Adm. Robert Papp Commandant Vice Adm. Sally Brice-O‘Hara Vice Commandant Rear Adm. Karl Schultz Director of Governmental & Public Affairs Capt. Ron LaBrec Chief, Public Affairs Jordan St. John Cool customers Deputy Chief, Public Affairs Coast Guardsmen PAC CC Clayton Editor-in-Chief undergo ICCE training at PA1 Kip Wadlow Station Saginaw River. Averting Executive Editor No price tag on safety PA3 Victoria Bonk Disaster Senior Editor Coast Guard inspectors work to improve Coast Guard and Navy commercial fishing vessel safety. Telfair Brown crews team up to assist Surface tension Director of Photography disabled cruise ship. Coast Guardsmen train to become Cutter PA1 Anastasia Devlin Rescue Swimmers. PA2 Pat Kelley Associate Editors

Subscriptions: Call (202) 512-1800 or write to Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 14 30 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To 12 32 subscribe online, follow the link on our Web site at 16 34 www.uscg.mil/mag. Submissions: We need your stories, photographs, comments and suggestions. Contact the magazine staff concerning ongoing and future products and The history of coast submissions to Coast Guard Magazine. Submit your stories to: U.S. Coast Guard guard aviation (CG-09221), 2100 2nd Street, S.W., STOP Discusses the history of the Coast Guard 7362, DC 20593-7362, or Avaition on the water. e-mail them to [email protected]. For more guidelines, visit the magazine Web site and click on “submissions” or call the editor at (202) 372-4612.

Coast Guard Magazine, COMDT PUB P5720.2, is produced for members of the Week in the Coast Guard U.S. Coast Guard by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. Unless otherwise noted, all A snapshot of the many roles, missions and stories, photographs and graphics are significant events the Coast Guard performed produced by Coast Guard employees. during the week of Feb. 7-13. Editorial content is unofficial and not authority for action. Views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Homeland Security or the Coast Guard. Stories may be reprinted except stories and articles reprinted, by permission, from other publications.

Cover: Marine Safety and Security Team From the Helm San Diego boat crews conduct training near the USS Midway in San Diego Bay Jan. 8 Coast Guard leadership discusses 4, 2011. Photo by PA1 Allyson Conroy. their vision for the service. For more information about the Commandant‘s Direction please visit: http://www. uscg.mil/seniorleadership/DOCS/CCGs- Direction-2011.pdf PORT CALL JUNEAU, Alaska – The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton makes its approach to the pier at Coast Guard Station Juneau following a three month Bering , Feb. 4, 2011. Photo by PA3 Jon-Paul Rios. CELEBRATING DIVERSITY HONOLULU - Retired Master Chief Petty Vincent Patton, the first African American Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, addresses Coast Guardsmen in honor of African-American history month during a ceremony at Base Support Unit Honolulu, Feb. 24, 2011. Photo by PA3 Michael De Nyse. Qualified vs. Proficient Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant

ne of my guiding principles as Commandant is to Honor Our Profession. That is why one of my highest priorities is toO ensure that members of our Service work toward achieving proficiency in their chosen field. I have no doubt that each and every Coast Guardsman strives to achieve excellence in his or her specialty. However, the rapid expansion of activities we perform has led to a substantial increase in the skills individuals must learn and retain. In many cases this has placed our focus on simply training to a level of basic qualification. Let me give you some examples. You can take your crew to the small arms range and get them qualified. You can get a boat coxswain qualified. You can get a boarding team member qualified. You can get a marine inspector qualified. You can get an air crewman qualified. But qualification is a minimum standard. Now I do not mean to minimize the value of qualification. Qualification is a significant step in professional development – it is a certification by a Commanding Officer or supervisor that a Coast Guardsman has not only completed the requirements to perform his or her duties, but has also exhibited the necessary judgment. Qualification, however, is only the first rung of the professional development ladder. My goal is for every Coast Guardsman to continue progressing up their professional development ladder to proficiency and beyond. To support this initiative, my Commandant’s Direction sets forth a plan that will allow all of our personnel to achieve proficiency. I have directed our Force Readiness Command to provide clear policy and doctrine, and training, equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures for all mission areas. It is equally important for our Service to retain proficiency. Therefore, I have also asked our Personnel Command to review how we can better support both the development and retention of proficiency in specialty. Ultimately, it will be deckplate leadership that propels us to proficiency. Proficiency is dependent on every member of the service! Leading petty officers, chiefs and junior officers must ensure that their personnel are trained, knowledgeable and exercised to proficiency. As the maritime arm of the Department of Homeland Security, it is our duty to stand watch over our two million square miles of exclusive economic zone, 95,000 miles of coastline, and 50,000 miles of navigable waterways. I need each Coast Guardsman to be the very best at what he or she does, so we can proudly and competently stand our watch with the expertise our Nation has come to expect of us over the past 220 years.

This is our chosen profession. This is our way. This is what we do.

