to judge theirinterest in this project.”

Getting on the air• Can anyone buy one of these stations? Yes. No FCClicense needed, as per FCC Part 15 operation.• Where do you buy one? TalkingSign: http://talk-ingsign.com Talking House http://talkinghouse.com orInformation Station Specialists http://www.issinfosite.comor, buy used on E-bay (keywords Talking House, or AMtransmitter)• How much do they cost? TalkingSign is about $500,TalkingHouse about $400. External antennas are about$200 on each. This increases the range to about one mileor more. Height really helps on the antenna.• How portable are they? They are smaller than mostVCRs, and are about as big as a DVD player.

• What about maintenance? No maintenance. Simply plugit in, set the frequency and tune the antenna. The TalkingHouse tunes automatically.• Are the frequencies pre-set? You have a choice of eas-ily setting frequencies with buttons on the TalkingHouseor switches on TalkingSign. It takes about 15 seconds.

• Can they be directional? The antenna is omni direction-al and can be designed to be somewhat directional usingeither optional Antenna Tuning Unit. That would involveside mounting on a structure and running radials in thedirection you want the signal.

(This information is provided as an example. The CoastGuard Auxiliary doesn’t endorse specific products)

Boating safety events

‘ON THE AIR’

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


By Sylvia ArnotVFC 1-2 8WR

A young man from the RockyMountains enlisted in the Coast Guardyears ago. His high regard for theCoast Guard that was generated by thisexperience stayed with him all his life.John T. Morris, a native of Denver, COenlisted in 1950 and served aboard theHawthorne, after which he was sta-tioned at the Academy, and honorablydischarged in late 1953. He built amodel of the ship on which he served,the CGC Hawthorne, which was recent-ly donated to the Coast Guard Museumin New London, CT by his widow andfamily.

Mr. and Mrs. Morris were acquaint-ed with USCGAUX members fromDivision I 8WR and after Mr. Morrispassed away, Mrs. Morris casuallymentioned to them that she would liketo find a Coast Guard museum whereshe could donate his model ship. TheAuxiliarists, isolated in the Rockies asthey are, had no idea where or if sucha museum might exist but gladlyaccepted the challenge. A search ofthe Internet revealed the Coast GuardMuseum at the Academy - the perfectplace for the model.

When the museum was contacted,Curator Cindee Herrick was extremelyhelpful. Morris provided photos anddimensions of the model and CuratorHerrick responded:

“I am interested in the model of thebuoy tender for the U. S. Coast Guardcollection. It is not a fancy model. It iscleanly built, showing the major com-ponents of the CGC Hawthorne.Hawthorne was stationed in NewLondon. It was commissioned in 1921and decommissioned in 1964. Its oneand only sister, the Oak, has parts ofitself on display at the Smithsonian(the engine room).

“The model is particularly interest-

ing because it is of a two-vessel class, ithas a working steam engine in it and itwas built by a person who served onthe ship. The fact that John Morrisserved as a machinist mate on theHawthorne makes it a sailor builtmodel and therefore part of a specialclass of ship models.”

The model was donated by Morrisand accepted on behalf of the U.S.Coast Guard by Steven Reams,

NAVCO-A(W) and William R. Furbee,DCP 1, 8WR at a banquet followingthe division meeting. Fittingly, theentertainment for the evening was atalented balladeer singing seachanteys.

John Morris was a graduate of theUniversity of Denver, a member of theAmerican Institute of CertifiedPlanners, and is listed in Who’s Who inthe West, 24th Edition, 1994-95.

‘Sailor Built Model’ A Memorial to Coast Guard Member

TOP: One of Morris’ model ships. LOWER LEFT: John Morris. LOWER RIGHT:Mrs. Morris with model ship built by her late husband. Photos by John Buffington SO-PB Div 1, 8WR

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY NICK TARLSONDC-Ad

In the next few months,Americans will be enjoyingcracked crab at crab feeds all overthe country. When you crack yourcrab leg or enjoy a crab cocktail,you probably don’t give muchthought to the fishermen whorisked their lives to bring the mod-erately sized crustacean to yourtable.

But fishing in general and crabfishing in particular are consid-ered among the most dangerousprofessions in the world. For crabfishermen, the danger is com-pounded by stacking crab potshigh on the deck on the way inand out of the harbor. The trick isto minimize the number of tripsfrom the harbor to the fishinggrounds; overloading is a frequentresult. Stacking the pots on deck

results in a high center of gravityfor the fishing boat, and conse-quently severe stability problems.

Marine Safety Office SanFrancisco Bay (MSOSFB) did itspart to increase the safety of crabfishermen this year by executingOperation Safe Crab. The week-long outreach effort advised thecrab fishermen of safety concernsand to perform commercial fishingvessel safety checks on their ves-sels well in advance of the seasonopening on Nov. 15, 2003.

Eight Coast Guard Auxiliary,active duty and reserve personnelassisted with this effort whichfocused on four fishing harbors inthe San Francisco Bay area. Theseincluded Moss Landing andMonterey on the southern endand Bodega Bay to the north, aswell as Pillar Point Harbor in HalfMoon Bay and of course the SanFrancisco Fisherman’s Wharf.

Efforts by these communities topreserve their fishing fleets, whichare integral to the local ambience,have resulted in high concentra-tions of fishing vessels in particu-lar areas. Additionally, the crabprocessing facilities are locatednearby for receipt of the fisher-men’s catch.

The Operation Safe Crab Teamincluded three Auxiliarists – BobAparton, Steve Mitchell and NickTarlson – qualified CommercialFishing Vessel Examiners. Otherparticipants included LT DougEbbers, LT Maria Tulio, SCPOLeon Artac, CPO Jessica Brooks,and PO Brian Monahan from theMarine Safety Office, located onCoast Guard Island in Alameda.The effort was organized and coor-dinated by Manny Ramirez and

Steve Mitchell, DSO-MS 11N andLT Maria Tulio review the planfor Operation Safe Crab at HydeStreet Harbor in San Francisco.

Operation Safe Crab teams Auxiliary and Coast Guard in commercial fishing vessel safety outreach

SEE SAFE CRAB PG. 18


Rob Lee, current and immediate pastfishing vessel examiners at the SanFrancisco Bay MSO.

The outreach effort involved walkingthe docks, distributing literature, andperforming voluntary dockside exami-nations. The examinations are compa-rable to vessel safety checks (VSCs)performed by the Coast GuardAuxiliary, although much more isinvolved due to federal requirementsfor commercial fishing vessels.Successful vessel owners receive asticker good for two years, indicatingwhether the vessel is documented orregistered and how far from the coastthe vessel can fish based on its safetyequipment.

Like VSC stickers, it is generallybelieved that displaying the sticker can

avoid Coast Guard boardings, whichare an expensive proposition for fisher-men since their fishing seasons areshort and every minute counts duringthe busy times. Official Coast Guardpolicy does provide boarding officerswith an abbreviated equipment check-list in the case of vessels displayingCFVS stickers. The 4100F boardingreport highlights eight classes of life-saving equipment that the Coast Guardregards as especially important forcommercial fishing vessels.

Auxiliary support of the District 11Northern Region Commercial FishingVessel Safety program has expandedsignificantly in the last year, from twoexaminers in 2002 to eight. Auxiliaristsare well suited to the program becauseof its geographical diversity. Fishingharbors extend from Crescent City bythe Oregon border to Morro Bay onthe Central Coast, a distance of about600 miles.

Northern California communitieshave a high regard for their local com-mercial fishing fleets. At SanFrancisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, thefishing fleet is as much of a touristattraction as it is a source of fresh prod-uct. In the last three years, the Port ofSan Francisco constructed a brand newfishing pier with 65 berths reservedexclusively for commercial fishermen.The pier includes state of the art fuel-ing and bilgewater disposal systems.

Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety isone of many areas the Auxiliary is sup-porting in Marine Safety Office SanFrancisco Bay. Qualified Auxiliaristsreceive a letter of designation thathelps them qualify for the new TridentMarine Safety Specialist program Propin, comparable to the Coxswain pin.In San Francisco Bay, Auxiliarists per-formed 69 out of 208 – about a third ofthe commercial fishing vessel examsin 2003.

SAFE CRABcontinued from page 17

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Michael T. Harris, an award-winningcommunications professional withmore than 30 years of experience as ajournalist and editor, is the new editorof the Navigator.

