THE U.S.

COAST GUARD AUXILIARY MAGAZINE

5UMMEk 2010
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NAVIGATOR
Fireworks light up Ocean City, Maryland, on July Fourth. Bill Mueller, coxswain, with crew Don Logan and Joe Britvch, were positioned at the
edge of the safety zone about one-quarter mile from the pyrotechnics. Their assignment was to help hold back about 150 spectator boats. A
whole barrage of reworks were set off from a barge into low cloud cover. The result was a sky lit bright red. It was awesome, said Britvch,
Flotilla 12-5, Ocean City, Maryland, who took the photo. CANON 20D WITH A 17-85MM LENS AT 17MM, 1/8 SEC. AT F/7.1, ISO 1600. NO FLASH.
SUMMER 2010
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3
Telephone numbers and address-
es of members are protected
by the Privacy Act of 1974. As a
matter of policy, rosters of names,
addresses and telephone num-
bers shall not be made available
to the general public or any out-
side organization. Privacy of all
rosters shall be safeguarded and
the page clearly labeled. The pub-
lication of these rosters, addresses
and telephone numbers on any
computer on-line service includ-
ing the Internet is prohibited by
the Privacy Act of 1974.
Guidelines for
submissions of
editorial and
photographic con-
tent are online at
www.auxpa.org/
navigator. Please
send editorial
and photographic
submissions to:
navigator@
auxpa.org
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COMO KerIgan
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CeIebraIe
8
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USCGA 71sI
AnnIversary
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HonorIng
Ihe UnIIorm
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New CuIIer Named
Ior Iounder
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IareweII Irom
ADM Thad AIIen
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InIerpreIers Head
Back Io SenegaI
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AuxIIIary's Response
Io GuII OII SpIII
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NSBW 2010
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Rescue on
Ihe AIIegheny
37
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Pass In RevIew
aI The CIIadeI
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CITRO
DEADLINES
SPRING: March 31
SUMMER: June 30
FALL: September 30
WINTER: December 31

CONTLNTS
WHOS
READING
YOUR
NAVIGATOR?
DONT TOSS
IT, PASS IT.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
ON OUR COVER, Chris Roosevelt, vessel examinations ofcer, Flotilla 76, Swan Island, Oregon, secures line #1
between two Auxiliary vessels patrolling the security zone midway out in the Willamette River during Portlands Rose
Festival Fleet Week. The event has drawn vessels from the Navy, Coast Guard and Canadian Maritime Forces for 80
years. Each year approximately 65 District 13 members volunteer a total of 2,500 - 3,000 hours serving ve days of
round-the-clock watchstanding in the Incident Command Post. As many as 15 Auxiliary vessels per day assist with the
security zone. For his photo, Daren Lewis, Flotilla 76, Swan Island, Oregon, used the ashing red/amber public safety
lights on the boat, with some additional light from downtown Portland. By balancing the ISO and shutter speed, a
moment with many layers of drama is captured, he said. CANON EOS 5D MARK II WITH CANON EF 24-105 F/4L IS AT 28MM; 1/60 SEC. AT
F/4. ISO 4,000, APERTURE PRIORITY MODE; NO FLASH.
Larry King Harriet Howard
Harry Westfall
Norman Arbes
Mike Brodey
Jake Shaw
Daren Lewis
Doug Kroll
4
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NAVIGATOR
hICh0LkS
klkI6kh

NATIONAL
COMMODORL

Visit the National
Commodores page at
www.auxnaco.org and
i-naco.blogspot.com/
for more information on the
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
llIbIh4!l 'J5 !lr5J5 !lb'
B
uzzwords, buzzwords, buzzwords! Oh,
they make us grit our teeth and give us
migraines. Yet the true power behind a buzz-
words meaning can have great impact on the
way things are done. Take the phrase mem-
ber empowerment.
Employee empowerment is one of the most
frequently used buzzwords within the U.S.
workforce. In fact, people are an organizations
most important asset. Yet, motivated people are
often the most underutilized resource.
Empowerment is the process of enabling or
authorizing an individual to think, behave, act
and control work and decision-making auton-
omously. It is not an implementation, and it is
only partly a strategy. It is a philosophy. Being
empowered is taking control of ones own
future and nurturing an environment wherein
it thrives.
When carefully encouraged, empowerment
may address many of the ills in an organiza-
tion. Most leaders and members say they
want empowerment, as it is considered a
strategy to develop members and better serve
customers. Simply put, when empowered
members grow their skills, the Coast Guard
and Auxiliary benet.
But, if it is so great, why is empowerment
not regularly fostered effectively?
We are all aware of disconnects between
our elected leaders and staff ofcers that cre-
ate a polarizing situation in a division or o-
tilla (a division within the division, as it were).
Creating such a divide in organizational struc-
ture does not foster a sense of teamwork. We
hear us versus them, rather than all of us
together. Empowerment comes to the indi-
vidual member through the leadership, but
that is not to say that elected leaders cease to
have responsibility or are no longer respon-
sible for performance. In fact, organizations
that seek to empower their people demand
stronger leadership and accountability begin-
ning with executive leadership and extend-
ing through all management levels including
frontline supervisors. Only when the entire
organization is willing to work as a team are
the real benets of empowerment realized.
A leader trusts staff to do the job right the
rst time, but is able to effectively coach them
into turning the situation around when things
dont go as expected. For a division or otilla
to practice and foster empowerment, elected
leaders must trust and communicate with
members. Actually, member communication
is one of the strongest signs of empower-
ment, from constant, honest communication
regarding the strategic plan, finances and
performance, down to daily decision-making.
Take former General Electric Company
CEO Jack Welch, for instance. In a knowl-
edge-driven economy, Welch believed in cre-
ating an open, collaborative workplace where-
in everyones opinion was welcome. In a letter
to shareholders, he wrote:
If you want to get the benefit of everything
employees have, youve got to free them
make everybody a participant. Everybody
has to know everything, so they can make the
right decisions by themselves.
Consider E.H. Wachs Company. Says the
companys vice president of manufacturing,
Craig Lewandowski in American Machinist:
We try to empower our people. We encour-
age them to point out problems and suggest
solutions. When they do, we respond quickly
and positively. Were not interested in nd-
ing fault; were interested in quickly spotting
problems and then nding solutions. We have
become very quick and dynamic in dealing
with production problems.
While employee empowerment can be a
morale booster, it can be a morale buster if staff
is empowered without direction. Failure to
provide a strategic framework, in which deci-
sions have a compass and success measure-
ments, imperils the opportunity for empow-
ered behavior, writes Susan M. Heatheld, a
management and organization development
consultant. Employees need direction to know
how to practice empowerment.
Further, while most people want signicant
information and responsibility, as well as the
opportunity to make decisions or at least have
a say in the decision-making process, they
dont want to be taken advantage of. When
members feel under-noticed, under-praised
and under-appreciated, dont expect results
from empowerment.
Responsibilities should match the job, and it
should be ensured that the person is doing the
job according to a written job description.
There is a two-way street to success: elected
leaders owe their members an environment
that fosters empowerment, and members
have the dutiful responsibility to accept the
opportunity and demonstrate they are willing
and capable.
The bottom line is creating a positive work
environment. Accountability is the number
one priority. While value can be found in mis-
takes, as we learn from them, there must also
be accountability. Such a philosophy creates a
cultural identity.
SUMMER 2010
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5
Andrew
N. Assimos
- 50 years
Andrew N. Assimos, a mem-
ber of Flotilla 12-9, Indian River,
Delaware, celebrated 50 years
of service on May 15, 2010, with
an awards luncheon at Coast
Guard Station Indian River Inlet
in Rehoboth, Delaware. A plaque
was presented by Commander
Glena T. Tredinnick, Fifth
Northern Director of Auxiliary.
Assimos is qualied in opera-
tions and administrative proce-
dures and has earned numerous
awards for distinguished service
during his Auxiliary career. For
the past 10 years he has support-
ed otilla functions and provided
guidance to the local leadership
and staff and to new coxswains
and crew.
SUBMITTED BY KAY CARNAHAN,
FLOTILLA 129
Mike Lauro Performs 10,000th VSC
At North Shore Marina, Lake Camanche, California, Mike Lauro puts a decal on Tom Whitmans boat.
Before his own boat had a vessel safety
check (VSC), Mike Lauro used a one-gallon
can of cement and a coat hanger as an anchor.
Apparently that VSC made a big impression on
Mike. In 1998 he joined the Auxiliary to serve as
a vessel examiner. This spring he conducted his
10,000th vessel safety check.
Mike has become such a xture at Lake
Camanche in Ione, California, that the lakes web-
site includes a link to his schedule for conducting
safety checks there twice a month from March
through October, alternating between the north
and south shores of the lake. He performs VSCs
once a month at Buckley Cove on the delta in
central California. Between these three scheduled
VSC events each month, Mike also makes house
calls.
Mike recalled a VSC with a happy ending that
occurred in late 2005. As he was closing down
his station, a young woman showed up pulling
an older PWC. When Mike started the VSC he
smelled a strong gasoline odor and asked the
woman to remove the engine cover. He observed
the bilge had nearly three inches of standing fuel.
Had the woman started the engine, she might
have been killed.
Currently a member of Flotilla 10-2, Modesto,
Mike serves as district staff ofcer for vessel
examiners, a position from which he enjoys men-
toring other vessel examiners.
CelebroIe
UNIFORM
CONTEST
Can you nd
two uniform
faux pas in this
issue? Be rst
to email navi-
gator@auxpa.
org with the
correct answer
and win a prize.
Wearers and
their spouses
are ineligible.
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NAVIGATOR
Copyright 2010
Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
ISSN 2152-4653 (print)
ISSN 1938-985X (online)
All rights are reserved. No portion of this publication
can be copied or otherwise be used without written
per mi ssi on of t he edi tor. Navi gator i s an of f i ci al
informational and educational tool for the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary and is intended to keep the membership
and the U.S. Coast Guard apprised of the activities of the
Auxiliary. Accordingly, all articles published in Navigator
must be consistent with the stated policies of the U.S.
Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. All
articles and pictures submitted to Navigator become the
property of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
EXECUTI VE COMMI TTEE
National Commodore
Nicholas Kerigan, NACO
Vice National Commodore
James Vass, VNACO
Deputy National Commodore -Operations & Atlantic Area East
Thomas Venezio, DNACO-O
Deputy National Commodore
Operations Policy & Atlantic Area West
Thomas Mallison, DNACO-P
Deputy National Commodore Mission Support
Stephen H. McElroy, DNACO-S
Deputy National Commodore Force Readiness & Pacic Area
Victor Connell, DNACO-R
Immediate Past National Commodore
Steven Budar, NIPCO
Chief Director of the Auxiliary
Captain Mark Rizzo, USCG
Assistant National Commodore Government & Public Affairs
Jackson Gumb ANACO-GP
DI RECTORATE OF PUBLI C AFFAI RS
Director-Public Affairs
Robert E. Nelson II, DIR-A
Deputy Director-Public Affairs
Tom Nunes, DIR-Ad
Chief, Publications Division
Christopher Todd, DVC-AP
Navigator Magazine, Editor
Judy M. Darby, BC-APN
Navigator Magazine, Assistant Editor
Sheila Seiler Lagrand, BA-APN