A crewmember aboard the CGC Waesche stands Semper Paratus! lookout duty as the ship sails to Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., Feb. 2. Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley. 8 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil/mag 9 Message from Master Chief Michael Leavitt, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

One of the principles in my vision statement is caring for Master Chief Petty Officer of the our shipmates, which falls under one of the Commandant’s four Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt meets principles, Respecting our Shipmates. with the officers and crew of Coast On Feb. 10, 2011, Admiral Papp, using his four principles Guard Sector Long Island Sound in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 6. Photo by delivered the State of the Coast Guard Address and set the course PA2 Patrick Kelley. for our service. In his address, he announced 2011 as the Year of the Coast Guard Family. We are committed to enhancing the quality of life for our Coast Guard families. The Commandant’s Shipmates #11 ALCOAST 073/11 details our goals and the course ahead. Regardless of location Coast Guard families face significant challenges, particularly those located in small coastal towns, in Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Leavitt, isolated and in seasonal, high cost areas. Obtaining affordable or Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant of the Coast adequate housing and locating good quality medical and dental Guard, and Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, render honors during a care providers can be very challenging. In addition, childcare Veteran’s Day Memorial Ceremony, Nov. 10. providers can be scarce and in most cases, very expensive. Photo by PA3 Victoria Bonk. We understand these as well as the many other challenges service members face. Adm. Bob Papp and For the past nine months, I have traveled around the country Master Chief Petty visiting units and listening to the concerns of hard working Officer of the Coast Coast Guard men and women, and their families. That said, Guard Michael some of our members and their families have expressed concerns Leavitt testify before with the quality of the sponsor program, a program that we Congress, March 1. control. Throughout my travels, I have witnessed some very Photo by PA2 Patrick strong positive command climates and among other things, Kelley the leadership puts a strong emphasis on their reporting personnell sponsor program because they understand that a quality sponsor program is the heart of maintaining high crew morale and readiness. I encourage all leaders to be engaged and involved with our members and their families before, during and after transferring in. As most of our service members know, transferring from one unit to the next can be very stressful so we must help our shipmates. It is an honor and a privilege to serve. We are all thankful for Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt receives a demonstration of the men and women of the Coast Guard who stand the watch and safety gear aboard Coast Guard Cutter Eagle protect our homeland. during a visit to the Coast Guard Academy, Jan. 5. Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley.

Semper Paratus!

10 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 11 No Price Tag on Safety Story by PA3 Nate Littlejohn, PADET Astoria he waters of the Pacific Northwest offer some of the most treacherous yet bountiful work opportunities in the world. T Dungeness crab fleets hailing from and Washington are among the world’s elite. The reward for their toils, however, The 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act does not come without a price. sets the following long term strategy In the Pacific Northwest, the dungeness crab fishing fleet has had its share of deadly casualties. According to a 2010 study and goals: conducted by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 27 fishermen died while participating in the dungeness fishery during the past decade. That equates to a rate of 310 1. Reduce the number and rates of deaths per 100,000 workers. As a comparison, the Bering Sea king crab fishery in Alaska saw a rate of 260 deaths per 100,000 marine casualties. workers. In 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identified commercial fishing as the deadliest occupation in the nation at 200 deaths per 100,000 workers. Surviving the inevitable risks inherent with crabbing in 2. Improve the consistency and the Pacific Ocean requires preparation, proper education and a survivor’s attitude. effectiveness of vessel and operator Safety training for fishermen can provide the education piece and a good instructor can help instill the right attitude so a enforcement and compliance programs. person can think like a survivor. Enter the fishing vessel safety Fire Drill professionals at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, Ore. Joseph Maki, a crewmember aboard Curt Farrell, commercial fishing vessel safety coordinator for fishing vessel Cape Saint James out of MSU Portland, and Mike Rudolph, fishing vessel safety examiner, Warrenton, Ore., issues a mock-MAYDAY 3. Identify and target enforcement are passionate about safety. When it was discovered that a serious call on the radio during a fire drill, Feb. 11. training void existed along the central and southern Oregon Photo by Mike Rudolph efforts at high-risk vessels and operators. Coast for fishermen, the pair sought specialized training through the Alaska Marine Safety and Education Association to become certified drill instructors. “The safety training that we have provided over the past four The Michelle Ann was able to make it safely to port without safety of commercial fishing employment here in the Pacific 4. Improve research efforts to enhance years has made the biggest difference in the safety of the fleet than being towed, was repaired quickly and back out fishing a few Northwest. anything else that we do,” said Rudolph. “I get very excited when days later. “It has started to change the way the fishermen think,” said and promote vessel and operator safety a fisherman comes to me on the dock months later and says the Commercial fishing vessel drill conductor courses, promoted Farrell. “Especially with the younger crewmen who attend, as training I provided helped avert a casualty or saved a life.” by Oregon Sea Grant, provide practical information on survival they push their captains to do drills, once they know about them and performance. Rudolph’s training efforts recently had a significant impact equipment found on most commercial vessels and on conducting and that their life depends on it. That change in thinking will when the crew of the 66-foot dungeness crab vessel Michelle Ann on board emergency drills. Skills are learned in a hands-on format. help as we transition to an expanded, continuing, and ‘required’ experienced a stack fire Dec. 18, outside Yaquina Bay, Ore. “The class is very intense,” said Farrell. “Students will be training regimen, per the new CG Authorization Act.” “We all were facing potential disaster, but thanks to the putting on immersion suits, jumping into the water, entering a life “We have all seen commercial fishing as the leading occupation methodical and highly structured tactics we learned from the raft, fighting a fire, stopping leaks and shooting off flares. They for casualties for way too many years. In the future I hope that safety class, we were able to take proper actions and avoid will do realistic emergency drills aboard a fishing vessel with these new training requirements make training the new ‘normal’ harm,” said Michelle Ann crewmember Mike Donovan. “No one artificial smoke.” when it comes to fishing; 1) Boat ready, 2) Bait ready, 3) Gear ready, panicked, we all knew what we had to do and dealt with the issue. The Coast Guard, Oregon Sea Grant, and dungeness crab 4) Safety Drills conducted,” he continued. No one was hurt.” fishermen will continue to work in conjunction to improve the

