Commodore Tucker is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty and as Chairman of the Caribbean Volunteer Maritime Search and Rescue Conference Planning and Support Team from September 2001 through December 2002. In September 2001, Commodore Tucker established a planning team consisting of members of the Auxiliary’s International Programs Department, Office of the Chief Director of Auxiliary, Seventh Coast Guard District and the Association for Rescue at Sea. From November 2001 to May 2002, working closely with the members of this team, he developed a plan of action which culminated in a Caribbean Volunteer Search and Rescue Organization Conference held in Miami, Florida 6 – 7 December 2002. Through his efforts, additional planning support was received from the British Virgin Islands Search and Rescue (VISAR), Citizens Rescue Organization of Curacao (CITRO) and the International Lifeboat Federation (ILF) in the presentation and facilitation of the numerous conference workshops. Commodore Tucker expertly led all aspects of the planning including obtaining funding, developing the agenda and issuing invitations. He also recognized the need for timely and readily available communications and worked with team members to develop and maintain a special Caribbean Conference website which served as the media for registration and notification of travel plans. Commodore Tucker’s pre-planning and work with his team resulted in seventy representatives from twenty-three countries attending the conference as well as the overall execution of a most successful event.

As a result of Commodore Tucker’s attention to detail and tireless efforts the conference achieved the objective of laying the foundation for a more robust search and rescue capability in the Caribbean Theater of Operations. Commodore Tucker’s dedication and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.