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Meeting of the Committee as a Whole By Nick Tarlson, DC-Ad, Deputy Chief
Reports of the Directorate Commodores COMO Tony Morris, NADCO-MS (Member Services) There are many National Staff openings available to members. These appointed offices require a broad array of skills and experience, and members are encouraged to inquire among the personnel of departments where they feel they might be able to make a contribution. George Jeandeur, NADCO-OMS (Operations and Marine Safety) The final report has been released on the aircraft mishap in February 2001. As a result, new training programs have been developed for Auxiliary aircrew, including programs at the military flight school in Pensacola, Florida. The Operations Workshop will be mandatory again in 2004, and will include material on Team Coordination Training. Heraldry has completed its approval of 4 qualification devices for the Marine Safety Trident program, personal watercraft crew, pilot, and aircrew. Over 100 persons are enrolled in the Trident program, and 10 applications for the device have been received.
Warren MacAdams, NADCO-RBS (Recreational Boating Safety) We need additional production in all aspects of RBS – public education, vessel safety checks and marine dealer visitation. Some 55,000 students have participated in our adult public education programs, and about 100,000 kids have participated in our children’s programs, more than any other boating safety organization. We’ve performed over 100,000 vessel safety checks, but there is still plenty of room for growth, given an estimated 12 million boats nationwide. We’ve performed 55,000 marine dealer visits. The Marine Dealer Visitor program has been re-engineered and material is in process to train our personnel in the new aspects of the program. Proposals for Changes in the Auxiliary Organization District Directorate Commodores One proposal would establish three positions in each district for District
Directorate Commodores (DDOs). These would be appointed positions corresponding
to the National Directorate Commodores in the areas of Member Services,
Operations and Marine Safety, and Recreational Boating Safety. The insignia
for this office would be the same as that for National Division Chief
– three stripes with a red “A” and the silver oak
leaf with a red “A”. This program would be optional by district.
District Staff Officer for State Liaison (DSO-SL) This would be a non-mandatory position at the district level whose primary responsibility would be to manage and coordinate the efforts of state liaison officers. Most districts have more than one state in their area of responsibility, and each state would continue to have an individual state liaison officer. The DSO-SL could be a state liaison officer or not, as appropriate. COMO Warren MacAdams, NADCO-RBS proposed this change to increase the effectiveness of our state liaison programs. Guests from the Coast Guard Academy CAPT Susan Bibeau, Director of Admissions The Coast Guard Academy is thankful for the great efforts of the Auxiliary during the past year, and will be asking for even more support in the future. The need for cadets will continue to increase, and trends in the student populations indicate that there will be an increasingly smaller pool of candidates. Admissions has added a new position for a volunteer coordinator who will be available full time to coordinate the efforts of Auxiliary personnel. A new web-based prospect management database has been developed to manage 18,000 prospective cadets each year. This will require Auxiliary Career Counselor officers to be proficient in the use of their personal computers. AIM-2, the second week of AIM was a great success, resulting in the participation of another 280 AIMsters. The Auxiliary supported this effort with more than 18 volunteers including medical staff and we hope to have even more participants in this program next year. Recent legislation requires that we review the MITE program and it may be merged with AIM.
CAPT Kevin Marshal, Leadership Development Center (“LDC”) Over 4,000 personnel receive leadership training through the LDC each
year, including Leadership and Management School (LAMS), cadets, officer
candidates, petty officers, warrant officers, prospective commanding
officers, officers in charge, executive officers and executive petty
officers. Half of these are LAMS students, and most of these courses
are conducted at Coast Guard facilities all across the country. 6 Auxiliarists
have completed training and qualification as adjunct faculty for the
LAMS course, and 3 more are in the process of completing this program. More Auxiliarists than ever have electronic capability, including over 50 percent of our members and very high percentages of our leaders. Those who are not in our National eDirectory should enter their email addresses via Form 7028 and activate their accounts online. Search for any member with or without an email by going to: www.auxforum.org/search/ AUXImage is a library of images which should be useful to many Auxiliarists. Additional images are welcome and easy to upload and download. URL:cgaux7.org/imagelibrary/ Conference e-Registration was a great success, saving the staff considerable time and making registration smooth and simple for our members. Adobe Acrobat 6.0 and Approval are available on extremely attractive terms and enable our members to save and manage AUXDATA forms: www.uscgaux.org/~auxcen/auxcen/adobespecial.htm. Online testing has been a great success, with over 10,000 participants to date. The Best of the Web awards will be announced tomorrow. An AUXDATA-INFO tutorial is available and essential for assisting our leadership in using this resource: www.auxetrain.org/flash/auxdatainfo.htm. Windows updates and virus protection are essential ways of protecting your system from invasion by the many worms and viruses which have proliferated. Online training venues include CENTRA, Web4M, SmartForce/Soft Skills, and Blackboard. AUXPAL and the Augmentation and Recruiting program are excellent ways of building membership since September 11.