12 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 13 Safety escort The Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau Coast Guard and Navy crews come ensures the safety and well-being of the passengers and crew aboard together to help a cruise ship... the Carnival cruise ship Splendor as it enters San Diego Bay, Nov. 11. Avert Disaster Photo by PA3 Cory Mendenhall. Story by PA2 Henry Dunphy,

PADET San Diego he dining rooms and passageways were dimly lit with The Splendor has no helicopter pad, so emergency power, and the odor of smoke could be detected an improvised staging area was chosen on Tin the still air. The dance floors were silent and the swimming the exercise track in front of the distinctive pools deserted. For the nearly 3,300 guests aboard the cruise red, white and blue smokestacks on the upper ship Carnival Splendor, this was not the luxury excursion to the deck. Lounge chairs were cleared from the Mexican Riviera that they had bargained for. deck, and anything that could be moved by the Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of many hurricane-force winds created by a Navy SH- entities involved, the passengers and crew 60 Seahawk helicopter overhead was secured. of the disabled vessel were safe and headed Curious passengers were ushered inside, and to port in San Diego. the flight operations commenced. Two days into the cruise, on the morning The pallets of provisions were slung three of Nov. 8, 2010, a fire erupted in one at a time in cargo nets below the matte gray of the cruise ship’s engine rooms. After aircraft. Lewis, the yellow-jerseyed landing several hours, the ship’s crew succeeded signal officer, guided the helicopter crews in extinguishing the fire, but damage to into place using hand signals. When the cargo the electrical systems left the ship without dangled over the correct spot, a sweeping propulsion, leaving almost 4,500 people lateral hand motion cued the aircrew to release aboard with enough electricity to power the bundles. only the barest essentials. With each drop, the ground crew of Coast With the fire out the situation was stable, Guardsmen and sailors moved in, unfastened but the ship was now adrift and facing the cargo nets and cleared the supplies from the health and sanitation problems for those deck to make ready for the next drop. aboard due to the loss of sewage systems, “This is what we do best, get supplies ventilation, hot water and refrigeration. aboard the ship,” said Navy Logistics Onscene Support To meet the immediate needs of the Specialist Immanuel Carter, whose day-to-day people aboard, a team comprised of Coast job is performing similar supply operations A San Diego based MH-60T Jayhaw helicopter Guardsmen from the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau and sailors aboard the Reagan. crew escorts the cruise ship Carnival Splendor from the USS Ronald Reagan worked to deliver supplies to the After several drops, a group of Splendor said Carter. into San Diego Bay, Nov. 11. Photo by PA2 Jetta stricken cruise ship. crewmembers approached and offered to assist in moving supplies “It’s a great feeling knowing that Coast Guard and Navy Disco. The Coast Guard coordinated with the Navy to have 65,000 off the deck between drops. Together, the Coast Guard, Navy personnel can jump in and work together after not knowing pounds of supplies, including water, bread and canned goods, and Splendor personnel settled into a system of guiding in the each other for even five minutes. We were able to safely conduct flown from Naval Air Station North Island, in San Diego, to the helicopter, detaching the cargo nets from the pallets, hauling the operations together quickly and efficiently,” said Lewis. Reagan. From there, the supplies were ferried by naval helicopter provisions off the deck and prepping the area for the next drop. Once the essentials were on board, the tugboat Chihuahua to the cruise ship, where the replenishment team was ready to By sunset, more than 20 drops had been completed, and the started towing the Splendor to San Diego. receive them. people aboard the Splendor had enough food and water to sustain “There is a lot of stability to this case,” said said Capt. Anthony “Our first concern was being able to do the operation safely,” them for the transit to port. Gentilella, commanding officer of the Morgenthau and on-scene said Coast Guard Ensign Steven Lewis, a landing signal officer “When we were finished, we got a round of applause from for the response. “The passengers aboard the cruise from the Morgenthau. “We had to make sure that the deck the crewmembers and the guests aboard. It made us feel pretty ship are safe, and they get a lot of peace of mind seeing that the was clear of any debris and that all the passengers were in safe important. It was nothing new to us because this is our everyday Coast Guard is out here doing things to help them, like bringing locations.” job, but seeing how we could impact the people aboard felt good,” on food and water,”

14 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 15 ave you ever wondered what the Coast Guard does in an average week during the winter months? While a lot of people were digging themselves out from another winter snowstorm, the Coast Guard was out in full force, training, rescuing those Hin need, securing the border, ports and waterways and preparing for the upcoming boating season. In other words, a winter week for the Coast Guard is anything but slow. During the week of Feb. 7-13, Coast Guard public affairs specialists and unit public affairs officers set out to document a week in the life of the Coast Guard by capturing imagery from around the country to highlight the many missions the service performs. In all, the week garnered almost 1,400 images from locations like Lake Tahoe, N.V., to King Cove, Alaska. The following pages Week in the Coast Guard detail some of the operations that happened this week. Where are the rest of the images? All photos from the week in the Coast Guard event may be viewed on the Coast Guard Visual Imagery database at http://cgvi.uscg.mil. A quick search for “week in the Feb. 7-13, 2011 Coast Guard” will get you there. 16 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil/mag 17 A week in the Coast Guard Monday, Feb. 7