A second-generation SouthernCalifornian, Harris has been an editorfor a number of regional and nationalpublications, including working as asenior editor for Investor’s BusinessDaily newspaper, serving as the editorfor California Business magazine, andas founding editor for Software CEOmagazine.

Harris succeeds Delbert McEwenwho has accepted the position of dis-trict liaison for publications in thePublic Affairs Department.

Harris started his career as areporter for Copley Newspapers LosAngeles, and over the years, he alsohas written articles for a number ofregional and national consumer and

business publications.Harris is no stranger to boating.

Currently, he is the editor for The Log,California’s oldest and largest recre-ational-boating newspaper. Based atthe publication’s San Diego, Calif.,office, he oversees the editorial scopeof the newspaper’s three regional edi-tions.

A sailor at heart, he has owned a Cal27 that he sailed out of Marina del Reyin Los Angeles and now skippers aCatalina 22 that he keeps in MissionBay in San Diego.

Article submissions for theNavigator, or questions about the publication’s content, may be emailedto Harris at The Log newspaper. His email address is [email protected]. The publication's street address is 2924 Emerson St., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106.

New Navigator editor named

Michael T. Harris,


who will sell ABC books. This lastitem raises additional issues which canbe discussed at a later date.

Where is this discussion going? Aswe work to meet all of the expectationsplaced before our organization, we arefaced with growing financial require-ments. If the USCGAUX is to reach itsfull potential in service to the country,Coast Guard budget funding is notlikely to keep pace with the needs. Letme hasten to say that we need to pressfor Coast Guard support at the local,district and national levels. But, at thesame time we are looking for partners

who will offer assistance that willresult in additional capacity for ourprograms.

The final point is that all partnershipactivities are subjected to Coast Guardand Coast Guard Auxiliary legalreview. When we roll out various pro-grams it is not necessary to ask if theactivity is legal; or, worse yet, voice theopinion to others that a given programor activity is not legal. If you think acertain project or promotion is not inkeeping with your view of theAuxiliary image, then you should pushyour critique and/or ideas up the staffor elected chains. However, pleaserecognize that, in order to keep ourprograms afloat, the national board willbe making a number of choices around

what partnerships to form and whereto outsource funding for all the goodthings that we do. Throughout all ofthese efforts we must maintain focuson our primary mission as America’sVolunteer Lifesavers.

Let’s revisit the introduction. Once adirection is set, it does little good todispute facts as in what is OK and whatis not OK, those determinations havebeen made. However, if you have feel-ings or emotions on a given subject letyour leaders know. Future decisionswill be made and substantial weight isgiven to member input. In an organi-zation as large as ours we may not beable to reach consensus in all situa-tions; but, all viewpoints can be consid-ered.

McADAMScontinued from page 9

National Public Affairs Awards will be presented for the best district, division and flotilla projects.There are four basic categories:

● Use of imagination and creativity● Promoting the Auxiliary programs

and Auxiliary image ● Attracting the attention of the media

and the boating public● Clarity of writing and ease of replication

National Publication Awards: Flotilla and divisionnewsletters must be 2003 district award winners. A let-ter from the DSO-PB must certify that the flotilla anddivision publications are the district winners. (DSOs-PB may submit their district publication along with theflotilla and division winners.)

National Photo Awards: Here’s your opportunity tosubmit your best Auxiliary-related photo. It does notneed to have been published. It may be black andwhite or color. It must be a print, slide or digital photo.Online pictures must be submitted as prints. Thereare six categories for judging: fellowship, marine safe-ty, member services, operations, public education andvessel examinations. Please indicate the category ofyour submission. Write the identifying information ona label and affix the label to the back of the photo.

Please send Public Affairs, Publication andPhotography Contest entries to Lois Ann Hesser, BC-ASC, 11922 W. 12th Court, Davie, FL 33325-3865

Contest announced for public affairs program, publications, photography

The National Department of Public Affairs invites you to

submit your entries for its annual Public Affairs, Publications and Photo

contests. The deadline to submit entries is July 1, 2004.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


GREGORY D. CLARKBC-APB

I arrived at the base in Charleston with the excite-ment of a five-year old on Christmas morning. Passingthrough the gates and security had become a routine bynow. As the guard checked my ID, he drew his hand uphis gigline and into a salute: “Good Morning Sir.”

I returned his salute and greeting adding: “reportingfor duty on the Yellowfin.” With permission to drivedown the peir I approached the ship with cautionobserving the draft and waterlines for stability and signsof listing in accordance with my Inport OOD training.

My heart was pounding and I was smiling from ear toear as I stepped up onto the brow. The sky was clearand the wind calm, but I was shuddering with enthusi-astic anticipation. That is when I turned to face thestern and raised my hand to salute the Ensign.Suddenly, I was stunned back to reality. The Ensignhung at half-mast. My mind raced as I pondered why.Then it came to me. Today was 07 DEC 2003.

My solemn thoughts went out to the brave men andwomen that served our country and that serve ourcountry now. I was no longer overwhelmed with myadventure, but instead the serious responsibility of ourmission and my duties, even as an Auxiliarist. I had anew respect for the imminent need to complete securitybackground checks on all Auxiliarists.

It was hard to believe as I walked across the deck tostow my gear that I was about to weigh anchor with thecrew. The past two months had been busy. I had comeas often as possible to train. Now my gear was stowedand I headed for the bridge.

When I reached the top, one of the crew met me.“Well, hi Mr. Clark, I hear you are going with us. Wediscussed you at quarters. Have you heard? We won'tbe doing any drills on this run. We are going south. Youhave been approved for the mission.” I didn't know ifthat was good or bad news, but at least I was still going.

The next morning the head of operations came to theship. I was down on the mess deck having breakfastwhen he came aboard and told me that I had been“cleared for the entire mission.” Then he asked howlong I would be able to stay. I told him I would be flexi-ble and my needs were secondary to any mission. “I

Mission imposAUXILIARIST FINDS

HIS ‘NOTCH’ ABOARD THE YELLOWFIN

Clark hauls down the day shape while working anchor detailas the Yellowfin prepares to get underway. USCG photo


was there for the duration.” Getting underway was somewhat similar to the

Auxiliary patrols. Everything was done by a check-offlist. Engineering began the day before and by the timethe ship was scheduled to leave, the food was stowedand everyone had completed the assigned tasks. WithTCT covered and the decision to go determined, thepipe was given over the intercom. The crew was inmotion like a fine tuned machine. Dockhands fromGroup had arrived to cast off lines and take in the brow.We were away from the pier and I was there on thebridge about to begin the mission that only two monthsago seemed to be “mission impossible.”

On the bridge, I was allowed to observe several watchstations. Safety and records were primary and the crewworked together to get the many jobs done. A compasslog was kept using a gyro compass, and the variationand deviation were logged for each turn. The watch-stander calculated the true and magnetic compass head-ings and wrote them down. I was in awe of the efficien-cy and discipline I observed on the bridge.

Once we arrived in our assigned area the ship camealive again.

ssible? “Well, hi Mr. Clark, I hear you are going with us. We discussed you at quarters. Have you heard? We won't be doing any drills on this run. We are going south. You have been approved for the mission.”

SEE MISSION PG. 22

Yellowfin’s small boat, Yellowfin 1, approaches the cutter to drop off a boarding team. USCG photo

“NOW, Set the LE bill” came over the intercom, fol-lowed by “Now, make preps to launch the small boat.” Iwatched the back of the ship open up. I thought at thispoint my experience had certainly peaked, but it wasjust beginning. The crew worked hard, but never hesi-tated to allow me to train or participate in their duties.Soon, I was able to operate the radar and specializedGPS equipment. Then I helped to keep logs and eventu-ally stand as lookout.

A BM2 came to me later and told me that he had putme on the 2000 - 2400 watch and the 0800 - 1200 watch.These were the premier times. The first day seemed togo by quickly and I never stopped learning. I caughtmyself fixated at times by the adrenaline rush of thenew and exciting experiences. The CommandingOfficer, LTJG Caudle, was a great mentor as he stayedintensely focused and in command. His watch was 24hours. The captain never lost his astute situationalawareness. While navigating not only for the cutter butthe vessels he was having boarded, the captain moni-tored the position and activity of the small boat, board-ing team, and radio communications.

When the captains on the vessels being boarded losttheir awareness for shoaling or navigation, the captainquickly informed them of the pending perils, but wascareful not to make suggestions in accordance withCoast Guard policy. I watched in amazement as the cap-tain checked on legal regulations, policies, and fisheryrules for the boarding party.