The ofcial magazine of the

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
www.cgaux.org
www.teamcoastguard.org
COMING NEXT MONTH:
High school students participating in the U.S. Coast Guard Academys Academy
Introduction Mission (AIM) are sworn in as they begin their week learning what its
like to be a Coast Guard Cadet. AIM has been and continues to be a major mission
of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
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SUMMER 2010
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7
COMING THIS FALL FROM
THE NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS
AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD
Order Information Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402
Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm EST at
PHONE 800-233-8764 or 410-268-6110
FAX 410-571-1703
ONLINE www.nip.org
A COAST GUARDSMANS
HISTORY OF THE U.S.
COAST GUARD
By C. Douglas Kroll
More a book about Coast Guard heritage than an
academic history, this book focuses on a variety of
relatively unknown Coast Guardsmen who personify
the services core values. The author highlights the
contributions of a variety of individuals, from seamen to
admirals on active duty, as well as Reserves, Auxiliarists,
and civilian members of Team Coast Guard. These heroes,
representing a great diversity in age, sex, race, and ethnicity,
set an example worthy of emulation and serve as role
models for todays Coast Guard men and women.

C. Douglas Kroll is a U.S. Coast Guard Academy
graduate, a Coast Guard ofcer, and a member of the
Coast Guard Auxiliary. He has a PhD in history and
teaches at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert,
California. He is the author of Commodore Ellsworth P.
Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard.
OCTOBER
224 pp, b/w photos, 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-59114-433-5
Hardcover: $34.95
Hl5IOkY * NAVAL
8
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NAVIGATOR
THE NATIONAL COMMODORE
OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Nicholas Kerigan
The 71
st
Anniversary
of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
June 23, 2010, marked the 71
st
anniversary oI the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
When the Coast Guard Reserve Act was Iirst passed by Congress in 1939, we had
Iour stated purposes:
(1) safetv of life upon navigable waters, (2) promotion of
efficiencv in the operation of pleasure craft, (3) improved
knowledge of and compliance with applicable laws, and (4)
support to the Coast Guard.
Much has changed in the years since the Auxiliary came into being. With
the passage oI the Coast Guard Authorization Act oI 1996, the role oI the
Auxiliary expanded greatly. Our participation in all Coast Guard mission areas
(except direct law enIorcement and military action) is now routine.
But, much has remained the same. Then as now, the Auxiliary provides a
reliable Iorce multiplier when the Coast Guard Iaces budget and personnel
shortages. Then as now, Auxiliarists volunteer their time and skills in support oI
the Coast Guard. We were, and continue to be, a key component oI the Coast
Guard.
On the occasion oI the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary`s 71
st
anniversary, let us
celebrate our past, but Iocus on the Iuture. Let`s continue to be the Iinest volunteer
organization in the world.
Thank you Ior your dedication and your continued service to our
organization.
Semper Paratus'
Nicholas Kerigan
National Commodore
Leadership Performance Readiness
THE NATIONAL COMMODORE
OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY
Nicholas Kerigan
The 71
st
Anniversary
of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
June 23, 2010, marked the 71
st
anniversary oI the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
When the Coast Guard Reserve Act was Iirst passed by Congress in 1939, we had
Iour stated purposes:
(1) safetv of life upon navigable waters, (2) promotion of
efficiencv in the operation of pleasure craft, (3) improved
knowledge of and compliance with applicable laws, and (4)
support to the Coast Guard.
Much has changed in the years since the Auxiliary came into being. With
the passage oI the Coast Guard Authorization Act oI 1996, the role oI the
Auxiliary expanded greatly. Our participation in all Coast Guard mission areas
(except direct law enIorcement and military action) is now routine.
But, much has remained the same. Then as now, the Auxiliary provides a
reliable Iorce multiplier when the Coast Guard Iaces budget and personnel
shortages. Then as now, Auxiliarists volunteer their time and skills in support oI
the Coast Guard. We were, and continue to be, a key component oI the Coast
Guard.
On the occasion oI the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary`s 71
st
anniversary, let us
celebrate our past, but Iocus on the Iuture. Let`s continue to be the Iinest volunteer
organization in the world.
Thank you Ior your dedication and your continued service to our
organization.
Semper Paratus'
Nicholas Kerigan
National Commodore
Leadership Performance Readiness
SUMMER 2010
|
9
T
raditionally, Auxiliarists choose the missions they
undertake. Once in a while a mission will choose the
Auxiliarist. That is what happened 18 years ago to
Virginia M. Stanek, Flotilla 14, Denver, Colorado, when a
member handed her his new uniform to give away because his
life had become too busy to serve.
Stanek got permission from her district materials ofcer to
take the uniform to a conference where it sold immediately.
Soon, members from all over began sending her overcoats,
uniforms, and Auxiliary accessories. She enlisted the aid of
her Auxiliarist husband Rudy, who lled their car and sold the
uniforms at conferences near and far.
One of Staneks memorable encounters occurred when a
bashful widower asked for help finding the right used uni-
form. Men dont know sizes, she said, so I looked him over
and handed him a size 42 coat. It t perfectly. Then, I handed
him a size 36 trousers and they fit perfectly. I even found a
combination cap that t like it was tailored just for him.
All the money from the sale of items is returned to the sell-
ers. Members pay good money for their uniforms, she said.
Why not give the money back to them. Some request the
money be sent to their flotilla, division, or the Coast Guard
Mutual Assistance Fund. Stanek makes no commission from
a transaction.
Exchange items are authentic and current. Double knit uni-
forms have been obsolete for many years, she said. I do not
accept Air Force trousers, ties and belts. Out-of-date items, such
as an old-style ofcers cap device, are sold as collectors items.
Buyers should immediately email Stanek when they see an
item they want to buy. She will pack it, weigh the box, compute
the shipping cost and email the buyer with the amount. Rudy
Stanek, an information systems ofcer and past commander,
veries that every buyer is an Auxiliarist in good standing.
Since 1992, the Auxiliar y Uniform Exchange has sold
4,497 pieces and returned $32,745.60 to its owners. Visit
http://users.mo-net.com/district8wr/members/used_uni-
form_exchg.htm. Items must be in good condition, clean and
pressed before they are sent to the exchange.
h0h0kIh6 Thl 0hII0kN
The Auxiliary Uniform Exchange unites sellers and buyers
5TOkY 8Y kONA TkACHTEN8EkG,
Iotn U5, Nc\ cdod, Mn::ncIu:ctt:
Photo by Sue Reams, Flotilla 14, Denver, Colorado.
10
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NAVIGATOR
T
he USCGC Waesche, the second ship in a new class of National
Security Cutters, was commissioned in Alameda, California, at
Coast Guard Island on May 7. This 418-foot cutter is designed
to meet the challenges the Coast Guard will face for years to come
and is named for Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Sr., one of the Coast
Guards greatest commandants and its commandant during World
War II. What many Auxiliarists may not know is that Admiral Waesche
is also the founder of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
5TOkY 8Y C. DOUGLA5 KkOLL,
Iotn 11-1, Inn Ic:ct, Cnonn
New Cutter named
for the Founder
of the CG Auxiliary
U.S. Coast Guard photo.
SUMMER 2010
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11
Most Auxiliarists think of Commodore Malcolm Stuart
Boylan of the Pacic Writers Yacht Club in Los Angeles as the
founder of the Auxiliary because he wrote what is now known
as the Founders Letter. However, the Auxiliary would not
exist were it not for the relentless efforts of Admiral Waesche.
The rst history of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, The Volunteers
(1986) referred to Admiral Waesche as the principal moving
force in the establishment of the Auxiliary. Dr. John A. Tilley,
who wrote the authoritative The United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary: A History, 1939-1999 (2003) describes Waesche as
the individual who had been most responsible for the creation
of the Auxiliary (p. 53). Who was this individual who played
such a important role?
Born in Thurmont, Maryland, on January 6, 1886, he gradu-
ated from the Revenue Cutter Service Academy in 1906 and
was commissioned an ensign. Waesche served in a variety of
aoat assignments until 1915 when he began a tour at Coast
Guard Headquarters. He remained in that position throughout
the First World War. During Prohibition, he, like many Coast
Guard ofcers, were sent to sea to ght rum-runners along
the coasts of the United States.
In 1935 he became an aide to Commandant Harr y G.
Hamlet. It was during his time as aide to the comman-
dant that Boylans letter arrived at Coast Guard head-
quarters. While it didnt make much of an impression
on Commandant Hamlet, it did make one his aide,
Commander Waesche. In 1936 Waesche was appoint-
ed commandant and later became the Coast Guards
rst Vice Admiral and four-star Admiral.
One of the problems faced by Commandant
Waesche was a lack of resources devoted to promot-
ing the safe operations of recreational boats. The
number of collisions, groundings, deaths and inju-
ries was growing. In 1938 the Coast Guard provided
assistance to over 14,000 cases of recreational boat-
ers in distress, usually caused by the boaters lack of
knowledge of boating fundamentals, equipment, and
laws.
Waesche knew he needed more men and more
vessels. Remembering Boylans letter and its sug-
gestion of using volunteer recreational boaters,
Waesche persuaded Congressman Otis Bland of
Virginia to introduce legislation to create a Coast
Guard Reser ve on April 24, 1939. The House of
Representatives passed HR 5966 on May 15 and the
Senate passed it on June 13. On June 23 President
Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Coast Guard
Reserve Act of 1939.
The establishment of this reser ve envisioned
enrolling civilian volunteers who owned boats and
yachts to serve without pay to assist the Coast Guard,
to promote efciency in the operation of motorboats
and yachts, to promote safety of life at sea and to
effect rescues on and over the high seas and upon
the navigable waters, to foster a wider knowledge
of, and better compliance with the laws, rules, and
regulations governing the operation of motorboats
and yachts, and to facilitate other operations of the
Coast Guard. The new reserve was non-military and
had no law enforcement powers. Sound familiar? It
should, as these words form the core mission of the
Auxiliary today.
Commandant Waesche presided over the greatest
expansion of the Coast Guard in its history. He saw
his small peacetime eet swell with Coast Guardsmen man-
ning more than 750 cutters, 3,500 miscellaneous smaller craft,
290 Navy vessels, and 255 Army vessels. Waesche realized that
one of the Coast Guards biggest concerns was having enough
personnel to carry out all of the services responsibilities. On
February 19, 1941, Congress amended the original reserve
act, creating a new military reserve and renaming the original
non-military reserve the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Throughout
his term as commandant, Admiral Waesche was an ardent sup-
porter of the Auxiliary and assigned Lieutenant Commanders
Merlin ONeill and Alfred C. Richmond and Mr. John Myers
to draw up the regulations under which the Auxiliary would
operate. With a few variations the organizational scheme they
created was retained for the next sixty years. Admiral Waesche
also appointed Commander ONeill the rst Chief Director.
After his long tenure as commandant, Admiral Waesche
retired from the Coast Guard January 1, 1946. He died on
October 17, 1946, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Robert Erwin Johnson, in his magisterial Guardians of the Sea:
History of the United States Coast Guard 1915 to Present, (1987)
boldly stated that Russell Randolph Waesche is recognized as
the outstanding commandant of the Coast Guard.
Admiral Russell R. Waesche,
eighth commandant of the
Coast Guard (1936-1946).
Courtesy of U.S. Coast
Guard Historians Ofce.
12
|
NAVIGATOR
0h kFkIL l0, 20l0,
Admiral Thad Allen granted a request for an interview with Chris
Todd and Judy Darby of the Auxiliary public affairs department. It
was an opportunity to ask the admiral how he perceives the Auxiliary as having evolved since he rst learned there
was a volunteer contingent of the Coast Guard, and where he sees it going over the next decade. The conversation
was relaxed and there was no reason to think the last few months of his term as commandant would be anything
other than smooth sailing. Exactly ten days later the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and
within a few days he was in Louisiana serving as the national incident commander in charge of the Department of
Homeland Securitys response to the crisis. In July 2010, though retired, he continues to serve in that capacity.
TODD: What is your rst memory of
the Coast Guard Auxiliary? What was
your initial impression?
ALLEN: I was a lieutenant serving as
group commander for Atlantic City,
Barnegat Bay, and Beach Haven, New
Jersey, in 1979. I was involved in planning
large marine events like the Benihana
races of fshore and the flat-bottomed
Speed Garvey races in Barnegat Bay.
My rst time as a patrol commander was
Night in Venice in July in Ocean City. It
brings out several hundred thousand
spectators on the water and onshore.We
set up safety zones, courses and patrols,
and it led to a lot of involvement with the
Auxiliary. I made friendships that have
lasted my entire career.
In fact, we pushed the envelope in
some cases down there. I got into
trouble when I qualified an Auxiliarist
as coxswain aboard a 44-footer out of
Station Beach Haven. I was told by the
