U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Seventh Coast Guard District Division 15

Last update 5 FEB 2010

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the civilian component of the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the US Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated the Auxiliary in 1941, the 31,000 volunteer members (men and women) volunteer more then two million hours annually benefitting boaters and their families, in support of Coast Guard missions.

Division 15 operates under Coast Guard Station Yankeetown and stretches from the southern Hernando County line north to the Fenholloway River and from the center of Florida westward into the Gulf of Mexico. There are seven U.S. Coast Guard Flotillas with over 300 members in the Division who assist the Coast Guard with Vessel Inspections, Patrols and carry the main responsibility for Boating Education to the public.

2010 Officers

Public Education Boating Class Schedules	The Coast Guard Channel	Division Bridge & Staff	Vessel Examinations
Member Status Auxinfo	Membership Training & Schedules	Division Meeting Schedule	Find a Vessel Examiner
National website	District Store 727-535-2593	Ribbon Checker	Where is it?
Flotilla Locator	On-line Tests	Staff Notices	DIRAUX 7
Auxiliary Website Directory	CG Aux. Association	Manuals	E-commerce
Operations	Float Plan	Forms	Fellowship Activities

VICE COMMANDER'S NOTES

Hi to everyone. I fully expect we are going to have a great year, and I was very disappointed that I could not be at the Division meeting. I was attending a C-School required for mid-level elected officers. Most of you were at the meeting, but some were not, so I am including my report at the end of this email or your info. We have a job to do helping/supporting the FSOs at the flotilla level, and I wanted to be at the Division meeting to energize this effort. Instead, I must do it by email.

If we are to have a great year, it must be planned. Each of you is a serious resource to the flotilla staff officers- the guys and gals who "make it happen". Obviously they cannot lead without goals, and each of you needs to encourage them to set some for 2010. These goals should not be just numbers or percentages (300 VEs / 20% more VEs) but action/process oriented- better ways to do things, actions that will result in improved operations. (I have included an example of FSO-OP goals for 2010 at the end of this email.) The goals need not be complex, but they must be both achievable and measurable.

Just as FSOs need to have goals, each of us must also. Ask yourself "what are the things I am going to do to ensure FSOs are able to carry out their responsibilities as listed in their job description in the Auxiliary Manual" (please re-read it). The answers to that question will be your goals. Write them down. It is important to write them down. Also, I need a copy, so I know what your plans are and I can support you as necessary. Please do so within the next two weeks.

The key to our success as a Division will be communication- up, down and sideways. Initiate contact with all your FSOs within the next two weeks so they know who you are, how to contact you and that you are ready to support them. If you don't hear from them once a month, call them. Doing so will maintain a close relationship and ensure you have the info you need to support them, for your Division reports and for your reports to your District counterpart (extremely important). Your value as a Division staffer will absolutely be determined by your willingness and ability to communicate.

I am available for you any time. Questions, thoughts, ideas...whatever. My home phone is 352-596-2650, and my cell phone is 352-585-1141. Do not hesitate to call or email. We are all in this together to create a super Division, keep the public safe, and support CG Station Yankeetown. Thank you for your service. You are very important to the success of this Division. So let's do it...

Craig

Goals example:
FSO-OP GOALS FOR 2010
1- Complete all annual requirements by 31 August
2- Conduct four training patrols with other flotillas
3- Participate in a joint activity with another Flotilla
4- Develop two more OPFACS
5- Five fully qualified SAR-callout coxswains & crews by 1 April
6- Two dual facility training patrols per month April through October

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For those of you who were not at the Division meeting, my report:

This will be an exciting year for our Division, with many initiatives planned. On the other side of the coin, we can initiate all kinds of things, but making them a reality is the job of the flotilla staffs. And although they are the ones who make things happen, monitoring progress and providing assistance and guidance is where the Division staff comes in.

So what makes a good Division staffer? Although a few staff members have functional responsibilities such as Publications and Webmaster, all staffers are the eyes and ears of the Division Commander. Not only do they keep track of changes or new initiatives coming from National and District, it is absolutely critical they know what is going on in the flotillas. The Division Commander should be able to ask any staffer, (for example the SO-PE), "How are things going at Homosassa with public education?", and get an overview of what they are doing and how well the program is going. That same staff officer will know who has good techniques that can be shared, and who is having difficulties that the Division level or higher may be able to help solve. Division staff does not intrude in flotilla level execution of programs, but the staff can be critically important for helping flotilla staff officers be successful.

It is fundamental to expect each staff officer to initiate and keep in contact with their counterparts at the flotilla level. Don't wait for them to contact you; some of them are new to their position and may not know who you are. You are certainly not expected to help carry out their job, but you do provide important guidance, information, problem solving, and are available to answer any questions they may have.