The next day I was on the bridge once more. Reveillewas early and the anchor weighed. Soon the pipe wasgiven again: “Now, set the LE bill. Small boat detail, manyour stations and prepare to launch the small boat.” Thisday seemed to be a replica of the day before and I wasexcited to be there but it was not going to be the sameroutine for me.

I heard my name and turned to face the captain. “Mr. Clark, are you going to suit up?” “Sir?” I said confused. “Don't you want to go?” the captain asked. “Yes sir.” I

replied in disbelief. The captain smiled as he told me toget going and to report to BM1 that I was to suit up. Iquickly asked: “Sir, permission to lay below?” The cap-tain was still saying “Aye” when I was at the bottom ofthe stairs. Quickly finding the XPO, I reported as direct-ed. The crew was as excited as I was that I was going.That was a great comfort.

With Mustang suits donned and the boarding crewprepared, I made my way to the small boat. I hadlearned the procedures for the small boat as part of myOOD training. I looked for the SAR vest that thecoxswain and small boat crew wear and checked if asecure radio had been issued. Now I was ready for a livedemonstration, except I would be participating. Safetyand check-off lists were obviously the priority again asthe crew began to review. I was instructed several times

what my duties would be and then as I repeated theinstructions without parroting, they assured me, “Don’tworry. We will walk you through it.”

We all placed our helmets on and the stern hatchopened. I was too excited to notice the open water andmy focus was on the instructions that I was being givenover and over. “Mr. Clark, you will need to keep yourhead down. You must pull the safety pin, BUT NOTUNTIL THE COXSWAIN says to. Then you will removethe safety cable first and place it over here ... when youare instructed to remove the pin stay out of line with thewinch cable for safety. Then do not drop the safety pin,hold on to the lantern line and when the captain of theship has given the go, and your coxswain says to releasethe small boat, flip the arm and go to the center console.Hold on and remain calm.” All went well and before Iknew it, we were out of the notch and in the open seas.Shifting positions, we headed for the first inspection.

When we arrived, the cutter had already instructedthe vessel to maintain a course and speed and preparefor the small boat to approach. We came alongside andBM2 said to the vessel's captain, “Sir, we are the UnitedStates Coast Guard. When was the last time you wereboarded? How many people are on board?” Soon, theintroductions and questions were completed and theteam was aboard.

Later that day I looked up to find our captain overtak-


MISSIONcontinued from page 21

Clark on duty as lookout aboard the Yellowfin. USCG photo

ing us. With his head peering out of the starboard win-dow, he asked the coxswain if he was going to let medrive the small boat. It wasn't long and I was at thewheel. Learning to drive the small boat was more chal-lenging at first than I imagined, but I soon had the con-trols in hand. After simulating maneuvering situations,the coxswain asked me if I wanted to try coming along— side the cutter underway making way.

I confirmed and the coxswain called for permission.We made several approaches and soon I had the tech-nique down for the port and starboard sides of the cut-ter. Then the coxswain asked me if I wanted to attempt“notching” the small boat. I was eager, but the captainwas quick to say no. We returned to the vessel underinspection and began practicing coming alongside. Ipracticed the front approach, side approach, sternapproach, while discussing hazards, escape maneuvers,and “what to do if.”

Then the call came from the boarding party. YEL-ONE... BOARDING OFFICER, WE ARE READY TO BEPICKED UP. We replied and the coxswain asked if Iwould like to pick up the boarding team. I said I wouldand headed towards the boat. This time we were notpracticing. The boarding officers met me with confi-dence stating, “Look who's here to pick us up.” Theirtrust in my ability encouraged me.

We returned to the ship where I made the transfer of

my boarding crew after requesting permission from thecaptain. I exited away and BM1 asked me once again,“Would you like to try to notch the small boat?” I wasriding high on my adrenaline and quickly confirmedwith an “Aye, Sir.” We made the round turn and lined upon the stern.

The coxswain called the captain and made therequest, explaining I was at the helm. The captainagreed but ordered us to hold until further notice. Weput on the crash helmets as we followed behind. I notedthe ship's rolling and rocking with the seas and tried tocompare them to our movements. Then the BM1explained to me what I was about to attempt.

“Mr. Clark, you will have to line up with the ship anddo not approach until the captain has given the approval.Do you see the prop wash behind the cutter that ischurning air and water? It will reduce your thrust by upto 60 percent. You must be committed when you makethe final move. You do not have much clearance oneither side. Keep the small boat lined up and focus onthe ramp and safety observer. When you enter thenotch, you must have enough power to go up the ramp,but not too far. The safety observer will catch the smallboat with a cable and lock us in. If he misses... we willslide out backwards. Don't miss!”

Then he added a short story I could have done with-out. “Look down at the small boat's starboard beam. Doyou see that repair? One of the regulars attemptednotching and smashed in the front of the small boat,then hit the side and punched a hole in it. Are youready?” I was ready but this was no game. I waited forthe captain to give the OK to notch the boat and beganrehearsing the procedures over and over in my head.Then the radio sounded: “You have permission to notchthe boat. Make your approach when you are ready.”BM1 turned to me and asked once more:

“Are you ready? Do you understand what you need todo?” I replied this time with more apprehension thanconfidence: “Yes, Sir.”

I don't remember most of the next couple minutes. Itwas all a blur as my mind was racing over the controlsand instructions. I remember the coxswain said again,“Watch your head as we go in.” Then there was a bumpand we shot up the ramp as I powered back.

Suddenly, we paused for what seemed like minutes. Ithought to myself, “Any second we will slide out ofhere.” Feeling as if my heart stopped, as I asked myself,“Why didn't I use a little more power?” That’s when Isaw the cable catch and the small boat jerked to a stop.My heart began pounding again as I watched the crewconnect the winch cable and then the safety cable. Asthe stern closed and we exited the small boat, I couldhear the crew congratulating me.

In retrospect, the ones who deserve the congratula-tions are all the Auxiliarists and Regulars that stoodbehind me.

Your mission impossible is just around the corner.The Gold Side is waiting to welcome you aboard.

Anchors Aweigh.


BM2 Scott Braithwaite aboard Yellowfin’s small boatwith Clark as crew. That’sYellowfin in background.

Clark foreground and crew members of Yellowfinlisten up at quarters. USCG photos

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY TISHA HELMERNC-d

GET READY, GET SET, GO – It’stime to mark your calendars, makeyour reservations and turn in yourregistration forms for NACON 2004 inCosta Mesa, California.

The dates for NACON 2004 areSept. 3 through 5 at the Hilton CostaMesa. The Hilton Costa Mesa recentlycompleted $16 million in renovations,which features the acclaimed BristolPalms California Bistro and Bar setamidst towering palm trees in thehotel’s naturally lit seven-story atrium.The transformation included renova-tion of all 486-oversized plush gue-strooms, a dozen first class suites and48,000 square feet state-of-the-artmeeting space. The hotel’s largestballroom, the Pacific Ballroom,encompasses over 12,000 square feet.In addition, there are two beautifuloutdoor settings that allow you toexperience balmy California evenings.The Hilton Costa Mesa features threeexecutive boardrooms for smallermeetings. All brand new guestroomsprovide first class amenities such ashigh-speed Internet access and two-line phones, in addition to hair dryersand coffee machines. The hotel pro-vides a complete business center,high-speed wireless access in publicareas and meeting spaces, a 24-hourfitness center complete with spa andsteam room, an outdoor heated pool,an onsite masseuse, gift shop and

beauty salon.Make your reservations at either the

website of www.costamesa.hilton.comor using either their reservation num-ber at 714.540.7000 or the main Hiltonreservations line 1.800.HILTONSusing the Group code of UCG.

The room rate of $84 plus sales taxis good for the dates of Aug. 28through Sept. 6. Come early, stay lateand enjoy all that Southern Californiahas to offer – Disneyland, Disney’sCalifornia Adventure and DowntownDisney plus Knott’s Berry Farm andUniversal Studios and a huge shop-ping experience not for the faint-heart-ed.