district it was not possible to do that. I
had exceeded my authority.
After Atlantic City I was assigned to
the Coast Guard Cutter Citrus at Coos
Bay, Oregon. After all my great involve-
ment with the Auxiliary in New Jersey
I sought out Auxiliarists and began try-
ing to gure out what to do with them.
As cutter commander, I recruited and
trained a couple of them to do 21-day
patrols with us. They ultimately quali-
fied as quartermasters of the watch,
enabling them to stand watch on the
bridge while we were underway.
I will tell you that by the time I became
group commander at Sector Long Island
Sound, there was nothing I wouldnt use
an Auxiliarist for.
TODD: Looking forward 10-15 years,
how do you think the Auxiliary will
evolve?
ALLEN: New environments will require
new competencies. Organizations are
transitioning. Its much harder to get
people to meet at a certain time every
week to plan an event, then go out
and do it. My guess is that a lot of plan-
ning by Auxiliarists goes on via email
between meetings, so that when you do
have a otilla meeting its more to afrm
those plans. The question is, What are
you doing now that can be enhanced by
social media, and how might it be better
connected to Coast Guard activities?
I think there is a misunderstanding
about there being a generation gap in
information technology. Older folks
have the time, disposition and capabil-
ity to use the internet and I think there
is a growing percentage of older people
actively using social media.
If you take what you already do and
apply social media you can see what a
force multiplier it could be. For exam-
ple, with Citizens Action Network and
Americas Waterway Watch you have the
ability to link people who have eyes on
the water. That can be a very powerful
thing. There are a lot of people who do
nothing but sit around on their porches
all day taking pictures of ships passing
by. They dump their pictures on a web-
site called ShipSpotting.com. In fact, the
cutter Dallas with Auxiliary interpreters
onboard left Crete bound for Georgia
after the Russians invaded, and as it was
going through the straits headed for
Istanbul, pictures of it making that tran-
sit were being posted on ShipSpotting.
There are other sites where you can get
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by the time I became group commander at Sector Long Island
Sound, there was nothing I wouldnt use an Auxiliarist for.
SUMMER 2010
|
13
real-time AIS [ed. automatic identica-
tion system, a short-range coastal track-
ing system used by ships] information.
Think about the implications of that for
creating better situational awareness.
TODD: Does that tie in with the
new Standard Operational Planning
Process (SOPP)?
ALLEN: SOPP is our version of what the
Department of Defense [ed. DOD] calls
Global Force Management. Its an effort
to allocate resources, of making macro
decisions on how much effort to apply
across our eleven statutory missions. At
DOD the concept is Force Presentation,
a doctrinal term in the armed forces.
For example, if you want the army to go
somewhere for a combat operation, you
make a request for forces. You have to
ask for something specic. You cant say,
I want 10,000 troops. You ask for a
brigade combat team with the following
enablers: engineer battalion, combat air
support battalion. Its written in a way
that someone can look at the request and
understand what capability you want.
The challenge for the Coast Guard
is to create a force presentation model
that makes us understandable to peo-
ple outside the Coast Guard. We know
what we do, and when we engage in an
internal operation that calls for a surge,
its easy for us to go to the Reserve or
the Auxiliary and say, We need boat
crews. But is ver y hard for a DOD
commander that wants our help to write
a request for forces and explain in terms
of force presentation what increment of
Coast Guard he wants.
The more you can standardi ze
Auxiliary operational capability in a way
that it can be incrementally asked for,
the easier it will be to integrate Auxiliary
forces into our SOPP system.
Integration of the Auxiliary will make
managing operations at the sector level
easier, too. Right now all we know is that
there is something called an operational
facility in the Auxiliary. Its not clear
what that is and theres a big difference
between a Boston Whaler capable of
operating in the back of Barnegat and a
37-foot sportsherman that can go off-
shore and do search and rescue outside
the jetties.
TODD: How should Coast Guard
Auxiliary members prepare them-
selves for the leadership transitions
to both a new commandant, and a
new national commodore, in 2010?
ALLEN: Shortly after the change of
command, subject to his confirmation,
Admiral Papp will issue overarching guid-
ance. Everyone should be tuned to that.
I have to compliment the Auxiliary.
Once I indicated where I wanted to take
the Coast Guard, the Auxiliary got out
ahead of us and beat us on modernizing
its leadership structure. The ability to
interpret the cues and react organiza-
tionally is one of the hallmarks of the
Auxiliary.
TODD: Will you consider joining the
Coast Guard Auxiliary in your retire-
ment? If so, what Auxiliary mission
areas interest you?
ALLEN: If and when that were to hap-
pen, I have no choice. I made a prom-
ise years ago that if I afliate with the
Auxiliar y it would be through Mar y
Larsen and the folks at Lake Lanier.
TODD: How can we recruit more
active duty people on their retire-
ment?
ALLEN: You do a pretty good job
already, but one thing you might do is
talk to our human resources folks and
get a check-of f box for the Auxiliary
on a form all active duty fill out when
they leave the service. The career inten-
tions form offers options for joining the
reserve, but the Auxiliary could get a
block to check that would ask, Are you
interested in affiliating with the Coast
Guard Auxiliary, and, depending on
the zip code for their home of record,
someone could provide them a contact
at the nearest otilla.
Only two days after
being sworn in as
Commandant of the
Coast Guard, Admiral
Thad Allen climbed
the 147-foot foremast
of the CGC Eagle
during a cruise along
the Potomac River.
U.S. Coast Guard
photograph by Petty
Ofcer Second Class
Susan Blake.
14
|
NAVIGATOR
A
uxiliary interpreters Oscar Gallo, California Maritime
Flotilla 54 and Rene Martin, Flotilla 59, San Pedro,
California, returned to the African Partnership Station
(APS) in April 2010 to serve aboard the Navys 600-foot dock
landing ship USS Gunston Hall as translators between the
French-speaking people of West Africa and the English-
speaking members of APS and the U.S. military. Students rep-
resenting the West African navies of Senegal, Nigeria, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Togo were instructed in small
engine maintenance, meteorology, oceanography, search and
rescue, anti-terrorism, stress management and leadership.
Martin translated boat handling and navigation courses
taught by the Coast Guard international training team from
Yorktown, Virginia, led by Lieutenant Graham, Chief Warrant
Ofcer Schlemmer and three petty ofcers.
Gallo was assigned to Navy Lieutenant Brandon Le and
translated the meteorological and oceanography courses for
students from the Senegal navy and civilian students from the
university.
Both classes were successful, with very good student par-
ticipation, said Gallo. After learning to do SAR planning and
search patterns by longhand over a period of four days, we
showed the students the AUXSAR pattern software. They were
surprised when we told them the Coast Guard had added the
AUXSAR pattern program to their CDs. All went home with a
fabulous gift.
After the two classes were completed at the Senegal navy
base, the APS got underway for maneuvers with the Spanish
navy vessel Centinela and a Senegal navy ship.
The Gunston Hall moored at the port of Dakar on April 22
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Rene Martin, an Auxiliary interpreter deployed to Senegal with the African
Partnership Station, translates for the Coast Guard during a boat handling
exercise with members of a West African navy. [ed. note: The occupants of the vessel
are wearing personal otation devices that are worn like a fanny pack around the waist.]
Oscar Gallo, an Auxiliary interpreter,
translates for Petty Ofcer Clare, a Navy
meteorologist, and a Senegalese Ph.D.
candidate during the launch of a weather
observation balloon.
SUMMER 2010
|
15
and the two Auxiliarists depart-
ed for home.
The 2010 mission to West
Africa aboard the Gunston
Hall was part of a series of
operational and humanitarian
missions to West Africa by the APS. U.S. military person-
nel and 70 members of NATO representing the countries of
Denmark, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
Malta, the United Kingdom and Brazil comprise the station.
Operational support for the West African countries benet-
ting from the Gunston Halls visit comes from naval instruc-
tors from the United States and Europe, and others from
the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard and National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Humanitarian
efforts provide medical sup-
plies, treatment, and training
that help local doctors in their
practices.
Members of the USCG
Auxiliary Interpreter Corps
are selected for the APS mission according to the Navys
needs. In-country experience and knowledge of the culture
and traditions of the counties where the applied language is
spoken are essential. Most tasks require not only knowledge
of Coast Guard terminology, but also complete understand-
ing of nautical terms and Coast Guard operational skills, as
well as teaching and engineering competencies. Klaus G.E.
Baumann is the Director of Interpreter Corps and a member
of Auxiliary Flotilla 14-7, St. Augustine, Florida.
Rene Martin, an Auxiliary interpreter deployed with the African
Partnership Station aboard the USS Gunston Hall, talking with
students in the Coast Guards search and rescue class.
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16
|
NAVIGATOR
U.S. Coast Guard photo.
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SUMMER 2010
|
17
A
pproximately fty miles south-
east of Venice, Louisiana, the
Mississippi Canyon Block 252
(approximately LAT 28 44
18 N, LON -88 21 54 W) is a tract of
seabed nearly a mile beneath the oceans
surface that BP Exploration & Production,
Inc. leased for oil drilling and produc-
tion. On the evening of April 20, 2010, at
approximately 10:00 p.m. CDT, a large re-
ball engulfed the drill platform at Block 252
known as Deepwater Horizon.
DEEPWATER
HORIZON
The
Auxiliarys
Response
18
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NAVIGATOR
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Auxiliarist Larry Shaw,
Flotilla 89, Montgomery,
Alabama, shoots
video footage for a
documentary on the
Auxiliarys response to
the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill.
SUMMER 2010
|
19
W
ithin minutes of the explosion, the U.S. Coast
Guard issued a notice and began a massive search
and rescue operation. Helicopters, planes and cut-
ters converged on the area from various stations to
hunt for survivors. By the next day, April 21, the Coast Guard
had accounted for all but eleven of the 126 workers believed to
have been on the rig. Seventeen injured members of the rigs
crew were evacuated from the scene via helicopter. The Coast
Guard continued searching for the eleven missing workers for
two more days before nally suspending the search at approxi-
mately 5:00 p.m. on April 23.
Efforts by multiple ships to douse the ames were unsuccess-
ful and, after burning for approximately 36 hours, the Deepwater
Horizon oil drilling platform sank to the bottom of the Gulf of
Mexico on April 22.
With its duty to save lives completed, the Coast Guard quickly
realized that it had a potentially massive environmental disaster
with which to contend. The accident left two breaks in the well
pipe, nearly a mile below the surface. Through those breaks,
crude oil spewed unabated in quantities difcult to estimate. As
the response continued, estimates of the ow rose.
DIVISIONS STEP UP
What began as a search and rescue operation evolved into
an environmental safety operation with Admiral Thad Allen
serving as national incident commander for the Department
of Homeland Securitys coordinated response. In south-
east Louisiana, volunteers were called from Division Four to
assist at an area command center (ACC) established at the
Royal Dutch Shell Training and Conference Center in Robert,
Louisiana, and at a command post in Houma, Louisiana.
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At Station Pensacola, Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Admiral Robert J. Papp
Jr., Coast Guard commandant, rallies members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
and active duty on the day of the Auxiliarys 71st birthday.
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20
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NAVIGATOR
On April 28, another incident com-
mand post was set up at Coast Guard
Sector Mobile. Captain Steven Poulin,
sector commander, requested that
Auxiliarists in Divisions One, Three, and
Eight of District Eight-Coastal Region
stand ready to fill various positions as
needed. On April 30, responses to the
call-up started coming in. John Jef f
Davis, Flotilla 39, Mobile, Auxiliary liai-
son ofcer for Sector Mobile, said, I was
overwhelmed with the calls and email
messages I received from Auxiliarists
in the district. By May 2, the incident
command post was upgraded to a uni-
ed command center (UCC) and moved
to the Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama.
Davis, along with Larry King, Flotilla
38, Gautier, Mississippi, district captain-
East, and Larry Jensen, public af fairs
ofcer, Flotilla 39, reported to the uni-
fied command center to begin coordi-
nating Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer
services.
Over the next three days, Auxiliarists
were assigned to various duties at the
command center in resource manage-
ment, the situation unit, logistics and
data entry. Auxiliarists were also given
eld assignments at equipment and per-
sonnel staging areas, vessel decontami-
nation sites and emergency operations
centers.
BP, named by the federal government
as the party responsible for handling the
clean up and oil recovery efforts, initiat-
ed a Vessel of Opportunity (VoO) pro-
gram, enlisting boat captains and their
vessels to perform tasks such as per-
sonnel transport, boom deployment and
management, and oil skimming. The
vessels were required to be inspected
for safety prior to their acceptance in the
VoO program and Auxiliarists qualied