Fundraising/Development Committee Meeting A key premise of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association (CGAuxA) is its ability to receive contributions from individuals and organizations to support Auxiliary activities. This committee is comprised of key individuals with fundraising expertise and interest. Major projects include the International Search and Rescue (“ISAR”) competition, which brings teams from each Area together with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary in a test and demonstration of search and rescue skills and techniques. ISAR 2004 is budgeted at approximately $70,000, most of which should be raised from corporate sponsors. The fundraising committee is seeking additional volunteers with grant writing and fundraising experience. International Attendees Meeting NACON attracts participants from the marine search and rescue services of many foreign nations. During this session, these participants discussed common concerns and issues. Among these, how to fund their operations, many of which receive minimal governmental funding.
Training Sessions 22 workshops are being provided for NACON participants. Each department is presenting timely topics is its respective area. The schedule for presentation is staggered to allow participants to participate in several different sessions: two blocks of time are available today and two tomorrow. AUXDATA and AUXINFO - I Department (Information and Communication Systems) This training is essential for those who would like to use these systems effectively. Uses of input forms, techniques for mining the data for information about your unit or area of interest are covered. Unfortunately, the online portion of this presentation included an attack by a recent worm that interrupted the presentation and underscored the need for up to date protection from these nuisances. On the Water Training – E Department (Public Education) This program has been greatly simplified and authority for its implementation
is clearly established at the flotilla level. The previous structure
was perceived as cumbersome in that it required extensive review at
the district level, additional qualifications for the crew, and concerns
about liability. Under the new system, the Flotilla Commander is the
authority for planning the program and the Coxswain has the authority
over a particular patrol. Facilities involved in the program can make
their own policies on charges for the program, and are insulated from
liability when operating under Coast Guard orders. A new web site at www.auxpa.org provides a wealth of resources for
media inquiries as well as public affairs officers. The What’s
New section in the middle of the page provides a constant source of
material for news releases and articles, while the left side answers
questions which media personnel might have about the Auxiliary. A new
feature is a hotlink to a new History page, which presents the vast
array of material on our rich history. Our department maintains two
different email lists. auxpa@yahoogroups.com provides timely information
for public affairs district staff officers and acts as a liaison between
them and the A Department. auxpao@yahoogroups.com is a service for public
affairs officers at all levels, but particularly at the flotilla and
division level, providing material for articles, news releases, and
other resources. The AUXImage image library provides a variety of images
which are essential in selling your story to the media. Coastie and
SITREP are also useful tools in promoting our programs as well as excellent
outreach vehicles. New initiatives include an Auxiliary-wide eNewsletter
which will collect and distribute information and links to each of the
many Department websites which are used to support our programs. The
handout for this workshop, containing the many links which assist public
affairs officers, is available here: (include link to handout, attached). The pricing on this course makes it competitive with Boating Safely, while providing a higher quality product in terms of both content and presentation. Concerns about the ability to present the course in a classroom environment have been addressed through the development of an instructor’s powerpoint presentation, which is available at the E Department website or through your district public education officer. Online Testing and Training – T Department (Member Training) Over 10,000 tests have been administered in this system, which now
includes every qualification and AUXOP course except the AUXNAV cruise
problem. The pass/fail rate on these tests is essentially unchanged
from live testing, suggesting that the system is an effective surrogate
for the live system. The National Safe Boating Week and Vessel Safety Check Mega Weeks campaigns
were very successful and an estimated 35,000 VSCs were performed nationwide.
Unique programs included a drawing for a free public education course,
which was used to promote VSCs and collect prospects for the courses
in connection with the opening of a new marine supply store. There are
plenty of decals in stock, available through your FC or FSO-MA. Every
effort is being made to eliminate the temporary shortages of decals
experienced in the past. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is in process
with the American Canoe Association with which we will be able to work
closely with this leading organization in paddle sports with some 50,000
members serving 20 million paddlers nationwide. You’re in Command
(YIC) is a new recreational boating safety (RBS) program which promotes
VSCs along with our other RBS programs. Consult the V Department website
for the latest errata and explanations for updating your VE manual.
A new VE polo shirt will feature a modern logo, serve as an alternate
uniform while performing VSCs, and will be available to Auxiliary as
well as US Power Squadron personnel. Many new programs are in process relating to this important area of
increasing responsibility for the Auxiliary under Operation Patriot
Readiness III (OPR3). A District Mapping program will be established
to identify and better utilize operational facilities and other assets
in each area. We will develop contingency plans to provide for immediate
execution of certain activities in case of an escalation of threat levels.
Readiness exercises will be encouraged including tabletop exercises
which can be used in a training context. A Public Awareness Seminar
will be available for presentation to community boating groups to explain
maritime domain awareness and solicit their assistance with the Waterways
Watch program. Each district has an OPR3 coordinator to facilitate these
efforts. A new system of land patrols will involve Auxiliary personnel
surveying critical port facilities for security purposes. A new training
and qualification program, (protect us from) HARM, will provide 4 modules,
each of which can be completed to add an endorsement to existing operations
qualifications. The modules include Harbors and Waterways Patrols, Aids
to Navigation, Pollution Response Awareness, and Maritime Domain Awareness.
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