The California beaches are a veryshort drive and there are daily cruisesto Catalina Island. Everything isaccessible by the Orange CountyTransit Authority (OCTA) buses. Thefare is $1 per person or 25 cents forseniors 65 and over. A daily pass isavailable for $2.50 per person and 50cents for seniors. Your NationalConference staff is working on dis-counts for some of the bigger attrac-

tions. Keep an eye on the Nationalwebsite for updates. Plan to use theOrange County airport called JohnWayne with a airport code of “SNA”, ashort free shuttle ride to and from thehotel.

The theme for this year’s conferenceis “Golden Opportunities” and therewill be plenty of opportunities for edu-cation and networking while you areattending the conference. The educa-tion topics this year will be: a unifiedapproach to Homeland Security, bothVessel Safety Checks and the RBSSafety Visitor program, Trident train-ing, the eAuxiliary made easy, PWCand paddlecraft in Operations, theMaritime Transportation Security Act,several facets of Public Education, lia-bility in Operations, and TargetedRecruiting, to name a few. Multiplesessions will make it easier to attendall the sessions of your choice.

Friday Fun Night will find us diningand dancing at the beach (figurativelyspeaking), so wear your best beachtogs (NO bathing suits please!), strawhats and sun glasses for a fun eveningof entertainment. We will once againhave a raffle and the prizes will beawarded at the dinner.

So, don’t miss your “GoldenOpportunity” to visit SouthernCalifornia and experience NACON2004. Fill out the registration form onthe next page or go to the NationalWebsite and register online. Then,make your reservations for the hotelso you don’t miss out on the fun.

NACON ’04Golden opportunities in the Golden State

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY GREGORY D. CLARKBC-APB

Flotilla 88 D5SR from LakeMonticello, Virginia certainly hassomething to sing about.

In the fall of 1999, 10 membersformed the United States Coast GuardAuxiliary Chorus. Starting as theFlotilla 88 and Friends Chorus, itincluded a few non-member friends.During the first year, the chorus grewand worked together performing forother organizations.

Commander Andrea Contratto,Director of Auxiliary for the FifthSouthern Region, recognized the cho-rus as an excellent testimony to theAuxiliary and representation for theCoast Guard. Contratto suggested thatall choir members should beAuxiliarists and in 2001 membershipwas limited to Auxiliarists.

“The members fully agreed they area stronger unit because of it … profes-sionalism is important to us, includingour uniforms and appearance,” chorusmember Mary Loose DeViney said.

Now known as the United StatesCoast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 88Chorus, members wear the Auxiliaryuniform during performances

Auxiliarist Roger Sethman wasactive as a crewman and watchstanderon Lake Monticello before taking onthe additional task of leading the cho-rus of 32 members. Sethman’s back-ground includes studies under Dr.Paul Calloway, Music Director for theNational Cathedral in Washington,DC.

“All are welcome who have a desireto sing and promote the Coast Guard,”Pat Graham said. “Roger works witheach section to reach the perfect pair-ing of voices and notes. He is patientand demanding, fun and professional,engaging and introspective. He makesus all want to sing and want to per-form.”

The chorus members have excellentmusic backgrounds but their successcomes from the dedication to committo practicing every Monday night fortwo hours. They purchase their ownmusic and donate it to the flotilla. Theannual fee assessment is $50 per par-ticipant. The policies set down for theAuxiliary prohibits soliciting funds forsupport, so each member is responsi-ble for the costs of travel, music anduniforms.

In spite of their busy chorus sched-ule, the flotilla members maintain all ofthe other traditional missions andactivities of the Auxiliary. The timethey spend together singing and prac-ticing is considered the fellowship that“glues” them together as one unitworking in harmony.

The mission of the Flotilla 88 Chorusis expanding. Each year they are invit-ed to perform at more functions.Wherever they perform, they promotethe United States Coast Guard andAuxiliary with their professionalappearance and spirit of volunteerism.

They do not limit themselves to boat-ing functions as they reach out intoevery aspect of their community.

The members of the chorus set theirgoals high and work hard to reachthem. Recently, the Flotilla 88 Choruswas honored to be a featured choir atthe 13th Annual Choral Festival By-The-Sea in Myrtle Beach, SouthCarolina.

In the spirit of Semper Paratus, theAuxiliary chorus continues to practiceand grow. They use their harmony inFellowship and inspiring voices toattract new members and spread theirmessage. The chorus attracts 6-10 newmembers to Flotilla 88 each year.Flotilla 88 now has 90 members ontheir roster. The chorus is considereda Public Affairs Mission for the flotilla.

Their ultimate reward is the aware-ness that they bring to the missions ofthe United States Coast Guard Forces,and Boating Safety to the forefront,while at the same time, they get toexperience the true meaning of fellow-ship.


FL 88 Chorus in the U.S. Naval Academy chapel where they sang duringservices last year. Photo submitted by Barbara Sethmann

A chorus, of course

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


Auxiliarists will be staying in thefour-year old Renaissance Hotel on thewaterfront at the North FerryLanding. The competition will takeplace right outside the Hotel doors atthe water stage and landing area.

The weekend will start with theMeet & Greet and Team Briefing onThursday evening when contestantswill learn what the events are and howthey will be scored for the next twodays.

Friday morning the games will beginat 0800 hrs and the Official OpeningCeremony will take place at 1000 hrs.The band will play and proclamationsfrom the Mayor of Portsmouth,Governor of Virginia, and thePresident of the United States will bepresented.

Friday night will be Fun Night. TheISAR group will be taken to the Bide-a-Wee Golf Pavilion for a traditional"Virginia themed" dinner – barbecue,crab cakes, corn bread, etc. Duringdinner, costumed characters fromPortsmouth’s past – Colonel Crawfordand his sister – reenact earlier times.After dinner a DJ will provide music.

Saturday morning ISAR takes overPortsmouth. The games begin at 0800hrs. At 1100 hrs. the “Portsmouth

Welcomes ISAR” parade steps off andlivens up the entire downtown area ledby our ‘Honorary ISAR Chairman’Linda Greenlaw. Greenlaw was theskipper of the HANNAH BODEN,the sister ship to the Andrea Gail, lostin ‘The Perfect Storm’.

When the parade ends at the water-front, Greenlaw will be there to signher latest book. The U.S. Post Officewill be there with an ISAR commemo-rative cancellation for any stamp collec-tors, a radio station will be broadcast-ing live, vendors will be on site for aquick lunch or to buy some ISAR orPortsmouth memorabilia, a children’sarea will be set up for children to trytheir hand at the ring toss and lineheaving, Coast Guard vessels will beopen for tours, the Weather Channelwill be broadcasting live, JAM TV willbe filming a documentary for thenational broadcast, and a memorialwreath laying ceremony, complete withhelicopter demonstration andBagpipers, will begin at 1245.

Saturday evening at the AwardsBanquet the winners will beannounced. The evening will closewith the presentation of the ISAR flagto the Canadians who will be hostingISAR 2005 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

ISAR 2004ISAR 2004 will be held in Portsmouth, Virginia the first

weekend in November. The competition events will run

for half the day on both Friday and Saturday to give the com-

petitors some free time to see the local sights.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY MIKE HOWELL, FCAND CHERYL MCKINSTRY, FSO-PB

On Feb. 9, 2004, Division 4 Auxiliarymembers were called upon to assist ina multi-force detection and recoverymission in the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW) at Lafitte, Louisiana. CoastGuard Marine Safety Office NewOrleans (MSO-NO) had requested theassistance of Auxiliarist Mike Howelland the Auxiliary Vessel Mañana in ajoint project with MSO-NO, LouisianaWildlife & Fisheries, the JeffersonParish Sheriff’s Office, the US Navyand a commercial survey boat, PacBrian, from Baton Rouge.

The Marine Safety Office NewOrleans, under the command of LTAaron Demo, CWO Chris Donovanand LCDR Gregory Depinet, wasattempting to recover a small power-boat that was struck on the 6th ofDecember by a tug with barges. Twomen were on board the small craft andone was killed in the accident. The

point that the boat was struck wasknown; however, the wrecked boat wasthought to be anywhere as far as sevenmiles in any of three directions due tothe strong currents and tides.

The search area was located at mile14.8 (Jones Point) of the ICW and wasprimarily focused at the intersection ofthe Barataria Waterway at the ICW.The crew of the Mañana was taskedwith maintaining traffic control of ves-sels transiting the ICW, BaratariaWaterway and Lake Salvadore ensur-ing that all vessels and tugs with towsstay clear of the wreck site whilerecovery efforts were underway.