as uninspected passenger vessel (UPV)
examiners reported to the unied com-
mand center on May 3 for a brieng and
to receive their area assignments.
By May 15, 121 Auxiliarists had signed
up to work and listed their civilian pro-
fessions: GPS geographers, chemists,
engineers, 100-ton licensed captains,
commercial salvors, interpreters, pho-
tographers, paramedics, pilots, welders,
cooks, attorneys, industrial hygienists,
OSHA technicians, former Gulf Strike
Team members, heavy machinery oper-
ators, and computer technicians.
In his report to Larr y Richmond,
district commodore, on May 18, King
said that 38 Auxiliarists were working
through the unified command center
in Mobile: three on the command staff,
four at the decontamination center, two
Jim Marcotte,
Kim Sheldon, and
Alexander Ilnyckyj,
Flotilla 17, Pensacola,
Florida, were assigned
to the Escambia
County Emergency
Operations Center.
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SUMMER 2010
|
21
UPV Inspector Stan Smith, Flotilla 14, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Florida, inspects ares on a vessel
whose captain is applying for BPs Vessel of Opportunity program.
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U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Petty Ofcer Joe Kane.
Oil containment booms are
staged on Dauphin Island,
Alabama, in preparation for
deployment to areas around
the Gulf Coast. Five Auxiliarists
worked at materials staging areas
(Resources) checking equipment
operation and inventory.
22
|
NAVIGATOR
UPV Inspector Joe
Reichal, Flotilla 14,
discusses vessel
requirements with a
boat captain applying
for the Vessel of
Opportunity program.
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SUMMER 2010
|
23
in the situation unit, four in data entry,
six in resources, 13 at EOCs, three
doing UPV inspections, two in logistics
and one Auxiliary aviation (AUX AIR)
pilot on one-hour standby.
In Robert, Louisiana, two Auxiliarists
were assigned duty at the area com-
mand center. Ryan Bank headed up a
team to glean information about the oil
spill and distribute information through
various social media outlets. Jay Culotta,
Nor thlake Flotilla 42, Mandeville,
Louisiana, spent a week at the area com-
mand center in Robert assisting Coast
Guard Captain Thomas Hooper, the
deputy area commander. Following that
assignment, Culotta spent a week at
the incident command post in Kenner,
Louisiana, tracking personnel. With
nine hours notice, Auxiliarists set up a
processing procedure at a Kenner hotel
which eventually received over 1,000
active and reserve Coast Guard.
DIVISION 4 AUXILIARISTS ASSIST
AT THE DEEPWATER HORIZON
JOINT INVESTIGATION
During the Deepwater Horizon Joint
Investigation, held at the Radisson
Hotel in Kenner, May 11 and 12 and
May 25 through 29, Division Four
Auxiliarists in southeast Louisiana,
Dagmar Whittemore of Flotilla 4-10,
Bill Wellemeyer of Flotilla 42, and Mike
Esposito of Flotilla 47, acted as liaisons
to the press, attorneys, and the public.
The team facilitated the ow of pedes-
trian traf fic and escorted members of
the press, including reporters from
CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC, to the hear-
ing room. They set up and tested audio
equipment, organized and responded
to emails, ran internet searches and
scanned blogs. They assisted with press
releases when most of the public affairs
crew returned to the command center
in Robert. According to Whittemore,
This was a unique and exciting oppor-
tunity.
AUXILIARY ROLE IN
UNINSPECTED PASSENGER
VESSEL EXAMINATIONS
Larry Jensen was a regular Auxiliary
volunteer at Sector Mobile in the public
af fairs department and was activated
for the joint information center almost
immediately by Lieutenant McKnight,
public affairs ofcer at Sector Mobile.
He was soon assigned to the JIC at
Sector Mobile where he answered calls,
ran down information and referred que-
ries. He helped with compiling the list
of essential equipment for the vessels of
opportunity and escorted the media on
tours of Coast Guard facilities.
On May 3, Coast Guard Commander
James Stewart met with Auxiliary ves-
sel examiners to discuss the role of
Uninspected Passenger Vessel (UPV)
examiners in a proposed Vessel of
Oppor tunity (VoO) program which
would allow commercial and recreation-
al boat owners to assist in BPs response
to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Qualified Auxiliarists were assigned
to conduct UPV examinations on com-
mercial vessels carrying no more than
six passengers and vessel safety checks
(VSCs) on recreational boats. An appro-
priate UPV or VSC decal was issued
when the minimum safety equipment
was aboard the vessel and it satisfied
BPs requirement for a Coast Guard
dockside examination.
Stan Smith and Joe Reichal, Flotilla
14, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Florida,
established an operating location at
Zekes Marina in Orange Beach. With
the help of the marina manager, cap-
tains were contacted and those who
wanted to participate were scheduled
for an examination. John Gibson, Flotilla
14, conducted exams in Destin and Fort
Walton Beach. At press time the mis-
sion is ongoing.
Boom protecting
Pensacola Bay from
oil intrusion.
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24
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NAVIGATOR
AUX AIR PROVIDES
LOCAL INFORMATION
AUX AIR pilot Jim Coleman, Flotilla
32, Sailboat Bay, Alabama, made several
ights in support of Deepwater Horizon.
The most useful were familiarization
flights for Coast Guard people new to
the area, said Coleman. Local pilots
and crews have extensive local knowl-
edge and can provide information and
insight that cant be gleaned from study-
ing a chart.
I also made overflights with Coast
Guard members tasked with planning
how to preserve oil spill recovery assets
in case of a hurricane.
I made one media flight. It is sur-
prising how difcult it is to identify and
photograph oil on the water. Those who
have no experience mistake cloud shad-
ows, slicks from schooling sh, and tide
lines as oil. With training by the Coast
Guard and experience, Auxiliary pilots
and crews are pretty good at identify-
ing oil, and there is a lot of it down here.
Seeing how spread out the oil is makes
a powerful impression.
I was really proud of the immediate
availability of our Auxiliarists in support
of their sectors, stated Captain James
Montgomery, Director of the Auxiliary,
Eighth District. While the ICS sys-
tem went through its growing pains,
Auxiliarists were in the eld, being the
eyes and ears of the sector and assist-
ing with several levels of the response.
Once active duty and Reservists from all
over the nation started reporting in, the
Auxiliarists stepped back and let them
assume the major roles. It was the best
example of immediate surge capacity
that I have seen and made the value of
the Auxiliary to the sector commanders
pretty evident.
DIVISION 4ON THE DOCKS
AND PATROLLING THE
SHORELINE
According to Captain Montgomery, on
any given day, 28-30 Auxiliarists worked
at the sector office in New Orleans and
at various locations in the eld. Division
Four Auxiliarists examined over 230 sh-
ing vessels, failing about half on the rst
pass and with a 94-percent passing rate on
the second pass.
Two Auxiliary boat crews maintained
safety zones around boom deployments
and a no wake zone. Daily patrols by
coxswains and crew in Division Four
checked the positions of oil booms
placed by BP contractors to protect
the fragile marine environment in the
Rigolets, Lake Borgne and the intra-
coastal water way to the Pearl River.
Farther west, Auxiliarists patrolled
Grand Isle, Louisiana, where the oil
At Pensacola Naval Air
Station, the crew of the
USCGC Oak prepared its
oil spill recovery equipment
before the 50-member crew
headed to where the oil
was heaviest in the Gulf.
Larry Jensen Flotilla 39,
Mobile, Alabama, (center
right) served at the Joint
Information Center under
Lieutenant McKnight from
Sector Mobile. On the day
of the photo, I was tasked
with escorting members of
the media aboard the Oak
for photos and a brieng by
the cutter commander.
SUMMER 2010
|
25
Admiral Papp
Rallies the
Coast Guard
Shipmates,
Once again we nd our service
answering the call All Hands on
Deck. What started out on April
20, 2010, as a search and rescue
operation, resulting in the tragic
loss of eleven lives aboard the
Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, has
evolved into the largest offshore
oil spill in U.S. history. While a par-
tial cap is recovering some oil, the
spill continues in record quantities.
The Coast Guard has the lead for
this response. The people of the
gulf, indeed the entire nation, are
depending on our service. They are
depending on you.
This response is our number one
service priority. We are all in this
together. That is why I want every
Coast Guardsman to understand
that it is their duty to support and
sustain this monumental effort.
Sustainability will require both
exibility to deploy personnel
and resources to the Deepwater
Horizon response when called
upon, and at the same time con-
tinuing to perform our many other
vital missions across our area oper-
ations. We have a proud history
of doing exactly that; you need
look no further than the recent
examples of our Hurricane Katrina
and Haitian Earthquake response.
The urgency of this response is no
different and will require no less
effort.
Our present mission is clear:
make every effort to tackle this spill
at the source, on the sea, and as a
last resort, when it comes ashore.
Time tested Coast Guard Pub One
[http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/
pub1.asp] principles of operations
still apply: particularly clear objec-
tive, effective presence, unity of
effort, on-scene initiative, and exi-
bility. We will continue to direct the
ow of additional equipment and
personnel to sustain this response
and maintain the offensive.
This is the most challenging
environmental response our service
has ever faced. We will lean hard
into it and meet it head on. We will
make every effort to protect the
precious natural resource that is
the Gulf of Mexico and our citizens
who live along it and depend upon
it for their livelihoods.
Stand a taut watch
Semper Paratus.
rst came ashore. They checked for oil
slicks and reported on damage to and
the placement of booms.
JUST THE BEGINNING?
According to Jim Liverett, Division
Four commander, Auxi l i ari sts i n
Di vi si ons One, Three and Four
worked nearly 7,000 volunteer hours
in response to the Deepwater Horizon
Spill of National Significance, and the
response continues. Various attempts to
stem the ow of crude oil and methane
gas from the wellhead have provided
only a very limited decrease in the ow.
Underwater plumes of oil have been
discovered; oil slicks and tar balls have
washed ashore. A tropical storm in the
Gulf of Mexico temporarily halted the
progress of efforts to stop the oil ow.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary contin-
ues its effort and additional call-ups are
expected, most specifically for vessel
examiners and possibly for Auxiliarists
with specialties in marine environmental
protection. It is likely that more mem-
bers will complete the PQS for assistant
pollution investigators as the situation in
the gulf is expected to continue for many
months, suggested Richard Clinchy,
member of Flotilla 17, Pensacola,
Florida, and chief of staff, District Eight-
Coastal. At press time, oil has washed
onto beaches from Fourchon Beach
on Barataria Bay, Louisiana, to Panama
City, Florida, and continues to ow from
the broken wellhead.
On June 23, the 71
st
birthday of the
Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Commandant
of the Coast Guard, Admiral Robert
Papp met with active duty, Reserves
and Auxiliarists at the Coast Guard sta-
tion in Pensacola, where he praised the
Auxiliarys effort.
U.S. Navy photo by Anne Thrower.
26
|
NAVIGATOR
District One-North
In Maine, Governor John Baldacci
signed a NSBW proclamation.
Flotilla 65, New Bedford,
Massachusetts, took NSBW to the air-
ways. Mary Baumgartner, otilla com-
mander, Paul Sadeck, a coxswain respon-
sible for saving three boaters last fall,
and Mike McCormack, public affairs of-
cer, were featured on WBSM AM-1420 in
New Bedford. Phone responses revealed
that many listeners had not previously
heard of the Auxiliary and its public edu-
cation mission. Two new members said
they signed up after hearing this rst on-
air program.
In Boston, Auxiliary Night at the Pops
brought out forty-two Auxiliarists in din-
ner dress white jacket who were saluted
with a rendition of Semper Paratus by
the Boston Symphony Orchestra, con-
ducted by Keith Lockhart.
District One-South
Commanders district-wide received
NSBW proclamations from mayors,
assemblies and senators. Many presen-
tations were media events. Auxiliarists
gave Paddle Smart presentations, held
safe boating classes and performed
vessel safety checks (VSCs). There were
Kids in Water events, Coast Guard open
houses and air shows. Auxiliarists distrib-
uted safe boating literature and got the
Wear It! message out to the public.
Jay Millard, Division Seven com-
mander, and Walmart Human Resources
Coordinator Josiane Charlot teamed
up to show shoppers how to wear a
life jacket. The South Norwalk Walmart
donated $250 to the local otilla, which
will be used to help fund Paddle Smart
public education classes from Faireld,
Connecticut, to Mamaroneck, New York.
Vessel examiners from the Connecticut
towns of South Windsor, East Hartford,
and Clinton (with Auxiliary guests from
Key West, Florida) conducted VSCs
between the Bridges and Ragged Rock
Marinas in Old Saybrook.
District Five-North
Flotilla 72, Tuckerton/Little Egg
Harbor, New Jersey, installed Wear It!
signs at local marinas, conducted VSCs
at boat ramps and marinas and taught
boating safety classes.
In Division Eight, Lieutenant Scott
Murphy, commanding ofcer of Station
Cape May, New Jersey, BM1 Dayna
Schock, and Bruce Long, district cap-
tain-East, organized teams of active duty
and Auxiliarists that conducted safety
checks over two weekends. The teams
held vessel safety check at over 19 local
marinas and several public boat ramps
while discussing the importance of wear-
ing a life jacket. In a program initiated by
John Tredinnick, Flotilla 82, Cape May,
the teams also installed aluminum 2 x 2
signs with a life jacket message at mari-
nas, fuel docks, and boat ramps. Overall,
14 Auxiliary vessel examiners conducted
86 vessel checks and installed 30 safety
signs.
In York, Pennsylvania, life jackets were
displayed at the local K-Mart store.
k WkkF0F
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Thl 0ISTkICTS