It is, of course, just as important to know what a good staffer is not. A good staffer is not a person who simply carries a title and makes quarterly reports. A good staffer is well informed and takes an active role in success. Staff activity is an on-going effort, not something that occurs only at or just before Division meetings. Problems? If you are having difficulty communicating or interfacing with your counterpart in a flotilla, then it is important to surface that problem to receive help in getting the job done well.

From the flotilla perspective there is a lot to be gained by their staff officers communicating with the Division counterpart and keep him/her up to date with plans, progress, etc., and to get any helpful info they might need. Communication can be written or phone (by mutual agreement) and could contain very similar info as your flotilla staff report. But it should also contain more than that, such as issues being worked on, help needed, or questions. Communication with your Division staff counterpart does not have to be formal and should be an on-going process whenever the need arises, however, it should be at least monthly. This is going to be a great and productive year. I very much look forward to working with everyone to make it so.

Craig Elliot VCDR 15

Regarding PEPIRBS or PLB’s (Personal Locator Beacons) as they are now known as now. Did you know that there is an ADDITIONAL DATA section in the online registration www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov in which you can update your location where you will be.

This saves a lot of time if your signal is picked up because right there on the form is the general area you plan to be in. Now they don’t have to make the calls to verify your location.

You can also take these units with you on vacation and if you got injured up in the mountains and had indicated you would be in say “Montana” and that is where the signal came from then help would be dispatched much quicker. These updates can only be done on-line since the only manpower required is yours. It’s like filing a float plan.

COAST GUARD RECRUITING Video -- take a look, it will make you proud of the Gold Side.

Click here

HURRICANE CONDITIONS Review

Condition 4: Automatic from June 1 to Nov 30 here in Florida

Condition 3: Warning, probabilty of winds 50 knots or more within 48 hours.
Account for Flotilla members
Designated Auxiliary Vessels will be fueled to 100%, non perishable food and water supplies on board, move them to safe location, alert standby crews.
Advise SO/OP of status.

Condition 2: Probability of winds in excess of 50 Kts. within 24 hours.
Check operation and fuel in Auxiliary Generators, Check readiness of "Safe houses", recheck supplies, radios, etc.
Consider evacuation, use your discretion.
Advise SO/OP when complete.

Condition 1: Probability of winds in excess of 50 Kts. within 12 hours.
You should probably be gone by now if you are in a low lying area.
The SO/OP probably is, his cell is 352-279-0947. Merry Christmas.

A Television Can't Save Your Life...A 406 MHz EPIRB or ELT Can!

LOS ANGELES - For the past year the television broadcasters have blanketed the airwaves advising the public that starting in February 2009 over-the-air television broadcasts will be going digital in the United States. This means that if you want to continue to receive free television reception, you must have a newer TV that has a digital tuner or you need to get a digital-to-analog converter box. Not as well known but of substantial importance is that a critical piece of life-saving equipment will also be affected with a change from analog to digital transmissions - an Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon or "EPIRB."

Starting in February 2009 the older beacons that transmit only an analog signal (121.5 or 243 MHz) will no longer be "heard" by search and rescue satellites. Just like checking a TV, boaters need to ensure that their distress beacon is capable of transmitting a digital signal (406 MHz) in order for it to be recognized.

Although recreational boaters are not required to carry an EPIRB, they are strongly recommended for ALL boaters, including kayaks and other paddle craft, along with a VHF-FM marine band radio. The 406 MHz signal sent by the newer EPIRBs when a mariner encounters distress are picked up by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite constellation, which determines the EPIRBs position through triangulation. EPIRBs with embedded GPS are even more helpful in quickly finding a distressed boater. With GPS coordinates, the position of distress is pinpointed almost immediately. Without GPS, it may take two or three satellite passes to come up with a good, triangulated position. According to Coast Guard Search and Rescue Controller Sandy Needle of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, "a properly registered EPIRB takes the Search out of Search and Rescue."

As long as the new 406 MHz beacon has been registered (which is required by law), search and rescue authorities can quickly confirm that the distress is real, who they are looking for, and a description of the vessel or aircraft. This means an effective search can be initiated even before a final distress location has been determined for non-GPS EPIRBs. It also means that a false activation may be resolved with a phone call to the beacon owner, saving resources for actual distresses.

Registration is free and can be done on the internet at: www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov or it can be mailed/faxed to NOAA by calling 1-888-212-SAVE. Beacon registrations must be updated at least every two years or when information such as emergency contact phone numbers and other vital information changes. This registration information is only available to authorized search and rescue personnel. It saves lives.

COMPASS PROGRAM

SECURITY FORMS

All Auxiliarists must undergo a degree of Security check. What you choose to become involved in determines the extent of the background check. Everything has been consolidated on the Enrolment Application (form 7001) on the National Forms page. See the FORMS button above.

Additionally the applicant will be photographed and have 2 sets of fingerprints taken and sent in with the application. Each Flotilla has fingerprint technicians.

Complaints, suggestions or comments and photos may be E-mailed by clicking on Webmaster