Auxiliary members Mike Howell(43), Jay Cohen (49), Dan Hall (49),Monty Moncrief (4-11) and GeorgeInnerarity (4-10), set up a system thattracked vessel traffic from all threedirections with a description of theirtows. Jay Cohen’s experience andknowledge as a Mississippi RiverVessel Traffic Controller was invalu-able in this project. The combination

of the heavy commercial marine trafficin these areas of the ICW andinclement weather underscored theimportance of the Auxiliary’s watch-standing duties. The Mañana was alsotasked with maintaining a safety zoneperimeter for the Navy vessel and thesurvey boat equipped with side-scansonar which is designed specially to‘see’ objects on the sea floor. The sonarworked by sending narrow pulses of

Detection and recovery in the ICW

Barge traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway. Photos by Mike Howell and Cheryl McKinstry

Tom McKinstrey and Bob Hazey on patrol.


sound energy through the water andmeasuring the amount of that energyreflected back by the sea floor. To con-firm sonar sightings of debris on thebottom of the waterway, the Navydeployed two divers throughout therecovery mission. The Mañana recov-ered a boat and a tug boat rudder andbrought them to the bank.

In addition to the commercial trafficon the waterway, the search perimeterwas located adjacent to LouisianaSwamp Tours which ran hourly toursand air boat rides. On Sunday,February 15th, Bob Hazey (4-10) andCheryl and Tom McKinstry (4-10) per-formed a safety patrol in the Auxiliaryvessel, Blue Runner, keeping all highspeed boats from coming too close tothe Navy divers. Most of these privateboats were not communicating onVHF-FM radio.

Division 4 came together to crew theMañana for this important mission.During the 10-day mission, Jay Cohen(49), Dan Hall (49), Monty Moncrief(4-11), and George Innerarity (4-10),

Karen Reisch (49), Erston Reisch (49),Ira Delasdernier (42), JohnathanCamnetar (43), Joe Stephens (43), PaulLumpkin (47) and Whitney Wagner(49) all crewed with the highest skill,discipline and fellowship to make this avery successful mission. Some of theseAuxiliarists stayed for four to five days.

The Mañana handled an average of30 tug boats with barges per day with amaximum of 43 on one day. Thisrequired radio traffic on at least twochannels because the boats and diverswere on private operating frequencyseparate from the bridge-to-bridge rivertraffic channels. Murphy’s Law dictatedthat everyone wants to talk at one time.This was a tremendous lesson in watch-standing and disaster traffic control.

“The Coast Guard Auxiliary was atremendous asset for this operation. Acomplete and proper execution of theNavy salvage operation and thesmooth flow of commerce was a directresult of Auxiliary participation,”reflected CWO Chris Donovan on themission. “The experience and plat-

forms of all Auxiliary Officersinvolved, especially that of MikeHowell, ensured the control of com-mercial traffic.”

As fate would have it, the missionturned out to be a reunion of sorts.The survey boat and Navy unit werealso involved with the Toledo BendSpace Shuttle recovery efforts withDivision 4 Auxiliary members inFebruary 2003. Even though thewreck wasn’t located, the opportunityto take part in this multi-force projectwas an honor and privilege. The mis-sion proved the Auxiliary can workefficiently with law enforcement, mili-tary and civilian contractors. Knowingtheir safety zone perimeter wassecured allowed the on-scene com-manders the freedom to work with thesonar and dive boats without worry.The mission also gave Division 4Auxiliary members the opportunity toshow that our skills and trainingallowed us to participate as qualifiedmembers of Team Coast Guard.

Auxiliary vessel Mañana handled an average of 30 thugs with barges a day.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


BY ROBERT E NELSON IISO-PA, Division 6, 8CR

“Welcome aboard sir.” Those are the first words that Bill

Sewell and Karl Bollmann hear everyweek when they arrive at MarineSafety Office (MSO) Houston. BothSewell and Bollmann are VesselArrival Officers for the US CoastGuard.

Both men work a combined 40-hourworkweek, giving the Coast Guardone additional billet to accomplish thework in the Merchant Vessel SafetySecurity (MVSS) department.

Sewell is a retired bank presidentand Bollmann is a retired aerospaceengineer. Both men were looking forsome way to volunteer in the Auxiliarythat had a strong need. Dick FrenzelDSO-MS for District 8 CR understoodthe talents that these men had andworked with Cdr. Han Kim of theMVSS department and Capt. KevinCook who was the Captain of the Port(COTP) of MSO Houston.

A training program was set up toteach both men the various systemsand the skill sets needed to becomeVessel Arrival Officers.

The duties of Vessel Arrival Officerare to interface with the Coast Guard’sonline Marine Information, Safety, andLaw Enforcement System (MISLE)and the Ships Arrival NotificationSystem (SANS) to look up the historyon every ship that arrives in a port tosee if it needs its annual inspection,what cargo it is carrying, what passen-

Bill Sewell and USCG CWO Decarllo Brown MSO-Houston on board a shipdoing inspections. Photos by Dick Frenzel DSO-MS, 8CR

Bill Sewell Karl Bollmann

Tracking vessels in Houston


ger/crew are onboard and what haz-ards the vessel might pose to the port.

With security concerns, some ves-sels need to have the Sea Marshals onboard as the vessel arrives in theport. The Vessel Arrival Officer is acritical link in the analysis and screen-ing needed for the U.S. Coast Guardin determining if and when a vesselwill arrive in port and how muchattention any given vessel shouldreceive.

Sewell is currently working on his

Trident program. With 18 vesselinspections under his belt assistingthe inspection team, he is currentlyworking on his PQS Assistant LiferaftInspector (AUX-LR). Both Sewell andBollmann are coming up on their one-year anniversary as Vessel ArrivalOfficers.

Now that the US Coast Guard mis-sions have significantly changed sinceSeptember 11, the Auxiliary is step-ping up to backfill positions within theMSO Houston office.

Auxiliarists Bill Sewell and KarlBollmann receive the AuxiliaryCommandant Letter ofCommendation from Capt. RichardKaser COTP of MSO HoustonGalveston, TX. During the awardperiod April 2003 to February2004 they both processed over4,500 vessel arrivals, 2,500 hoursof work at MSO Houston-Galvestonand commuted over 8,000 miles toget the job done. Photo by Bing Hastings

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


“It took six months of inputand rewrites to create thefinal task book and one yearof review by the NationalBoard and various commit-tees before its approval foruse.”

A test group was puttogether by Reseck to fieldtest the tasks and get theprogram started. Reseckthen helped train otherQualifying Examiners toqualify more PCOs in all ofDistrict 13, which includesWashington, Oregon, Idahoand Montana. Currently,there are three qualifiedpaddle craft operators inDistrict 13, with four moreexpected to be qualifiedshortly.

In addition to being usefulfor the Lewis and Clark cele-brations, this innovative pro-gram has many differentpotential applications. “ThePaddle Craft Program opensup an entire new area of theoperational missions of theCoast Guard Auxiliary.Some of the patrols wecould not do with power-boats we can now do withkayaks,” Reseck said.

Some of the new activitiesmade possible from a kayakare security watches undercommercial piers (all alongthe waterfront in Elliott Bay,etc.), surveillance of High-Interest Vessels (HIVs),regatta/safety patrols at pad-dle craft symposiums(where powerboats create adanger to the participants),as well as safety patrols onsmall lakes where manypeople fish and motors arenot allowed on the lake.

To qualify to be a PaddleCraft Operator (PCO), youmust be a member of theCoast Guard Auxiliary, andcomplete the training taskbook for PCO (which has 12

separate tasks, plus 22 takenfrom the Boat CrewQualification Guide, and 12from the CoxswainQualification Guide).

Like the Coxswain, thePaddle Craft Operator is incharge of the facility and isresponsible for its safe oper-ation, as well as the comple-tion of the mission. PaddleCraft operate under CoastGuard orders, just as theirpower boating brethren do.

For personal protection

purposes, Paddle CraftOperators usually wear awet suit and/or paddle sportclothing, with a USCGAUXType III PFD. Operatorsare also identifiable by theirTilley hat, as well as thesmall patrol ensign flown onthe bow of their craft.

Paddle Craft specific tasksinclude entering/exiting thevessel from a dock andshoreline, as well as per-forming a “self rescue”(where they leave the pad-

dle craft, enter the water,and re-enter the craft in asafe, efficientmanner).Other Paddle Craftspecific tasks include assist-ing another paddle craftoperator in re-entering theirown vessel.