ear It! was the theme across the nation for National Safe Boating
Week (NSBW), May 22-28, 2010. The boating public was urged to
wear a life jacket when on the water because life jackets save lives.
Public safety announcements (PSAs) encouraging life jacket wear
were heard on radio and TV and printed in the news media. Vessel examiners were
at the docks advising people to Wear It! Auxiliarists gave out safe boating pamphlets,
posters and decals, reminding boaters to Wear It! At boating safety events in every
district, Auxiliarists urged the public to wear a life jacket when on the water.
The National Safe Boating Council, joining with the Canadian Safe Boating Council
and other partners, including the Auxiliary, held an Inatable Life Jacket World
Record event just prior to NSBW. Over 1,000 participants in 29 states, Washington,
D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada simultaneously inated their life jackets on
May 20. Here are the highlights of NSBW events nationwide by district.
5TOkY 8Y HAkklET HOWAkD
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NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK |
SUMMER 2010
|
27
NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK |
ABOVE: A mock graveyard
containing 168 wooden
crosses with orange life
jackets serves to remind
Alaskans of those who died
in water-related accidents
over the past 10 years.
Photo by Roy Stoddard, Whittier Flotilla 24.
LEFT: James W. Kight,
Flotilla 82, Cape May, New
Jersey and FN Maddy
Taggart install a life jacket
safety sign at Utschs
Marina in Cape May.
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28
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NAVIGATOR
District Five-South
Division 23 participated in the second
annual Annapolis Nautical Flea Market
at the Navy-Marine Stadium. Caryl
Weiss, Chris Jensen and Dale Helms
gave out information on public educa-
tion classes, vessel safety checks, and a
new Maryland state boating law regard-
ing life jackets. At Annapolis City Dock,
Coast Guard Sector Baltimore gave pub-
lic tours of the USCGC James Rankin.
A new North Carolina law requiring a
boating course for every operator under
26 years of age created a big demand
for safe boating classes and vessel
examinations. Outer Banks Flotilla 16-7,
North Carolina, presented boating safety
to 1,534 elementary students in North
Carolinas Dare and Currituck counties.
The otillas elementary education team
made 19 water safety presentations to
10 schools in nine days. Team members
included Frank Spruill, Susan Goodin,
Debbi Edelman, Kelli Miller, Hershel
Read, Ann Peters, Joan Wright, Nancy
DAndrade, Karyn Marra, Lorraine Coyle
and Peter McOrmond.
Governors Sonny Perdue of Georgia,
Beverly Perdue of North Carolina and
Robert McDonnell of Virginia signed
NSBW proclamations.
In Virginia and Maryland, paddleboat-
ers learned safe boating skills. Jordan
Lake, Sheron Harris Lake and the Cape
Fear River were VSC hot spots.
District Seven
During NSBW the Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Company blimps were in the
skies over Florida, Ohio and California
with scrolling messages: File a Float
Plan -- Life Jackets Save Lives -- WEAR
IT -- Get an EPIRB. At Watson Island in
Miami, during a press conference for
NSBW activities, the craft was overhead,
accompanied on the ground by more
than a dozen local, county, state law
enforcement, Coast Guard and Auxiliary
patrol vessels, re rescue boats, TV and
local media outlets.
The Wear It For Life, Operation Life
Jacket Tour kicked off at Sisters Creek
Boat Ramp in Jacksonville, Florida,
before heading south on the Intracoastal
Waterway. It made ve intermediate
stops before Watson Island in Miami.
The event was a joint effort of the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, the Coast Guard and other
local partners that offer water safety
products and services. Activities includ-
ed vessel safety checks, safety displays
and games for the children.
Flotilla 15-1 promoted life jacket wear
with a boat parade on the Crystal River.
They staged a public affairs exhibit at
the local West Marine store and con-
ducted VSCs in the West Marine parking
lot. To encourage sign-ups for the o-
tillas boating safety class, free life jack-
ets were offered to the rst 20 people
to enroll. Radio station WRGO 102.7FM
broadcast PSAs publicizing the Wear It!
theme. Morris Harvey and Linda Jones,
Flotilla 15-1, discussed life jacket wear on
WYKE-TV.
In Puerto Rico, the action was at
Aquadilla Mall. Flotilla Aquadilla mem-
bers demonstrated proper life jacket
wear and Air Station Borinquen offered
a helicopter demonstration. A Coast
Guard boat was on display. At Isla Verde,
Flotilla Fajardo members took part in
paddle surng events.
District Eight-Coastal
Texas Governor Dick Perry signed an
NSBW proclamation.
Division Five members brought
Coastie to Waterama, a two-day safety
and water fun event for fourth graders,
and the Sandy Lake Fishing Expo, held
for the Boy Scouts.
Division Seven received proclama-
tions in support of NSBW from the Texas
House of Representatives, the Bexar
County Commissioners, the City of
Bulverde, the City of Three Rivers, Comal
County Commissioners, and the com-
missioners of the City of San Antonio.
Flotilla 17, Pensacola, Florida, and local
Sea Scouts performed over 320 vessel
safety checks.
Flotilla 21, Rio Grande, Texas, partici-
pated in Armed Forces Day at Fort Bliss.
Flotilla 24, Albuquerque, New
Mexico, gave TV and radio presenta-
tions and had vessel safety checks at
Lakes Ute and Cochiti. Rio Rancho and
Albuquerque issued proclamations.
Flotilla 25, Elephant Butte, New
Mexico, and staff at Brantley Lake State
Park gave vessel checks at the Walmart
parking lot.
Flotilla 32, Foley, Alabama, did over
55 vessel safety checks at four locations,
including a private marina at Sailboat
Bay condos. The mayor of Foley issued a
proclamation.
Flotilla 39, Mobile, Alabama, visited
a preschool in Daphne, Alabama. Larry
Jensen, public affairs staff ofcer, spoke
to the children about the importance of
life jackets and swimming safety.
Flotilla 74, San Antonio, Texas,
hosted the annual Sea Bird exercises.
Vessel safety checks were offered at
the Cullingham Ramp on Lake Choke
Canyon and an incident command sys-
tem exercise simulated a downed aircraft
in the lake. An Auxiliary vessel was fea-
tured in the Converse, Texas, Memorial
Day parade. Auxiliarists offered vessel
safety checks at the ramps and safety
patrol on Canyon Lake.
On Memorial Day weekend, Flotilla
7-10, Victoria, Texas, joined civilian vol-
unteers to honor veterans from around
the country and promote the message
of safe boating. Warriors Weekend
brought out hundreds of veterans, their
families and the general public for a day
of shing and fellowship on the water
and at an open house hosted by Coast
Guard Station Port OConnor. Dennis
Whitley helped organize the launch area,
while Jim Vass, vice national commo-
dore, coxswained his patrol vessel with
Anne Lockwood, director of education,
boat crew. This is one of the most inspi-
rational volunteer efforts I have seen,
said Lockwood. Safely organizing and
maneuvering this many boats in a small,
conned area is an amazing task. At
the station, Laurette Snider, otilla com-
mander, with Kent Miller and Charles
Shons, organized an Auxiliary exhibit
where they provided boating safety
information and used games to attract
the youngsters.
Guillermo Vildosola, Flotilla 10-1, East
Texoma, Texas, accepted proclamations
from McKinney, Plano, Euless, Frisco,
and Southlake. The awarding of the
proclamations aired on local television in
Frisco and Plano.
While on a patrol, Lee Ellershaw,
Flotilla 10-2, West Texoma, Texas, told
radio listeners about the Auxiliary and
drove home the Wear It! message.
Ned Newman and Tommie Kirksmith-
Newman spoke to the Gainesville
Kiwanis Club on safe boating and
received a proclamation from the Cook
County judge.
NSBW |
SUMMER 2010
|
29
NSBW |
At Station Channel
Islands Harbor, Oxnard,
California, Alan Carver,
The Islands Flotilla 73,
delivers life jackets to
guests cruising Channel
Islands Harbor on the
Blacktip and the stations
41 utility boat. The
occasion was the stations
annual Safe Boating Expo.
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LEFT: Flotilla 65, New Bedford,
Massachusetts, on WBSM AM-1420.
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ABOVE: Betty Zoellner, Flotilla 3-13, Black Cat, Missouri,
discusses boating safety equipment in an interview on St.
Louis Today, Station KSDK.
Photo by Doug Edelman, Flotilla 3-13, Black Cat, Missouri.
BELOW: Angie Ginn, Flotilla 15, Randy Houk, Flotilla 19, Will
Tisch, Flotilla 15, John Wallen, Flotilla 15, Skip Thompson,
Flotilla 15, Frank Harris, Flotilla 15 and Jim Davis, Flotilla 19,
color guard from Mission Bay and Coronado otillas.
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30
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NAVIGATOR
Ed Beakey, Flotilla 10-5, Red River,
Texas, arranged for an electronic dis-
play of a safe boating message on
approximately 385 buses and 95 light rail
trains in the greater Dallas area. Beakey
was also interviewed on Channel 12,
Sherman, Texas.
District Eight-Eastern
Vessel examiners Ron and Lida Knipp,
Mid-Ohio Flotilla 18-6, assisted members
of the Army Corps of Engineers in two
water safety programs using Corey,
the Corps safe boating robot. Over
700 elementary school children learned
water safety skills.
Flotilla 11-2, Nashville, Tennessee, and
Sea Scouts performed VSCs at Schutes
Landing, Old Hickory Lake.
District Eight-Western Rivers
Governor Michael Beebe of Arkansas
signed a NSBW proclamation.
Betty Zoellner, Flotilla 3-13, Black
Cat, Missouri, discussed boating safety
equipment in an interview on St. Louis
Today, Station KSDK, Channel 5.
Channel 11, Little Rock, interviewed
Dick and Janet Kelley as they performed
VSCs on Lake Hamilton.
Division 16 partnered with several
outdoor advertising agencies to erect
ve billboards publicizing NSBW. From
Tulsa to Lawton to Oklahoma City, the
ads urged eight million people to Wear
It, Oklahoma!
At Shutes Landing on Old Hickory
Lake near Nashville, Tennessee, Flotilla
11-2 and local Sea Scouts from Ship 851,
Old Hickory, Tennessee, and Ship 360,
Lebanon, Tennessee, provided vessel
safety checks.
Flotilla 12, Denver, brought Coastie
to an exhibit at the Bass Pro Shop in
Denver, Colorado.
District Nine-Eastern
Flotilla 42, Rochester, New York, joined
Coast Guard Station Rochester at an
open house, where they demonstrated
safety skills such as heaving a line and
extinguishing a re. Coastie was on hand
for the kids and local TV covered the
event.
District Nine-Central
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
signed a NSBW proclamation.
In Toledo, Ohio, About Boating Safety
classes were held at Toledo Hospital and
at Lost Peninsula Marina.
About 485 students from Chippewa
Middle School in Okemos, Michigan,
attended a safe boating presentation
given by the Auxiliary. Two students won
life jackets for their participation in the
event.
Kim Cole, Flotilla 22-5, Jackson,
Michigan, Joe Macri, Flotilla 20-3, Port
Huron, Michigan, and Maryann Gregoria,
Flotilla 18-10, Trenton, Michigan, pre-
sented fth graders a class on pollution
and water safety at the Rouge River
Water Festival, University of Michigan-
Dearborn.
District Nine-Western
Public tours were offered at Coast
Guard Stations Muskegon, Holland and
Milwaukee. At Green Bay, Wisconsin,
Coastie attracted all ages and Paddle
Sport activities were held. Division 39,
Wilmette/Chicago, held a river canoe
marathon in Des Plaines and Division 43
held a paddlefest in Milwaukee.
Enoch Clarke-Bey, instructor, and
Janice L. Jones, public affairs of-
cer, Flotilla 35-16, 59th Street Harbor,
Chicago, gave a hypothermia and cold
water survival presentation to boaters at
Jackson Park Yacht Club. Thomas Britt,
M.D. of the College of Health Sciences,
Chicago State University, moderated.
Water temperature and its impact on
the time for a person to reach exhaus-
tion or unconsciousness were discussed
and questions were answered about the
causes of hypothermia and rst aid for a
victim. Dr. Britt dispelled several myths
about the expected time a person can
survive in temperatures from icy to 70 to
80 degrees and the effects alcohol have
on the body.
District 11-North
Vessel examination and public affairs
exhibits were displayed throughout the
district. At South Beach Yacht Harbor,
Flotilla 17, Point Bonita, members staffed
a public information table and offered
VSCs.
Flotillas 41 and 49, San Jose and
Silicon Valley, respectively, distributed
safe boating literature and conducted
VSCs at Anderson Lake. West Marine
stores in San Carlos, Santa Cruz, Santa
Rosa, Saratoga and Sonoma hosted pub-
lic affairs exhibits.
Auxiliarists assisted at open houses
at Coast Guard Stations Bodega Bay,
Golden Gate and Monterey.
Mayor Albert Boro of San Rafael and
dignitaries of Canyon, Benecia and
Vallejo signed NSBW proclamations.
In Napa, radio station KVYN broad-
cast safe boating PSAs.
At Lake Sonoma, about 150 kids par-
ticipated in a Boats n Kids program at
the Richmond YMCA.
District 11-South
Division Sevens Safe Boating Expo at
Station Channel Islands Harbor hosted
a crowd that enjoyed a simulated air/sea
rescue, free inspections of trailerable
boats and ares and tours of the sta-
tions 87-foot cutter Blacktip.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed
a NSBW proclamation. Flotilla 10-8
partnered with the Maricopa Sheriffs
Department and state and local agen-
cies to provide free vessel exams, life
jacket information and safe boating class
schedules.
Flotilla 16, Oceanside, California, orga-
nized an information center at Camp
Pendletons Safety Stand Down event
where they displayed PWCs, life jackets,
brochures and other items.
Jim Davis, Flotilla 19, Coronado,
California, taught a safety class at West
Marine in San Diego and demonstrated
DSC/AIS radios. At the Aquatic Center
of Southwestern College in Coronados
Crown Cove, members also organized a
water safety information exhibit where
they advertised boating education
classes, including the new Paddle Smart
course.
A color guard from the Mission Bay
and Coronado otillas opened an event
at Eastlake in Chula Vista, California.
Coastie gave his message of water safety
to the children, while the adults learned
how to properly t and use different
styles of life jackets.
NSBW |
SUMMER 2010
|
31
District 13
Yaquina Bay, Oregon, Flotilla 54 members
Larry Cox, Donna Cox, Tom Murphy, Mike
Skiles, Dennis Knudson, and Dorothy Bishop,
and Wil Lampa, Flotilla 5-10, Pacic City,
Oregon, were invited aboard a Coast Guard
47-foot motor lifeboat at Station Depoe Bay,
Oregon, for Mayor Jim Whites signing of a
NSBW proclamation.
Flotilla 12, Edmonds, Washington, joined the
Coast Guard and the port of Edmonds to host a
vessel exam station.
Flotilla 52, Eugene, Oregon, partnered with
the Army Corps of Engineers and other agen-
cies to build a life jacket loaner station at
Fern Ridge Reservoir, where a 3-year-old had
drowned. The childs parents donated the free
life jackets to protect other children from water-
related accidents at the reservoir.
District 14
Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona
signed a NSBW proclamation.
NSBW events began with Lighthouse Day at the
Kilauea Wildlife Refuge, where over 1,000 visitors
viewed a lighthouse history display. About 200
people visited a safe boating display at the Kukui
Grove Mall, where adults received boating safety
literature and children received coloring books.
Flotilla 3-15, Lihue, Hawaii, set up a safe boat-
ing booth at a local school. Students saw a life
jacket equipped with reective tape, a strobe
light, signaling mirror, whistle, EPIRB and hand-
held VHF.
District 17
The Alaska Ofce of Boating Safety launched
its Pledge to Live campaign featuring a mock
graveyard containing 168 wooden crosses with
orange life jackets that serve to remind Alaskans
of boaters who died in water-related accidents
over the past 10 years. The display was set up
on the Delany Park Strip in Anchorage during
NSBW. Auxiliary vessel examiners partnered
with the state agency to give out Pledge to Live
cards.
Whittier Flotilla 24 performed VSCs and Linda
Shogren, Flotilla 24, spoke about boating safety
on The Today Show on Station KTUU.
An open house was held aboard the cutter
Mustang and Seward Flotilla 25 exhibited life
jackets. Boy Scouts, in town for their jamboree,
stopped by the exhibit on their way to visit the
cutter. Sue Lang of Flotilla 25 and Terry Telkamp,
Flotilla 32, Anchorage, discussed how to pre-
pare a boat for a vessel exam at the Anchorage
Trafc Departments safety meeting.
NSBW |
At Alsdorf boat ramp in Pompano Beach, Florida, Boy Scout Troop 119 presents the
colors at Wear It for Life, Operation Life Jacket Tour, which traveled the Intracoastal
Waterway from Jacksonville to Watson Island in Miami, with intermediate stops along
the way. The Auxiliary and other local partners organized the event.
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Jean Quint, Flotilla 3-15, Lihue, Hawaii,
conducts a vessel safety check at Nawiliwili
Small Boat Harbor. / Photo by Jim Jung.
Kim Cole, Flotilla 22-5, Jackson, Michigan, tells fth graders about water pollution.
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32
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NAVIGATOR