Repair Crew First Aid Practice, Practice Boatcrew members from Station HS2 Charity Washko applies a Annapolis, Md., use their 41-foot boat to BM1 George London awaits rescue bandage to a Coast Guardsman‘s take members from Aids to Navigation by BM3 Michael Rivero during ice thumb after removing stitches at Team Baltimore to the Thomas Point rescue training conducted at Station the Rockmore King Clinic in Kodiak, Shoal Lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay. Harbor Beach, Mich. Such training Alaska. Corpsmen at the clinic Following a low-voltage alarm, members allows the crews to maintain provide 24-hour emergency care in from ANT Baltimore visited the lighthouse proficiency in the Great Lakes‘ cold addition to treating non-emergency to ensure that the lighting equipment was weather environment and gives patients alongside physicians during working correctly. Photo by PA3 Robert them the expertise and confidence the work week. Photo by PA3 Brazzell. to respond effectively when called Jonathan Lally. to rescue or assist a citizen in danger on the ice. Photo by BMC Scott Cichoracki.

Kodiak Chesapeake Bay Harbor Beach Washington, DC Anchorage Alameda San Francisco

Life Flight A MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew assists King Cove, Alaska, emergency medical personnel in Inspection Time transferring a 63-year-old woman MST1 Julian Bell and MST3 Matt Rollins, from the King Cove clinic to a Coast both port state examiners stationed at Guard helicopter at 5:07 p.m. The the Sector San Francisco Prevention woman was reporting abdominal Department, conduct an inspection on pains and needed a medevac to Cold the Carnival Splendor cruise ship, while Bay where she was transferred to the ship undergoes repairs at dry dock another flight for further medical in San Fransico, Calif. On Nov. 8, 2010, care in Anchorage. Coast Guard the second day of a voyage from Long photo. Beach to the Mexican Riviera, the ship experienced a fire in the engine, cutting all electrical power. Photo by PA3 Erik Swanson.

Building Trust Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp Final Touches shakes hands with Indian coast guard Director General Vice Adm. Anil Chopra Antonio Nunn, a member of the during the Indian delegation‘s visit to Coast buoy depot at Sector San Francisco Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in Alameda, Calif., attaches a piece of Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley. retroreflective tape to the top of a buoy before it is deployed. Retroreflective tape is attached to buoys to assist mariners sailing at night. Photo by PA3 uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 19 Kevin Metcalf. A week in the Coast Guard Tuesday, Feb. 8

Training Time Members of Auxiliary Division Cool Jobs Looking Below 12 conduct hoist training with John Murren, a marine aircrew members from Air Station The crew of the CGC Wire conducts inspector at Sector Baltimore, Los Angeles off the coast of Venice, icebreaking operations on the inspects the hull of a dinner Calif. The training involved Hudson River, near Rhinebeck, N.Y. cruise ship in Washington, D.C. lowering and hoisting a rescue The Wire‘s crew, along with other Murren climbed through the basket from an MH-65C Dolphin Coast Guard cutter crews, are in hull of the ship looking for helicopter onto the deck of the the upper Hudson River to help safety violations that required Auxiliary Vessel Ladyfish III. Photo clear safe paths for ships carrying correction. Photo by PA2 by PA3 Cory J. Mendenhall. vital resources to upstate New York Brandyn Hill. residents. Photo by PA1 David Schuhlein.

Washington, DC Venice Hudson River Makushin Bay Honolulu South Padre Island Indian River Inlet

Good Books Crewmembers load pallets of books into a HC-130 Hercules airplane at Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. The air station donated 16 computers and the Rotary Club of Kapolei, Hawaii, donated more than 7,000 books to American Samoa public schools. All to be delivered by a Tough Defense Coast Guard aircrew. Photo by PA3 MK3 Terrell Wilburn, stationed at Station Angela Henderson. Indian River Inlet, Del., fights off an attacker after receiving pepper spray on his face during law enforcement training. Photo by PA3 Jonathan Lindberg.

On the Rocks The 58-foot, long-lining fishing vessel Terri Looking up Gail is hit by a wave after it grounded a mile southwest of Makushin Bay near the A flight crew from Air Station Houston island of Unalaska, Alaska. The TerriGail medevaced a man from a cargo had five crewmen who were safely rescued tanker 10 miles south of South Padre by a Kodiak-based HH-65 Dolphin Island, Texas. Watchstanders at Sector helicopter crew before the vessel grounded. Corpus Christi received a report at Photo by Marine Safety Detachment approximately 12 a.m. that a 40-year- Unalaska. old male aboard the motor tanker Ballad was experiencing extreme abdominal pain. Coast Guard photo. uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 21 A week in the Coast Guard Wednesday, Feb. 9

Good to Go Geared Up AST3 Brendan Dent signals that Not Sew Easy AST1 Brad Fitzpatrick is ready to be Coast Guard Special Agent Wes Forster Seaman Andrew Marsteller of Station New hoisted into an Air Station Detroit accompanies a Station Portsmouth York whips - or reinforces - a mooring line. rescue helicopter while conducting boat crew while on a patrol looking for The line will be used aboard one of the training on the frozen Lake St. Clair, signs of pollution in the Elizabeth River station‘s many response boats as the crew Mich. Conducting rescue airlifts near Portsmouth, Va. Forster joined the performs the Coast Guard‘s many missions on frozen surfaces presents unique station crew to become acquainted with in and around the New York Harbor. Photo challenges and the Coast Guard Operation Clean Sweep, an initiative to b y PA 1 T h o m a s M c K e n z i e . regularly practices techniques to patrol and reduce pollution and polluters maintain proficiency. Photo by Lt. along the Elizabeth River. Photo by PA3 Mark Dukti. David Marin.

