The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Magazine
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NAVIGATORNAVIGATOR THE U.S. COAst GUARD AuXILIARY MAGAZINE FALL 2009 CG Auxiliary operational vessels in Juneau, Alaska, work with CG Station Juneau during two-boat training evolutions in Gastineau Channel. The Auxiliary provides the “vessel-in-distress” so the active duty can practice working with pleasure boats. Juneau Auxiliarists Rich Liebe and Jack Brandt, aboard Auxiliary vessel Noreen Kay, hook-up and prepare to be towed by Station Juneau’s 47-foot motor life boat. Photo by Noreen Folkerts, Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska 2 | NAVIGATOR DEADLINES SUMMER: July 1 FALL: October 1 NAVIGATOR WINTER: D e c e m b e r 3 1 CONTENTS SPRING: April 1 | 4 COMO Kerigan Guidelines for | OUR CONTRIBUTORS submissions of 6 Off the Press editorial and photographic con- 7 | 70 Years and Counting tent are online at www.auxpa.org/ | navigator. Please 10 Delivering the Eagle send editorial and photographic | 12 Happy Anniversary submissions to: navigator@ 16 | Member Survey auxpa.org | 18 We are the Coast Guard Telephone numbers and address- | es of members are protected 20 Back to High School by the Privacy Act of 1974. As a matter of policy, rosters of names, 21 | Recipe for Trouble Tim Hale George Hagerty addresses and telephone num- | bers shall not be made available 24 2009 NACON to the general public or any out- side organization. Privacy of all 27 | Bringing Teamwork rosters shall be safeguarded and the page clearly labeled. The pub- to the Table lication of these rosters, addresses and telephone numbers on any 28 | Awards Honor the Best computer on-line service includ- ing the Internet is prohibited by 32 | BASRA and the Auxiliary the Privacy Act of 1974. 34 | Can You Hear Me Now? 36 | Rip Current Rescue | 38 Our Piece of History Anne and Ray Evans Phil Bailey WHO’S READING YOUR NAVIGATOR? DON’T TOSS IT, PASS IT. Karen Novo Jeff Brooks Doug Kroll ON THE COVER: In gold-rush days thousands of hopeful miners reached the Yukon by ships that brought them to Skagway at the northern end of Lynn Canal. The passage was treacherous and in 1900, Congress allocated funds for a lighthouse to be built on Sentinel Island in Favorite Channel where it joins Lynn Canal, a natural waterway to Alaska’s interior. The original lighthouse complex consisted of a square wooden tower attached to a large, two-story keeper’s house. The lantern room was steel and glass, with a fixed, fourth-order Fresnel lens. The focal plane of the lens was forty- two feet above the island, and eighty-two feet above the water at high tide. Auxiliary personal watercraft operational vessels are invaluable during shoreline searches, where they are able to check shallow areas other vessels cannot navigate. Juneau’s personal watercraft operator Dan Logan checks the shallow waters around Sentinel Island during a practice search on a calm fall afternoon. Photo by Noreen Folkerts, Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska FALL 2009 | 3 Readiness is all eadiness is a loose term that defines While we honor our past, we cannot oper- our ability to take on something and ate in it. Our future lies in a flexible, agile, COMMODORE Rdeliver. So Readiness is a measure of and responsive force, backed by a trans- NICHOLAS preparation. If we are ready, we have made formed command and control structure KERIGAN the preparations necessary to do what we and a mature mission support organiza- say we will do. tion. Our future lies in Readiness. NatIonaL Living requires Readiness. As I said, The Auxiliary has already taken a major Commodore Readiness is a measure of preparation. step in aligning districts, divisions, and flo- What can we measure? tillas with sectors. Now we have adjusted • Adequacy of training and manuals the organization at the national level. We • Budgets have been, and will be, challenged to pro- • Communications within and outside vide more and more support to the active of the Auxiliary duty force. To do so, we must become • Resources more integrated with Coast Guard orga- • Buy-in and motivation nization and practices while at the same • Change management time staying balanced in our RBS missions • Facilities along with operational missions. It is up A number of measures are qualitative, to the Auxiliary leadership with support so it’s difficult to actually assign a score. of Coast Guard leadership at all levels to This is why Readiness is hard to measure maintain the proper balance of RBS pro- and plot on a scale, as several of these fac- grams as we move forward with our mod- tors are qualitative. Budgets are all about ernization of the Auxiliary. numbers; resources and facilities can be It’s rather fitting that as we begin our counted. The other items defy an easily-as- 71st year, we are evolving into an