vergreen Park is a suburb southwest of Chicago.

Duri ng NSBW, the Evergreen Park Fi re
Department held a free Kids Safety Day to teach chil-
dren about health, re safety, animal safety and law
enforcement issues. Tom Mullally, Flotilla 35-7 com-
mander and a division chief of the re department,
led participation by eight members of the Auxiliary
and active duty from Station Calumet Harbor. Ruth
Aurigemma, member of Flotilla 35-7 and Division 35
public affairs ofcer, arranged for an appearance by
Coastie, who was operated by Richard Michalski,
Flotilla 37-8, LaGrange, Illinois. Kathy Chappelle,
South Suburban Flotilla 35-1, worked the public
affairs table and served as Coasties agent. Melvyn
Marcus, Flotilla 35-7, handed out coloring books
while Aurigemma saw that every child left with a
sticker and a treat.
One of the most interesting activities for both par-
ents and kids involved Auxiliarist Richard Chappelle,
Flotilla 35-1. The Evergreen Park Fire Department
had obtained life jackets sized infant to 90 pounds
through a BoatUS Foundation grant. The life jack-
ets are free for use by residents of Evergreen Park.
The person requesting a life jacket must show iden-
tication and may use the life jackets for up to three
consecutive weeks. Chappelle engaged the kids by
getting them to try on a life jacket, and soon Coastie
had some stiff competition as the children lined up
for the opportunity to have a life jacket sized just for
them. Chappelle demonstrated to the children and
their parents the importance of wearing a life jacket
and why it must be sized properly.
Active duty members Seaman Sarah Derksen
and ME2 Stephen Long of Station Calumet Harbor
answered questions about the Coast Guard asked
by parents and children at informational exchanges
among the land-based law enforcement agencies that
were present.
By the end of the day, the message of National Safe
Boating Week had been heard by over 415 children.
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Richard Chappelle, Flotilla 35-1, teaches a comic book hero how to stay aoat,
while Seaman Sarah Derksen, Station Calumet Harbor, hands out coloring
books. Kids Safety Day was a free event organized by the Evergreen Park
(Illinois) Fire Department in connection with National Safe Boating Week.
Coastie and Kathy Chappelle, South Suburban, Illinois, Flotilla 35-1, teach
water safety to a mom and her children at Kids Safety Day, a free event by the
Evergreen Park Fire Department, during National Safe Boating Week.
NSBW |
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SUMMER 2010
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33