Lake St. Clair New York Portsmouth Baltimore Seattle Guam Vallejo

say Bye to BUI MEC Ryan Hooper, a marine enforcement Top to Bottom specialist at Training Team West, conducts boating under the influence Coast Guard divers familiarize enforcement training for the boarding themselves with the hull of the ice officers at Station Vallejo, Calif. Following breaker Polar Star as part of cold the classroom training, boarding officers water diving training. The course had the opportunity to apply their skills is being held in both Seattle and on volunteers. Photo by PA3 Pamela Diamond Lake, Wash. Photo by PA3 Manns. Nathan W. Bradshaw.

Working with others Dirty Job BM1 Allan Wilkinson, a coxswain on board the BM2 Tonya Mills, a crewmember aboard CGC Washington, operates the small boat during the CGC James Rankin, assists with search and rescue and helicopter operations hoisting a buoy from Baltimore Harbor, training with an SH-60B helicopter from Navy Md. Photo by PA1 Tasha Tully. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 in Agat Bay, Guam. Photo by Lt. j.g. Justin Valentino.

uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 23 A week in the Coast Guard Thursday, Feb. 10

Study hall Open Wide Students learn to become Capt. Michael Korale, senior dental information system technicians executive at the Coast Guard wing Charting the Course at Training Center Petaluma, of the Tripler Army Medical Base in Adm. Bob Papp, commandant of Calif. ITs are responsible for Honolulu, Hawaii, performs a dental the Coast Guard, delivers his first establishing and maintaining exam on a member. The clinic provides State of the Coast Guard Address at Coast Guard computer physical examinations, immunizations Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, systems, analog and digital and clinical laboratory, pharmacy and D.C. During his speech, Papp painted voice systems, and installing referral services to other treatment a picture of the state of the service and maintaining the physical facilities for specialty care. Photo by PA3 while laying out his vision for the network infrastructure that ties Class Michael De Nyse. future. Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley. the systems together. Photo by PA3 Pamela Manns.

Honolulu Washington, DC Petaluma Lake erie SAUSALITO Portland Fort Dix

Detail Oriented Fireman Kristin Carfi, stationed at Station Golden Gate in Sausalito, Calif., adjusts the hydraulic ram of a watertight door on a 47-foot motor lifeboat, as part of maintaining readiness at the station. Carfi recently completed the machinery technician strikers program and expects a promotion to petty officer this summer. Photo by PA3 Class Erik Swanson. Final Checks GM1 Joshua Hendl reaches for his bag at Fort Dix, N.J., before he leaves for Kuwait City. Hendl is attached to Port Security Unit 313, homported in Everett, Wash. Photo Follow the Leader by PA2 Crystalynn A. Kneen. The crew of the CGC Morro Bay makes their first close-assist pass of the day near the articulated tug Spill Response barge Everlast in heavy ice as sea smoke rises from the ice at their MST1 Luke Potter maintains a safety stern in Lake Erie. The Morro Bay, watch over the 431-foot, flat-deck homeported in New London, Conn., barge Davy Crockett on the Columbia is deployed to the Great Lakes for River, near Portland, Ore. The Davy icebreaking season. Photo by CGC Crockett began leaking oil into the Morro Bay. Columbia River during a civilian salvage operation on Jan. 27. Photo by PA2 Eric uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 25 J. Chandler. A week in the Coast Guard Friday, Feb. 11

Safety Check It’s a Gas BM3 James Schumer takes a break MST3 Michael Rushane works on a gas atop a harbor light that the Aids to chromatograph at the Marine Safety Navigation Team Wanchese crew is Lab, New London, Conn. The gas repairing near Oregon Inlet, N.C. The chromatograph is a tool used to aid in Oregon Inlet and Roanoke Channels determining the origin of oil samples from are mazes of sand bars and drifts; the pollution cases. Since the Deepwater spill, Submission Hold ANT crew must constantly keep the caseload at the Marine Safety Lab has BM2 Nicholas Kimose instructs DC2 aids repaired and cleaned for the safe increased. This week the lab processed Daniel Horn as he handcuffs MK3 navigation of the waterways. Photo by approximately 150 cases. Howard LaCroix during boarding PA3 David Weydert. Coast Guard photo. team training at Base Support Unit San Pedro in San Pedro, Calif. Photo by PA3 Cory J. Mendenhall.

Oregon Inlet New London San Pedro Essexville Afognak Island San Pedro Sacramento

High and Dry A Kodiak-based Coast Guard crew conducts an overflight assessment Eye in the Sky of the grounded 68-foot fishing AST2 Jason McGrath watches as a HC- vessel Midnite Sun looking for 130 Hercules aircraft operates with one environmental impact near Afognak right-wing engine secured while flying Island northwest of Kodiak, Alaska. near Sacramento, Calif. The 186 Coast The Midnite Sun ran aground at Guardsmen who serve at Air Station 12:13 a.m. and its crew was safely Sacramento carry out search and rescue flown to Kodiak by a Air Station and maritime law enforcement missions MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. and provide air support for not only Photo by PA3 Jonathan Lally. , but the entire West Coast. Photo by PA3 Pamela J. Manns.