Finally, just as with mostoperational qualifications,candidates must pass theoral (dockside) exam, aswell as an in-water (under-way) check ride given by aQualifying Examiner. “Thisrigorous procedure isdesigned to maintain thequality of the Coast GuardAuxiliary Operational pro-gram,” Reseck said.

To maintain PCO qualifi-cations, one must performat a minimum, a patrol ofeight hours, as well as aself-rescue from a capsize.

According to Reseck, “APaddle Craft, such as akayak, requires only oneperson for the crew.However, for safety reasons,two such vessels must oper-ate together, or must oper-ate in conjunction withother facilities. Theserequirements are similar tothose for PWCs.”

Reseck further points outsome of the additional usesof the paddle craft includehanding out safety informa-tion to boaters at anchor incrowded harbors, as well asto check on bays/wetlandsfor possible pollution. “Thepaddle craft can also beused to check aids to navi-gation that are located inshallow water, or in someother difficult to reachplace.

“These are just a few ofdoors this new program willopen,” Reseck said. Theadvantages offered by thesevessels are that they arequiet, can go virtually any-where, and can do so withno fuel cost. It just doesn’tget any better than that.”

PADDLINGcontinued from page 3

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Reseck on a paddle craft patrol.

“These are just a few of the doors this new program will open.

The advantages offered by these vessels are that they are quiet, can go virtually anywhere,

and can do so with no fuel cost. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

JOHN RESECK JR, SO-MT Div. 4 D13


Services (CIS), Customs and BorderProtection (CBP), and Coast GuardForces, were recognized for their suc-cessful interdiction, holding, and pro-cessing of 142 Cuban migrants fromfour go-fast smuggling vessels, oneCuban fishing vessel, and a converted1959 Buick in the Florida Keys duringthe first week of February.

Dennen accepted the commenda-tion from Admiral Collins on behalf ofAuxiliarists involved in direct opera-tional support positions in the FloridaKeys. Mike Catalano, AuxiliaryAviation Coordinator for Coast GuardAir Station Miami, accepted the awardon behalf of Auxiliary pilots andobservers involved in air support forthe integrated DHS task force.

“This outstanding level of dedica-tion and support by the Auxiliary isvery much at the heart of what itmeans to be ‘One Team, One Fight’and is a key reason that the CoastGuard and its DHS partners are ableto remain on the vanguard of opera-tional excellence in the Florida Keys,”said CWO3 Dennis Zecca, StationCommander of Coast Guard StationIslamorada.

Auxiliarists from Flotillas 13-4 and13-8 in the Upper Keys performed 116operational man hours on 21 separatesurface missions between Feb. 2 andFeb. 10, Zecca reported. Additionally,radio communications were main-tained at Station Islamorada byAuxiliary watch standers on fully sevenof the same nine days.

“The complexity of these casesdemanded the highest degree of coor-dination and is a prime example of theintegrated Department of HomelandSecurity operations that occur every-day in the Florida Keys,” said AdmiralCollins. The Commandant also com-

mended the efforts of Coast GuardGroup Key West and ICE Miami Airand Marine Branch for their highlyeffective coordination of the myriad ofDHS and other agency surface and airassets during this period.

In his remarks on behalf of CIS, Mr.Eduardo Aguirre, Director ofCitizenship and Immigration Services,also expressed his appreciation for thesupport and success of the inter-agency DHS task force. “I want to sayon behalf of the Bureau of Citizenshipand Immigration Services how proudwe are of this and of all the actions thatgo on day in, day out, night in, nightout and how appreciative we are of theCoast Guard being our partners.

“It is quite an honor in theDepartment of Homeland Security. Wesay ‘One Team, One Fight’ and noth-ing really exemplifies that anymorethan what I see here today. It is a privi-lege and an honor and I really want tothank all of you,” Aguirre said. TheCoast Guard’s Meritorious TeamCommendation Award was acceptedon behalf of CIS by Victor Rita, AsylumPre-screening Officer, Bureau ofCitizenship and Immigration Services.

The Commandant also conveyedthe direct personal support and appre-ciation of the President and theNational Security Advisor for the jointeffort of each of the DHS agenciesinvolved in the operation. “I had thechance to attend a reception and a din-ner and a meeting in the CabinetRoom of the President andCondoleeza Rice about a week and ahalf ago. SOUTHCOMM was talkingabout things happening in theCaribbean and what they were doingand the President stepped in and said‘Well, yeah, that’s the Coast Guard andthe DHS team working those issueswith Haiti and Cuba.’ And CondoleezaRice said ‘Yeah, they’re doing incredi-ble things in a difficult situation,’

Admiral Collins relayed. “And I mention that, that it’s recog-

nized all the way up in the Oval Officethe things that you do everyday. Sowe’d like to recognize that in a smallway today. To know that your work isappreciated, important to the country,and important to this newDepartment. And I can bet you thatwhen things role out in terms of newregions and things like that, thisFlorida/Southeast region will be frontand center because we want to buildupon that success. So let’s put it in themost successful place first. That’squite a tribute to you and the Team,”the Commandant said.

Admiral Collins’ enthusiasm andcommitment to Coast Guard GroupKey West and the integrated DHSagencies of the Florida Keys’ AMIOTeam was clearly evident throughoutthe briefing. “The good news is, you’redoing a terrific job; for the challengesthere’s going to be more of you outthere to keep this rolling. What we’recommitted to, both Mr. Aguirre andmyself and everyone in theDepartment of Homeland Security, isto create the policy framework, theresource framework, and the trainingframework so we can get better, andbetter, and better as a team.

“That’s what we’re all committed todoing. And whether it’s revised organi-zation, better policies, and betterbudgets, it’s what we’re trying to doeveryday. We’ll commit to you thatwe’ll be tireless in that regard and yoube tireless on the front end of the busi-ness. And we’ll have a good thinggoing. Thank you very much for youreffort,” the Commandant concluded.

(For more information on the CoastGuard and integrated Department ofHomeland Security operations,please visit the Coast Guard’snational homepage athttp://www.uscg.mil/USCG.shtm)

DHCcontinued from page 4

“The complexity of these cases demanded the highest degree of coordination and is a prime example of the integrated Department ofHomeland Security operations that occur everyday in the Florida Keys.”

ADMIRAL T. H. COLLINS

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


Every year, on an average, approxi-mately 700 recreational boaters die onAmerican waterways. Over seventhousand more are injured. Propertydamage runs into the hundreds of mil-lions.

These accidents are particularly trag-ic because they happen to people andfamilies out for pleasure and relax-ation. Yet, almost all could be prevent-ed with a few simple steps on the partof the boat owner or operator.

Recent attitudinal research spon-sored by the United States CoastGuard Office of Boating Safety con-firmed a strong suspicion: Mostboaters believe they are safe enoughalready. They equate boating safetywith equipment – like life jackets, fireextinguishers, and radios – and forgetthat safety is really a matter of theirown behavior.

Meanwhile, congestion on America’swaterways continues to grow. As aresult, there is only one group that hasthe power to make accident rates godown. That group is the boat ownersand operators themselves.

Therefore, the Coast Guard, in part-nership with the U.S. Coast GuardAuxiliary, United States PowerSquadrons®, National Safe BoatingCouncil, National Water SafetyCongress, and the NationalAssociation of State Boating LawAdministrators, is introducing a newnational recreational boating safetyoutreach program. The initiative asks

recreational boat operators and own-ers not only to boat safe – but also toboat safer. It asks them to take newsteps to ensure their own safety, andthe safety of passengers and otherboaters.

The message? “You’re inCommand.” Boat safely.

‘You’re in Command” will focus ini-tially on four actions boaters can taketo vastly improve safety on the water.

Get a Vessel Safety Check This program provides a bow-to-

stern inspection of a boat’s conditionand safety equipment. Experiencedmembers of the U.S. Coast GuardAuxiliary and United States PowerSquadrons perform the checks — anda VSC is the best way to identify safetyissues and violations before theybecome problems on the water.“You’re in Command” will publicize theprogram, encourage boat owners toseek a VSC once every year, and alsoattempt to recruit more VesselExaminers to perform the VesselSafety Checks.

Take America’s Boating Course This new electronic course is spon-

sored by the Auxiliary and PowerSquadrons, and is recognized by theCoast Guard. It makes boating safetyinstruction easily accessible to a vastsegment of the population that maynever invest the time to attend tradi-tional safe boating classes. “You’re in

Command” will promote boating cours-es – specifically the convenience ofABC (America’s Boating Course).