istrict 11-South Auxiliarists teamed

with the Coast Guard and the City
of Fullerton, California, to produce
Fly n Float, an event during National
Safe Boating Week that covered over
300,000 square feet of space and was
visited by an estimated 5,000 people.
Kirk Scarborough, District Staff Ofcer-
Public Af fairs, North Orange County
Flotilla 66, headed the effort.
Terry Rouch, Flotilla 66, arranged
for a variety of vendors and exhibi-
tors that included the Coast Guard
and Auxiliar y, local emergency and
military units, classic cars, antique air-
planes, and rides for the kids. Coastie,
operated by Auxiliarists Jon Ross and
Gerry Roberts, Flotilla 62, South Coast,
delighted both children and adults
while spreading his message on boat-
ing safety. A personal watercraft dis-
play showcased the Auxiliarys use of
such craft in its missions. An MH-65C
Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard
Station Los Angeles and a 25-foot Coast
Guard rescue boat were also on hand.
A full barbeque, prepared by Auxiliarist
Don Vary, Flotilla 67, Balboa Bay, was
served.
After an opening ceremony emceed
by local radio personality Chuck Street,
an Auxiliary honor guard presented the
colors. The highlight of the event was
the introduction of the special guests
several members of the WWII
Tuskegee Airmen and WWII Womens
Air Corps.
A Coast Guard communications trail-
er served as an information hub. Roy
Lay, district communications of ficer,
and Mark Forster, Division Six commu-
nications of ficer, led logistical ef forts
that included Auxiliarists stationed
throughout the venue with hand-held
radios. Members of Flotillas 68 and 67
also had their new deployable radio sta-
tions on display.
Approximately 100 Auxiliarists were
on hand to ensure that the event went
smoothly. Many more spent months in
the preparation. This endeavor found
Auxiliarists from all areas, regardless
of their flotillas, divisions or districts,
joining to reach a large public audience,
educating them on boating safety and
introducing them to the mission of the
Coast Guard.
Fly n Float
organizer Kirk
Scarborough
meets with the
crew of an MH-65C
Dolphin helicopter
from Coast Guard
Station Los Angeles
as it lands at the
FlynFloat Festival,
Fullerton, California.
5TOkY 8Y VENA PETEk5ON,
Iotn U3, Onngc Con:t, Cnonn
ILY 'h IL0kT Lk0hChlS
hkTI0hkL SkIl B0kTIh6 Wllk
Photo by Valli Compton, Flotilla 61, Newport Harbor, California.
NSBW |
34
|
NAVIGATOR