Safety Show IS2 Mahasin Abdullah works on a voice- over for a kids’ safety cartoon at a studio in San Pedro, Calif. The cartoon, named Station Safewater, aims to teach young Riding on Air children how to stay safe on the beach, A Coast Guard Station Saginaw River airboat in the water and on a boat. Abdullah crew returns to base after an ice patrol near is voicing the part of PO2 Haley, who Saginaw Bay, Mich. Photo by Commodore Jerri teaches children how important it is to Smith. not play on marine radios and make false uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 27 distress calls. Photo by PA1 Adam Eggers. A week in the Coast Guard Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 12-13

Come Sail Away

The CGC Morgenthau and crew Lock and Load patrol near the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, in the Bering Sea with an air GM2 Justin Gaudino, assigned to temperature of 12 degrees, Sunday. Station Kings Point in Kings Point, The Morgenthau is conducting a N.Y., cleans and inspects the station’s Bering Sea patrol to ensure the safety Multi-tasking weapons, Saturday. The station’s of mariners working in the Bering crew and vessels are equipped with Sea and Northern Pacific. Photo by A boat crew launched from the CGC .40 caliber sidearms, M-16 rifles and CGC Morgenthau Alligator simultaneously work to boat-mounted 7.62 mm machine pump water from a recreational guns to aid in law enforcement and vessel, while towing it toward national security missions. Photo by Clearwater, Fla., Sunday. Photo by PA2 Gary Rives. Lt. Marc Benson.

Kings point Pribilof Islands Clearwater Hudson River Lake Tahoe Waianae Buffalo harbor

Weather Watch Jack Leth, liaison officer for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and MST2 Aaron Demucha examine a weather gauge on Lake Tahoe, Nev., Saturday. The crew conducts search and rescue, law enforcement, and national Prep Work defense missions, and maintains and operates two 25-foot rapid response FN Mario Agudelo and SN Dana boats. Photo by PA3 Pamela J. Parsons, both assigned to Station Buffalo, Manns. N.Y., prepare an ice rescue sled during ice rescue training on frozen Buffalo Harbor Sunday. Photo by BM3 Barrett Brauch.

Clearing a Path Safety Check CGC Penobscot Bay, a 140-foot icebreaking tug, clears a shipping path through the frozen Hudson BM2 Bradley Poen, a crewmember stationed River, Saturday. The Penobscot Bay, homeported aboard the CGC Ahi, informs mariners that he in Bayonne, N.J., performs icebreaking missions and his boarding team will conduct a safety up and down the Hudson River throughout the check, off the coast of Waianae, Hawaii. Photo winter to facilitate navigation, as well as to by PA3 Anthony Soto keep vital commerce moving, particularly so that home heating oil can be brought upriver to residents. Photo by PA3 Seth Johnson.

uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 29 On the way

Coast Guardsmen use a parachute illumination flare to light a search area on ice and snow-covered Lake Huron to help them ICE RESCUE find a person who fell through the ice as Story by PA1 John Masson part of a night time training exercise Jan. 27. 9th District Photo by PA2 Lauran Jorgensen

or Petty Officer 2nd Class William Phillips, it might have been “Where better to learn?” Bell said. “This year we’ve had four The work on a frozen Lake Huron included training in teams “We really want to focus on multi-victim recoveries,” McLellan tempting to simply turn up the thermostat inside Station or five guys who have never seen ice before in their lives,” he said, around a 40-by-20-foot gash carved into the ice of Saginaw Bay. The said. “Our training has seemed to focus more toward having one FOswego, N.Y., and wait for winter to go away. adding that once transferred from warmer climates, their commands four-student teams spread out around the trench with instructors person through the ice. We want to change that up, put two victims After all, this is the 28-year-old Tennessean’s first tour in the quickly send them to the ice training. evaluating their performance at each position. Later, participants in the water or maybe even three. One could be conscious, one could northern United States, and it’s a lot colder on the Great Lakes than Phillips may not have fallen completely into the “never seen would be evaluated in the trainer’s role since the goal of the course be unconscious – one responsive, one not responsive. How do you at stations in Galveston, Texas, and Tybee Island, Ga., where he’d ice before” category, but he says he was close enough. For others is minting new trainers to take the latest information back to their triage them? How do you know what’s out there?” previously served. in the same boat, Bell and the ice trainers at ICCE have a vivid stations. And that, said Chief Petty Officer Rebecca Polzin of Station “I didn’t have very much experience with ice and ice rescue before demonstration. In Phillips’ case, that means a nearly unique area of responsibility Michigan City, Ind., is the whole point. Polzin, currently on this,” he said. “I had only gotten out on the ice three or four times.” “We ask three volunteers to submerge their hands in ice water that includes the very different ice conditions near Station Oswego her first tour on the Great Lakes, said getting up to speed on the Of course, waiting out the weather isn’t really the Coast Guard’s and try to assemble nuts and bolts after a minute,” said Bell, who – Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, and the navigable waters of New latest ice rescue techniques is an important part of her leadership style. So the recent presence of Phillips and his Station Oswego estimates he’s helped train 300 or so ice rescuers over the years. The York’s canal system. When he got back to his station, Phillips, like responsibilities — even though she’ll assign training responsibilities shipmate, Petty Officer 2nd Class Shaun Wilson, for a four-day trainees come from all over the the Great Lakes and New England other newly trained trainers, was eager to organize scenarios for to two of her junior petty officers, who also attended the class. “train the trainer” course at the Ice Capabilities Center of Excellence and even the Coast Guard’s Polar Class icebreakers. “Guys are always shipmates who share search-and-rescue responsibilities. “From a career development point of view, that training part at Station Saginaw River in Essexville, Mich., wasn’t a complete surprised at how much it hurts. And interestingly enough, it seems “I want to get down to one of the lakes and run some good needs to be with them, to get them into that position to be an officer- surprise. like physiologically, the effects on their bodies, it’s tougher on scenario-based stuff, work with the guys to tell them about the in-charge someday,” she said. “But a lot of OinCs do go, to be that “The school was great. It was fun,” he said. “It actually challenged people who haven’t been around it before.” changes that have been made (to ice rescue techniques),” Phillips expert and to be able to say, ‘This is something we’re doing well,’ or, us, but it definitely challenged us in a positive way. My comfort That exercise continues with classroom training inside the ICCE’s said. “They’ve all got to be ice qualified, and there’s only a handful ‘This is something we have to change just a bit.’” level has just skyrocketed, as far as what I feel my capabilities home station, in Essexville. First up is terminology, then drilling on of us who have actually been to the school. We’re the ones that went Back in Saginaw, the students’ reactions were gratifying to Bell. are, but looking back to just a couple of years ago, I never would some of the movements required of teams taking part in coordinated this year, so we’re the ones who are able to pass the information on.” “There’s plenty more heartbreaks than there are pick-me-ups in have thought I’d be operating on an ice-covered lake with people ice rescues. Then it’s on to personal protective equipment and what Petty Officer 2nd Class Kraig McLellan of Station Cleveland this business,” Bell said of the hurdles ice rescuers face. “But the fact depending on me.” that gear will and will not do to protect the people using it. Harbor felt the same way. He, too, was looking to run creative drills that … it’s a direct rescue from you to the victim … I kind of like That’s what ICCE trainers like Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew “Then it was time for hands-on experience — actually getting out out of his station in downtown Cleveland. that solo-ness, if you know what I mean.” Bell like to hear. on the ice and getting comfortable with it,” Phillips said.