organiza- signed point on a graph. This is why many tion that resembles more the Auxiliary of people really struggle with the concept of 1943 than the Auxiliary of 1993. We must Readiness. really be part of Team Coast Guard and All the same, there are deliverables: always ready to meet the call. It’s a chal- response time, classes taught, RBSVP vis- lenge we need to meet. We must be ready. its, etc. However, what tends to happen is Readiness needs to be at the forefront in that Readiness is considered a low priori- all we do. ty, an afterthought. Preparedness requires Ask yourself “What does ‘Ready’ look planning, training, and practice. like?” ON THE WEB A lack of Readiness (by whatever mea- • Consider the impact and dependen- You can go to the sure) can be disastrous. If we are not pre- cies across the organization. National Commodore’s pared, we can experience: • Review mentoring of new members. page at www.auxnaco.org • Disrupted operations • Work with neighboring flotillas. and i-naco.blogspot.com/ • Complaints • How many people are qualified as for more information on the • Low morale crew/coxswain, Instructor, VE, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary • Wasted effort RBSVP, aircrew, etc.? • Increased costs • Understand our active duty colleagues We recently announced significant and how we can support their efforts changes to our organization. As the Coast more effectively. Guard modernizes we must re-orient the • Utilize the national staff as a resource. Auxiliary so that it more closely supports • Balance the resources available with the Coast Guard’s new direction. The mission requirements. Coast Guard is positioning itself to answer Our members need to be personally the call, to remain always ready, and to ready to accept the challenges we face. execute the mission. The Coast Guard has Being as prepared as possible in your per- never been relied upon by our nation more sonal life allows you to focus appropriate than today. The service is strong, howev- attention on our missions. So take care of er, as we face new challenges we need to yourself and your family first. Maintain an be organized more efficiently, and manage appropriate balance. our business practices more effectively. Semper Paratus 4 | NAVIGATOR Coast Guard Auxiliary Functional Alignment Diagram 12 August 2009 National Commodore COAST GUARD AUXILIARY (NACO) *** FUNCTIONAL ALIGNMENT DIAGRAM Chief Counsel Kerigan * Lawrence OCTOBER 1, 2009 Asst Vice National National Commodore National Commodore Diversity Advisor Strategic Analysis (VNACO) (ANACO-SA) ** Lloyd * Vass Gates Deputy Deputy Deputy Deputy National Commodore National Commodore National Commodore National Commodore Operations Operations Policy Force Readiness Mission Support & Atlantic Area East & Atlantic Area West & Pacific Area (DNACO-S) (DNACO-O) (DNACO-P) (DNACO-R) ** ** ** ** McElroy Venezio Mallison Connell Asst Asst Asst Asst National Commodore National Commodore Chief National Commodore District Asst National Commodore Operations Policy & Government & Public Information Officer Response & Prevention Commodores National Commodore Planning & Resources Affairs (ANACO-CIO) (ANACO-RP) (DCO) Readiness Support Performance (ANACO-PR) (ANACO-GP) * * * (ANACO-RS) Support * * Miller Elliot * (ANACO-PS) Simoni Gumb Laurino * Sweeney Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Policy & Info Systems Strategic & Prevention Response Government Affairs Training Resource Mgmt & Admin Contingency Planning Kester Shafer Ware Venezio Nordlinger Savoca Salmon Chief Director Director Director Director Technology Performance Asst RBS Affairs Public Affairs Personnel National Commodore Officer Measurements Recreational Boating Safety Potts Nelson O’Leary (ANACO-RBS) Pritchard Tarlson * Freeman Asst National Commodore International Affairs/ Interpreter Support In Chicago, National Commodore Nick Kerigan announced major changes to the (ANACO-IA) * national organization. “The staff is being organized to mesh more closely with Director Director Tucker Vessel Exams Public Education the CG as it moves toward modernization,” Kerigan said. “This reorganization will & RBSVP enable the Auxiliary to better meet its performance and readiness goals.” Lockwood Urgola Director Director Interpreter Support International Affairs Deputy National Commodores (two stars) are established for Operations, Opera- Baumann Van Osdol FALL tions Policy, Mission Support, and Force Readiness. Assistant National Commodores (one star) will oversee Response & Prevention, RBS, Operations Policy & Resources, 2009 International Affairs, Mission Support, Chief Information Officer, Readiness Sup- port, and Planning & Performance Support, Chief Counsel, and Strategic Analysis. | Department Chiefs and Deputy Department Chiefs will now be Directors and Dep- 5 uty Directors. There are no organizational or name