Wear Your Life Jacket Nothing would reduce boating fatali-

ties faster than universal life jacketwear. Most boaters carry life jackets,but few wear them consistently whileunderway — this despite the fact thatmost boating fatalities are caused bydrowning. Through “You’re inCommand,” the Coast Guard chal-lenges all boaters to wear life jacketswhile underway, and hopes that thenew styles of compact and inflatablelife jackets will make this practicemuch more common.

Never Boat Under the Influence Boaters must understand that the

effects of alcohol and even some pre-scription medications are multiplieddangerously by waterborne stressorslike wind, sun, vibration, and noise.The Coast Guard recommends no alco-hol on board — and will use the “You’rein Command” campaign to strive for asignificant reduction in the instance ofinebriated boaters on the water.

The Coast Guard is encouragingevery boater or boating organizationinterested in boating safety to get onboard with “You’re in Command.”Boaters can go to www.uscgboating.orgfor a variety of resources, links, andfree information.

Coast Guard to boaters:‘You’re In Command’New outreach initiative challenges boaters to new level of safety

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


Submissions to the NavigatorWe want to hear your stories, comments and suggestions. Please let us know what's going on

in your part of Coast Guard world. We want to hear about events, operations, projects, special

personnel or anything else of national interest.

Begin at the endingWriting a news report is very differ-

ent from writing an essay or a story. With an essay or story, you begin at

the beginning and work your waythrough to the end. But with journal-ism, you turn this upside-down andbegin at the ending. You state whathappened, before going on to explainhow and why it happened.

Ideally, your first couple of linesshould contain enough information forsomeone to get the main facts of thestory without even needing to read anyfurther.Get your readers’ attention

Stories need what is known as a"grabber," an opening paragraph thatgrabs readers’ attention and makesthem want to continue reading.Starting with a date seldom encour-ages reading further.

Always begin with who it happened to when it happened, andwhere it happened. Once you’ve done this, you can add

some more detail to your story. Such ashow it happenedwhy it happenedhow people reacted (use quotes

and interviews if you wish)what happens next.

KISS and tellAnother useful thing to remember

when writing a news story is KISS:Keep It Short and Simple. Your readerneeds to know the facts as quickly aspossible. Use short sentences. Usesimple language. Don’t use sentencesthat ramble on and on, and are verylong-winded like this one, and use lotsand lots of commas, and take ages toget to the point, and use fancy long

words that obfuscate and discombobu-late the reader. Tell the story in third person

Be objective. Words of praise workbetter if put into a quote by a knowl-edgeable person. Descriptions ofskills, courage, or knowledge also callfor subtlety to maintain the third per-son objective slant. Your opinion ofpeople or events or things shouldn’t beincluded in your article.Write the story as you would tell it

How do you talk? Do you use mili-tary time? Do you talk the same way apatrol report is formatted? Work atpacking the action into a tightly word-ed scenario but still keep the readers’interest.Use action verbs

Avoid using forms of ‘to be’ if youcan find a more active way to describewhat happened.

Stories should be submitted in MSWord via email. Stories should betimely and include what actionoccurred, date and location of theaction, and names of personnel andunits involved. News stories general-ly will run about 300 words. Feature

stories will be about 750 to 1,000words. All stories will be edited toCoast Guard and Associated Pressstyle guidelines. All stories will beput through a review process andwill not necessarily run in theNavigator. Stories should be accom-

panied by supporting photographs orartwork. Stories without supportingphotos are less likely to be printed inthe magazine. Be sure to includeyour contact information, e-mailaddress and a phone number on any-thing you submit.

Take action photosThat’s what we do. Patrols, watches,

ramp watches are active events. Avoidusing posed lineups. Even if someone issitting at a comms desk, show themholding a microphone or looking for alocation on a chart. Photos should showpeople in action and pertain to the story.Photo information should describe theaction that’s taking place in the photo

and identify all personnel shown by fullname, rank, rate, and/or title.Digital photographs

Send photos with submissions asseparate files, not posted into a Worddocument. Digital photographsshould meet specified guidelines andbe e-mailed as jpegs or sent on a floppydisk, Zip disk or CD to the editor.Images should be at least 266 DPI at

5X7 inches or larger. Images frommany smaller digital cameras do notmeet the criteria or have a final printsize about that of a postage stamp. Ifyou cannot tell if your image meets thecriteria, please contact the editor.Please provide a self-addressed diskenvelope for floppy disks, Zip disks orCDs if you wish to have themreturned.

WRITING FOR PUBLICATION

PHOTOGRAPHS

STORIES

E-mail stories, photographs and queries to Mike Harris at The Log newspaper. His email address is [email protected]. The publication's street address is 2924 Emerson St., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106. U

.S.C

OAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


Once again the scenic San FranciscoBay hosted a successful Fleet Week inearly October. As usual, the highlightsincluded a number of days of spectacu-lar air shows and Saturday morning’sparade of ships.

Air show participants included theUS Navy Blue Angels and theCanadian Snowbirds, as well as a num-ber of individual military fighter air-craft and civilian aeronautics perform-ers. The ship parade included multipleUS Navy war ships, two Coast Guardcutters - 210’ Active and 378’ Munro -and the restored Liberty ship JeremiahO’Brien.

During the four days of activities,Coast Guard Group San Francisco suc-cessfully coordinated an impressivecontingent of assets which consisted ofhalf a dozen CG cutters, over a dozenCG small boats, nearly 30 CGAuxiliary vessels, about a dozen vari-ous law enforcement (LE) vessels andfour Auxiliary Land Mobile radio units.

Navy port security units were alsopresent to assist with the Navy vessels.Thousands of commercial and recre-ational vessels, as well as hundreds ofthousands of spectators on land andsea, were on hand during this extend-ed marine event.

The San Francisco Bay is an activewaterway. Recreational vessels, fromlarge yachts to numerous wind surfersand kite surfers, enjoy the area year-round. Multiple sailboat races fre-quently dot the bay. Ocean-goingtankers, containerships, freighters, andbarges accompanied by tugboats andbar pilot boats come and go constantly.There are also dozens of very activepassenger ferryboats, sightseeingcruise boats, and fishing and whalewatching party boats transiting backand forth.

For Fleet Week activities, a largeportion of the middle of central SF Bayneeds to be “cordoned off” to provide aboat-free “ground zero” for the air

show and parade. An area roughlyhalf-mile wide by a couple of mileslong, extending from just off the SanFrancisco city northern waterfront outtowards Alcatraz Island, and runningroughly from the Golden Gate Bridgeon the west to the Blossom Rock buoyon the east, must be secured. This isthe primary function of all the CoastGuard assets out on the water, whoseduties include patrolling the edges ofthe “safety box” and preventing theinadvertent or careless boater fromsailing into harm’s way. With thou-sands of boaters on the bay, some ofthem paying more attention to the airshow than to all the other boatsanchored or underway around them,this can be a challenge. Maintainingthe box and the safety of all the vesselson the water, and doing so with profes-sional and polite firmness, keeps thepatrol crews busy.

Adding to the challenge can beweather issues (including notorious SF

San Francisco Fleet Week 2003

Two Blue Angels and a bi-plane in a rare close formation, 10/9/03 Fleet Week. Photo by Terry Blanchard


elements such as wind or fog), roughsea conditions, and extra sensitivitiesdue to the presence of Navy vesselsand potential terrorist actions. Besidesnumerous planning and special brief-ing sessions held prior to the event,Group San Francisco Operations alsoheld morning briefings each day atYerba Buena Island for representativesof each CG station, cutter, agency, orgroup participating.

Due to the large number of patrolvessels involved, not all could fit intothe limited dock area at YBI. The CGAuxiliary, for example, sent one repre-sentative boat - Auxiliary facility SilverCharm (with the local area PatrolCoordinator for San Francisco Bay,Linda Vetter, as coxswain) each morn-ing while the rest of the Auxiliary ves-sels went directly to their previouslyassigned positions around the box.Other duties performed by SilverCharm included picking up all the boxlunches ordered by any of theAuxiliary crews each day and gettingthem hand-delivered to the variousboats on station, providing any inputsto Group on last minute cancellations,and communicating any last minute re-

assignments or other necessary infor-mation to the Auxiliary coxswains onduty.