30 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil uscg.mil/mag 31 Cutter Rescue

Seaman Deuter Ellard pulls BM1 Ryan Yoraschek, crewmembers aboard the CGC Resolute during resuce swimmer training , Sept. 18, 2007. Photo By PA3 Robert Simpson.

Surface Tension Story by Seaman Adam Stanton PACAREA n 2009, the Coast Guard recorded more than 4,730 recreational boating accidents that resulted in 736 deaths and 3,358 injuries. swimmer to assist survivors who are fatigued, entangled or injured. half-mile run, a response test and a 500-meter swim test, all of which to have one surface swimmer. With statistics like these, the Coast Guard relies on programs The surface swimmer program takes volunteer crew members needs to be completed in less than 12 minutes. A certified line tender is also assigned to each cutter swimmer. such as the cutter surface swimmer program, which offers with strong swimming skills and maritime knowledge and trains This program provides the Coast Guard with more search and The line tender is responsible for the swimmer’s tending line and another way for the Coast Guard to help rescue people in them in life saving skills and recovery situations. The selected rescue options. maintaining communication, through a series of hand signals with distress.I swimmers go through a physical and written qualification process, “When the sea state is over six feet high, a surface swimmer is the swimmer. The cutter surface swimmer program is standard on all Coast where only the best qualified members are selected. the safest deployable asset from a large cutter,” said Coast Guard The cutter swimmers on the Waesche train two days a week and Guard cutters. “The training builds you up to get in the ocean. You learn in Petty Officer 3rd Class Forest Reimann, a boatswains mate stationed conduct two man overboard drills twice a week to keep their skills The program is designed to have a permanent set of trained a controlled environment, and then, apply the training to a real aboard Waesche, and the cutter’s surface swimmer program organizer sharp. swimmers, ready to assist with missions such as search and rescue or life situation,” said Coast Guard Seaman Joshua Angelica, a cutter for the cutter. The rigid training schedule maintained by surface swimmers man-overboard recovery. surface swimmer stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, Coast Guard policy requires all cutters with flight decks to have ensures they are prepared to respond to real life situations. Using a rescue boat crew is the preferred tactic for recovering homeported in Alameda, Calif. at least two outfitted and certified cutter surface swimmers aboard “I’m actually waiting to go to Aviation Survival Technician people in the water, but it’s occasionally necessary to deploy a The qualification process consists of pushups, sit-ups, a one-and-a while underway. All cutters without flight decks are only required A-school, and this was a great way to prepare for that,” said Angelica.