disabled cruiser, caught in the
swift current of the Allegheny
River above Lock and Dam
Number 2 on June 10, 2010, gave the
crew of the 50-foot Auxiliary vessel Blue
Heaven an afternoon to remember.
Owner and coxswain George Boyle
was patrolling the Allegheny River up
and downstream of Lock Number 2
near Aspinwall with his crew, Jayci and
Howard Freedlander and three trainees,
Mort McAnally and William Broe from
Pittsburgh Flotilla 72, and Ed Kramer,
Flotilla 78, Air Sea, Pennsylvania.
Training requires locking through,
so Boyle tied up to a wall while a com-
mercial tow passed through the lock.
Trainee McAnally was standing watch
when he saw a cruiser carrying a man,
a woman, a little girl, and two dogs adrift
and close to going over the xed-crest
dam. That boat out there is in trouble,
he reported. Their engine had failed,
all their navigation lights were out, and
they were attempting to seek help from
the Auxiliary boat.
Boyle and Mike Krivjanik, training
of ficer for Division Seven and Flotilla
72, assessed the situation, considering
their own safety, then crew and trainees
took action. Reaching the cruiser, Boyle
maneuvered between the distressed
cruiser and the dam. Crew and trainees
quickly tied bow and stern lines to the
cruiser for a side-by-side tow and moved
IN PITTSBURGH,
A TRAINING MISSION
BECOMES A RESCUE
5TOkY 8Y NOkMAN C. Ak8E5,
Iotn 72, Itt:ugI, Icnn:)\nnn
PHOTO5 8Y JEANNE JOYE,
Iotn 73, utc, Icnn:)\nnn
RESCUE
ON THE
ALLEGHENY
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SUMMER 2010
|
35
it upriver away from imminent disaster. Boyle provided
a jump start for the engine and, after a quick Thank
you, the people on the cruise left abruptly without leav-
ing their names or boat information.
Boyle recognized the boat. Earlier, my crew had
advised them to tie up behind us and not to go out into
the center of the river where the flow was elevated
because of recent rains. They ignored the warning. I
have no doubt in my mind that with the swiftness of the
current that we were two minutes away from a tragedy.
The fall from the crest of the dam averages 11 feet. If
a vessel goes over the edge, the churning water at the
base holds it there, making rescue very difcult.
Ed Kramer said, It was quite a rush. Everybody did
exactly what they were supposed to do. It feels good
to do something meaningful. Im going to be talking
about this for quite some time. Crew member Jayci
Freelander added, Each crew member took a posi-
tion, manned their lines, and effected the rescue. You
know, just as we are trained to do.
Lieutenant Commander Scott Higman, Coast Guard
Marine Safety Unit Pittsburgh, praised the coxswain
and crew of the Blue Heaven. That was outstanding
work, especially during a training mission. Theyre a
force multiplier for the active Coast Guard, especially
on the western rivers where we dont have a lot of
resources to send out every day.
The crew of Blue Heaven with George Boyle, coxswain, on the ybridge.
Lock and Dam
Number 2 on the
Allegheny River
at Aspinwall,
Pennsylvania, is
one of eight such
projects of the
U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers
as part of an
extensive system
to improve
navigation along
the Allegheny
River. The
Highland Park
bridge crosses
the river just
above the dam.
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36
|
NAVIGATOR
ABOVE: Cadets Gregory
Batteneld, Lucas
Crawford, and Chris
Heironimus of The
Citadel detachment
conduct vessel safety
checks.
RIGHT: Citadel cadets
Harry Westall, Patrick
Boyle, Lucas Crawford,
Elijah Otto, Nick Koenig,
and John Delago tour
the bridge of the
USCGC Gallatin with
LTJG Cuttie.
SUMMER 2010
|
37
M
embers of Fl ot i l l a 12- 8 s
detachment at The Citadel in
Charleston, South Carolina,
recently spent a weekend touring sever-
al Coast Guard facilities as part of a eld
training exercise coordinated by Ensign
Kahley, Sector Charlestons Auxiliary
Liaison.
Kahl ey and Seni or Chi ef Petty
Of ficer Fish welcomed the group to
the Charleston Command Center and
Response Department where they heard
about Project Seahawk and its role in port
security. They also toured the Charleston
Coast Guard Air Facility and climbed
aboard an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter.
Lieutenant Commander Thorsrud and
Lieutenant Mathis, a rescue swimmer
and a flight mechanic, explained the
flight crews daily life and duties. The
weekend concluded with a tour of Coast
Guard Station Charleston, its 41-foot util-
ity boat, 23-foot Defender Class boat, and
two cutters: the 87-foot Yellowfin and
the 75-foot Anvil, a construction tender.
Aboard the cutter Gallatin, the working
conditions for enlisted and ofcers at sea
was explained.
Our training has been phenomenal
this past year. I am looking forward to
my senior year and a possible Coast
Guard career, said Cadet Tyler Branch,
a three year member of the detachment.
Beginning with the first year of mem-
bership, cadets have a rigorous physical
tness program based on Coast Guard
standards that develop leadership and
team building. An important part of the
program is familiarization with opera-
tions, components and assets of the
active duty and reserve Coast Guard.
In their rst year cadets in the Auxiliary
program also become qualied in public
education and the vessel examiner pro-
gram and undergo team coordination
training. Training is progressive over
four years and includes qualication in
boat crew, operations and information
technology.
The Auxiliar y detachment at The
Citadel was established in the spring
of 2008. It is sponsored by Flotilla 12-8,
Charleston, South Carolina. Under
the mentorship of Alan Miles, flotilla
commander; Bill Riley, immediate past
division commander; CWO Thomas
Gelwicks, Coast Guard Reserve; and
the Auxiliarists of Flotilla 12-8, the
development, structure and recruiting
for the detachment has steadily grown.
Currently, sixteen cadets participate
in operations support and educational
activities with the Auxiliary.
A landmark in Charleston since its
founding in 1842, The Citadel is well
known for its militar y and leader-
ship training. It is home to about 2,400
undergraduates from the United States
and foreign countries. For more infor-
mation about The Citadels Coast Guard
Auxiliary detachment, visit www.citade-
luscgaux.com.
PASS IN
REVIEW!
AT THL
CITADLL
5TOkY 8Y CADET HAkkY C. WE5TALL
PHOTO5 8Y HAkkY C. WE5TALL & WlLLlAM 5lNGLETAkY
38
|
NAVIGATOR

hat is the equivalent of the

United States Coast Guard
Auxiliar y in Curaao? It is
the Citizens Rescue Organization, or
CITRO, whose approximately thirty vol-
unteers are available for rapid response
24 hours a day, seven days a week, for
search and rescue in the waters on and
off Curaao, Netherlands Antilles.
We have something unique to volun-
teer search and rescue organizations,
commented Adriaan van der Hoeven,
president of CITRO. CITRO-MEDICO,
the Netherlands Antilles radio-medical
service, is also staf fed by CITRO vol-
unteers that include eight members
with medical training. Offshore medical
emergencies can be reported via VHF
radio, HF radio, SSB radio and/or satel-
lite communications. A doctor can pro-
vide some basic rst aid over the radio
so the injured party gets relief and is sta-
bilized immediately. But, if the injury is
life-threatening, the rescue coordination
center nearest the scene sends assets
to evacuate the injured person. On aver-
age, 55 search and rescue cases are con-
ducted and 80 lives are saved each year,
said van der Hoeven. CITRO has avail-
able for its use four boats: the Griend,
two boats owned by the Dutch Rescue
Organization KNRM, and the Auroa.
CITRO is a member of the Caribbean
Search and Rescue Foundat i on
(CARSARF) whi ch i ncl udes t he
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Its web-
site, www.citro.org, also features helpful
information such as waypoints to other
islands, oat plan forms, charts, maps,
and more, said van der Hoeven.
The United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary and CITRO signed a partner-
ship agreement on May 4, 2001, to fos-
ter cooperation between the Participants
for the enhancement of their common
goals of promoting boating safety, sav-
ing human lives and enhancing the safe-
ty of life at sea, protecting the marine
environment, and promoting the mari-
time safety interests of the citizens of
their respective countries. Recognizing
the contributions of two of CITROs
members, the United States Coast
Guard Auxiliary awarded Adriaan van
der Hoeven and Curd Evertz honorary
membership.
For more information about Caribbean
search and rescue, visit http://carsar.
cgaux.org.
CITRO
A partner
in the
Caribbean
5TOkY 8Y 8klAN MCAkDLE,
Iotn 33, Innnoc, Vgnn.
CITRO volunteers rescue
a person who fell from a
cliff into the sea.
A CITRO volunteer is lowered
from a helicopter with a tow
rope for a sherman whose
boat ran onto the rocks. The
boat was successfully taken to
sea and brought to a beach
where it was patched by
members of CITRO.
P
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SPRI NG 2010
|
39
Auxiliarist Jonathan Lipsitz, Flotilla 71,
Santa Barbara, California, on night patrol
at Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard,
California, stands helm watch aboard the
47 Auxiliary vessel, Marian Marie. This
was Lipsitzs nal task of the Division
Seven Crew School 2010, leading to crew
member qualication. The lighting is red
for better night vision. Photo by Mike
Brodey, Flotilla 74, Ventura, California.
CANON EOS 50D WITH 28MM 3.5 LENS, 1/13 SEC. AT
F/3.5. SHOT WITHOUT FLASH AT 3200 ISO.
Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
The Auxiliary Center
9449 Watson Industrial Park
St. Louis, MO 63126
Address service requested
Aboard the Auxiliary vessel Deant, Ken Babick, Flotilla 73, Pacic, Oregon, serving as patrol commander, reviews the status of Auxiliary
surface vessels patrolling the security zone during the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon. Daren Lewis, Flotilla 76, Swan Island, Washington, took
this photo with available light, primarily the boats ashing red/amber public safety lights and a utility light mounted on the boat. The utility
light, reecting off the white paper on Kens clipboard, creates the soft bounced lighting on his face. The challenge is to expose the shot at a
moment when the ashing LEDs and/or rotating lights atter the subject. It is also necessary to balance ISO and shutter speed. I typically use my
24-105mm f/4 IS while underway as it provides a good balance of speed and exibility, said Lewis.
CANON EOS 5D MARK II, CANON EF 24-105MM 4L IS AT 88 MM; 1/160 SEC. AT F/4. NO FLASH. APERTURE PRIORITY MODE. ISO 4000.