One of the special assignments per-formed by Auxiliary vessels was the“wearing of the tarps” - two facilitiestook up station inside the safety boxeach day for the civilian portions of theair show, sporting bright yellow tarpswhile maintaining precise lat/lon loca-tions. This daunting task was to pro-vide “targets” for the aeronautical per-formances - it can be difficult for a pilotto line up bearings when he’s spinningto earth and all he sees is open water.On various days the Auxiliary facilitiesHale Kai (John Queiser), Happy Note(Bob Usher), and Chamaeleon (SueFry) performed this important function.

Another major contribution by localAuxiliarists was the involvement ofLand Mobile units. Bob Petersonserved as communications liaisonbetween all the people (FAA, BlueAngels, air show announcers, etc.) onMunicipal Pier and PATCOM aboard aCG 87’ cutter. Other Auxiliary landmobiles (Jeff Price, John McEwen,and Chuck Elliott) assisted with com-munications afloat with PATCOM, and

at shore hot spots like Crissy Field(where the wind surfers and kitesurfers launch).

A total of three actives and oneretired CG admirals were on hand onSunday. Coast Guard District 11,RADM Eldridge, wanted to see thismajor marine event and the activitiesrequired to make it run smoothly andsafely up close. Starting at the north-east corner by the buoy tender (CGcutter Aspen), Station Golden Gate’sMLB (Motor Life Boat) 47245 tookAdmiral Eldridge on a tour of all thepatrol vessels along the east and southedges of the safety box, stopping off ateach CG, Auxiliary, and LE vessel asthe admiral personally thanked thecrews for their efforts. At the south-west corner of the box, the admiral(along with his flag) were transferredfrom the MLB to the Auxiliary facilityRovigno (coxswain Fulvio Dapas),which continued the circumnavigationby taking the admiral to each boatalong the west and north sides of thebox, and eventually back to YBI to dis-embark.

Having District 11 tour on anAuxiliary vessel and personally greetand thank dozens of Auxiliarycoxswains and crews for their effortswas a wonderful extra touch this year.A lot of other planning, paperwork,and activities also were key, as well asthe collective hundreds of hours ofunderway time by the Auxiliarist vol-unteers. All the participants can takepride in the excellent jobs they per-formed, leading to the smooth, safesuccess of this year’s Fleet Weekevent. It was another great example ofTeam Coast Guard in action.

Numerous SAFE boats and other CG assets raft up at Station SF (YBI)docks for morning briefings. Photos by Terry Blanchard

Auxiliary Vessel Chamaeleon (SueFry, Div. 1 Captain) prepares tarp forcivilian air show under watchful eyeson 87’ CG cutter Tern.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S


The Chinook ObserverLong Beach, WA

The men and women of the CoastGuard Station and Auxiliary at CapeDisappointment have been doingeverything in their power this winterand fall to help a locally famous volun-teer.

Ralph Gilbert, a member of U.S.Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 62, hasbeen a part of the CapeDisappointment family for over 12years and has successfully executedover 860 search and rescue casesaboard his vessel the Bay Mist.

The Auxiliary here contribute their

time, boats and other resources tohelping the Coast Guard in these dan-gerous waters, which have beendescribed as among the most deadly inthe world.

Gilbert also dedicated numeroushours to communication watch stand-ing throughout his many years of serv-ice. During this time, he has mentoredcountless new Coast Guard membersin navigation skills, communicationwatch standing skills and the impor-tance of being a member of the U. S.Coast Guard.

Gilbert, was recently diagnosed withcancer, and the men and women ofStation Cape Disappointment have

dedicated some of their time off tohelp repay their friend by aiding in histime of need. They have organizedfund-raising events to help with med-ical costs, they have spent time takingRalph to his medical appointments andvisited him as a friend and to help withhis chores around his house.

A small group presented the ailingGilbert with an Auxiliary MeritoriousService Award, along with letters ofthanks from an impressive array ofleaders. But the Cape Disappointmentunit wanted to show their completeadmiration for this man’s accomplish-ments.

Without his knowledge, many of the

Vice President, Commandant, Washington governor amongthose who praise Auxiliarist with over 860 SAR cases

Dedicated to helping others

A show of support and respect. Members of the Cape Disappointment's Coast Guard family stand in ranks, Dec. 10,2003 in the backyard of Ralph and Patti Gilbert. Photo by Larry Kellis


crew went to his home and stood inranks in his backyard. According tothe Auxiliary’s Larry Kellis, “Themembers that were standing in Ralph’sbackyard that day to pay him homagehave laid claim to many great days inthe Coast Guard, but they will all tellyou that was their best day.”

Gilbert’s service award read in part,“Following the horrific events of Sept.11, 2001, Mr. Gilbert dedicated his out-standing vigilance to aid the waragainst terrorism. Since that fatefulday, he has provided a much neededplatform for enforcement of more than37 security zones around cruise ships,high interest vessels and naval vessels,including the eight-hour escort of fourU.S. Navy ships transiting to Portlandfor the 2003 Rose Festival, a movingsecurity zone that covered over 25 nau-tical miles of the Columbia River.

“Mr. Gilbert’s dedication to the mar-itime community demonstrates the gritand selfless determination of the earlypioneers of the Life Saving Service and

epitomizes the dauntless spirit embod-ied by all those who dedicate theirlives so that others may live.”

In a letter from Vice President DickCheney dated Dec. 12, 2003, thatGilbert’s service is recognized,Cheney said, “... our country isstrengthened every time a citizensteps forward to serve a cause greaterthan self-interest. Through your manyyears of committed service as a mem-ber of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, youembody the finest in the American tra-dition of volunteerism. I am certainthat the many individuals and familieswhose lives you touched over thecourse of the last fourteen years joinme in thanking you for your exception-al service.”

Gov. Gary Locke also acknowledgedthe great work Gilbert has done. Hesaid, “You are a remarkable man.Since you first began volunteering atStation Cape Disappointment in 1989,you were directly responsible for sav-ing 10 people and more than a $1 mil-

lion in property. You have devotedmore than 6,500 underway hours toroutine safety patrols ... Your outstand-ing seamanship and genuine concernfor others have enabled active dutyCoast Guard personnel to concentrateon other important tasks, such asexpanding qualified boat crews. I alsolearned that you have played SantaClaus during the station’s Christmascelebrations. Clearly, these crewmem-bers and their families are extremelyfond of you and hold you in highregard.”

Continuing the tribute, Adm.Thomas H. Collins, Commandant ofthe Coast Guard, said, “Please knowthat though the numbers cited aboveare impressive, the largest impressionthat you have made on the CoastGuard and Coast Guard Auxiliaryextends beyond anything that can bequantified or captured on paper. Byyour giving attitude and sense of serv-ice, you enrich lives. You will foreverbe a part of those whose lives you havetrained, saved or touched. The world isa better place because of you. Thankyou!”

And also, State Rep Mark Doumitsaid about Gilbert, “You have givenlove and respect to the folks at CapeDisappointment and shown them thatthe entire community supports themand the work they do ... As a commer-cial fisherman, as a state senator, andas a citizen, I am especially grateful toyou and to the Coast Guard. We live inone of the most dangerous areas in theworld for navigation and I can’t sayenough how much I value our CoastGuard men and women, as well as thepriceless energies of the Coast GuardAuxiliary. I am proud to have thisopportunity to convey my respect andappreciation to you.”

(This article appeared in the ChinookObserver and is reproduced with their per-mission)

“... our country is strengthened every time a citizen steps forward to serve a cause greater than self-interest. Through your many years of committedservice as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, you embody the finest inthe American tradition of volunteerism.” – VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.

A heartfelt thank you. Auxiliarist Ralph Gilbert receives an award from Lt.Richard Burke, Commanding Officer Coast Guard Station CapeDisappointment, Washington. Photo by Larry Kellis

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.The Auxiliary Center9449 Watson Industrial ParkSt. Louis, MO 63126

Address service requested

NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAGE PAIDPERMIT NO. 842JACKSONVILLE, FL.

U.S

.COAST GUARD

AU XILIA RY

S E M P E R

P A R A T U

S

Auxiliarist Greg Clark makes a night landing into Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin’snotch under red spotlight. / STORY ON PAGE 20 USCG photo

Documents

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARYauxpa.cgaux.org/Navigator/2004SPRING.pdf · Auxiliarist Greg Clark docks a small boat into Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin ... visionary project that