32 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 uscg.mil 33 oversaw the training of new helicopter pilots for the Allies. As in as the hurricane winds moved inland. Over the coming days, Coast the early years of Coast Guard aviation, far-sighted officers saw the Guard helicopters, HH-65 Dolphins and HH-60 Jayhawks, rescued A Brief History of Coast Guard Aviation potential of new technology and made the effort to experiment with thousands of victims while fixed-wing aircraft surveyed damaged and promote that technology. In this case, it was William Kossler and areas, looked for spills and sunken vessels, and helped coordinate the Story by Scott Price, Deputy Coast Guard Historian Frank Erickson who led the service’s efforts to develop the helicopter busy air traffic over New Orleans. first as an anti-submarine and convoy escort aircraft and then as a The Coast Guard and its aviation branch have also long been oast Guard aviation history begins in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, vital part of the Coast Guard. Aviators served in World War I, search-and-rescue platform. Erickson witnessed the Japanese attack involved with operating in polar regions and over Alaska. Helicopters . It was there that the keeper of the Kill Devil commanding air stations in the United States and France, hunting on Pearl Harbor first-hand as the duty officer on Ford Island that flew from each of the service’s icebreakers (the Coast Guard from CHills Life-Saving Station, Capt. Jesse Etheridge Ward, and enemy submarines and rescuing shipwrecked survivors at sea. In the morning. The event profoundly influenced his thoughts on aviation 1965 has been in charged with operating the nation’s icebreaking his crew assisted the Wright Brothers in their quest to become the period between the wars, the service refined their search-and-rescue and rescue capabilities. Erickson experimented and perfected the fleet) that resupplied bases in the Arctic and Antarctica every winter first to fly a heavier-than-air machine. One of the surfmen under techniques, including the always dangerous attempt to land their helicopter’s capabilities, including using hoists to recover persons in and explored the world’s ice crusted seas. Coast Guard aviation also Ward’s command even took the famous photograph of that first flight. seaplanes far out at sea to assist mariners in need. It was one of these the water and techniques to land and take off from ships underway. scours the North Atlantic for errant icebergs for the International Ice The practical start to Coast Guard aviation came in 1915 in the missions that another Coast Guard aviation pioneer, Carl von Paulsen, As a direct result of their efforts, what was then like the first Wright Patrol, first established after the loss of the HMS Titanic. Now, the minds of two innovative officers, Elmer “Archie” Stone and Norman and his crew earned Gold Lifesaving Medals for a heroic rescue that Flyer--an ungainly and dangerous air machine--ultimately became venerable but updated HC-130 carries on the almost-century-old task Hall, who believed that aircraft could be an efficient way to augment almost turned disastrous—he landed his seaplane at sea to rescue a what it is today—the versatile workhorse of today’s Coast Guard of safe guarding international shipping. the Coast Guard’s small fleet of cutters and shore stations. Working boy adrift in small skiff. The landing so damaged his flying boat that aviation fleet. The spirit of innovation still pervades the service as it did at the with the Curitss Aeroplane and Motor Company, they conceived Paulsen had to taxi his way back to the beach. The helicopter continually proved its worth as an excellent search beginning years of Coast Guard aviation. Whether preparing to the idea of a flying lifeboat. Their commanding officer, Benjamin Charged with enforcing Prohibition, the Coast Guard discovered and rescue platform over land as well. Coast Guard helicopters aid hurricane survivors, surveying oil spills, flying helicopters off Chiswell, saw merit in their efforts and approved their request for that aircraft made it possible to patrol large areas of coastline responded to dozens of domestic floods and hurricanes, pulling of ships far out to sea to hunt for smugglers, rescuing mariners in flight training. They both were ordered to flight school and went on more quickly than cutters could and at a cheaper cost. With the survivors in imminent danger off rooftops and out of trees from distress, developing a rescue-swimmer program safeguarding the addition of radio and flooded land. Surface forces also responded to these events but the nation’s coasts, flying over the North Pole, or developing a logistic A Waco J2W-1 secured to the quarterdeck of navigation technology helicopter proved its versatility in being able to arrive on scene as system that became the model for current Coast Guard logistics’ the Spencer, 1937. improvements, the a storm moved inland or the flooding crested and instantly begin modernization efforts, the service’s aviation program leads the aircraft came into its pulling survivors to safety. Indeed, the Coast Guard’s most shining way. Powered flight has never been entirely without danger though, own. Coast Guard moment came during just such an incident in 2005. Literally minutes something understood by all who fly, and such daring has had a cost. aviators experimented after Hurricane Katrina screamed ashore along the Gulf coast in But to the women and men of the Coast Guard, those who take to the with arming their aircraft 2005, a sea of orange helicopters strategically placed prior to the air or sail on the sea, “service before self” is a way of life and they to convince “rummies” storm swarmed over the ravaged areas and began rescuing survivors willingly accept that cost and the challenge. to comply with their orders. The experiment was short-lived and Two Fokker PJs and one Douglas RD Dolphin during the coming overfly a 165-foot cutter. The aircraft were decades (except the stationed at Air Station Miami, circa mid- years of World War II) 1930s. Coast Guard aircraft flew unarmed. The Coast Guard has recently reinstituted armament to some of its aviation fleet in response to changing drug interdiction operations as well as evolving homeland security missions. During World to establish a dynamic Coast Guard aviation program. The Navy even War II, Coast Guard aviators again hunted for enemy submarines, borrowed Stone for most of the next decade during which he piloted escorted convoys, and rescued survivors from torpedoed vessels, the famous NC-4 flying boat on the worlds’ first trans-Atlantic flight even rescuing a few German submariners who had found themselves and participated in the development of early carrier aviation. adrift off the American coast when their U-boat was sunk by an Underfunded but innovative, using borrowed aircraft flown from Army bomber. In Greenland, they hunted for downed U.S. aircraft unused airfields, the first few years of Coast Guard aviation were and aviators lost on ferry flights and German weather stations placed quite a test of the flyers’ courage, intelligence and perseverance. along the coast. Coast Guard aircraft participated in the construction But they were the first to practice the tradition of aviators who, and maintenance of radio-based navigation stations, called LORAN, with or sometimes without the authorization of higher command, around the globe. experimented with new or advancing technologies to enhance the In one of its most important aviation missions of the war, though, Coast Guard’s ability to fulfill its always changing mission. the Coast Guard began experimenting with rotary-winged aircraft. From those early years onward, aviation grew to become a In fact, they led the nation in the development of helicopters and

34 Coast Guard — Issue 2, 2011 STATE OF THE COAST GUARD Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Bob Papp, delivers his first State of the Coast Guard Address at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Feb. 10. Photo by PA2 Patrick Kelley.