"Training in St. Louis"

The latest information was presented to the attendees at NTrain 2006 in a concise, professional manner. The instructors were knowledgeable and proficient in their instruction skills. The "students" were equally attentive and were ready participants in the 16 hours of workshops and presentations.

It is not our intention to present the contents of the individual N-Train 2006 workshops, rather it is the responsibility of the attendees to bring this information back to their districts for dissemination.

The following extracts are included in our coverage to give you, the reader, some of the feel and flavor of the workshops.

PUBLICATIONS (PB)
By Mel Borofsky, DVC-AP, Chief, Publications Division (PA Department)

This was the first gathering of District Publication Officers, by my count, in seven years (last in 1999). I was very ably assisted by Rob Westcott (Branch Chief, Publications) and Jim D'Errico (Webmaster, SITREP e-Magazine). Fourteen of the sixteen districts were represented.

We offered the latest training tools available for use at the division and deck plate level. PowerPoint presentations, handouts and manuals amplified the Saturday morning presentations. A sort of "Train the Trainer" workshop.

Saturday afternoon was spent answering questions and allowing for group solving of publication oriented problems. The attendees found great value in this "networking" and agreed to continue to remain in communication.

Sunday morning was used for viewing additional training aids and handbook distribution. The attendees viewed a software program "Publisher" and took part in construction of an actual publication. The attendees shared their hints and "secrets" and deemed the presentation a plus.

The general consensus was that we shouldn't wait another seven years to get back together.

COMMUNICATIONS (CM)
By David Elliot, DC-Od, Deputy Department Chief, Operations

N-Train provided the first opportunity in two years for a meeting among the District Staff Officers for Communications and the National Telecommunications staff. The timing was excellent, since a number of new initiatives are needed in telecommunications to bring it in line with other operations programs and the emergent needs of the Coast Guard and Auxiliary.

The turn-out was excellent, with almost all districts represented. The session opened with a wide-ranging discussion, with each district describing their key programs, and how they organize and control their radio communications. On the second day, the national staff led off an interactive discussion of a proposed "Concept of Operations" for communications, leading into a working session on potential new qualification standards and new High Frequency operations proposals.

On day three, presentations were given on key topics, including: Rescue 21, D5 HF operations, and a demonstration on Digital Selective Calling. The discussions were led by the Branch Chief for Telecommunications Resources, Bill Scholz, since the DVC-OT, Eric Glasscott, was unable to attend because of illness in his family. Eric and Bill put together the excellent group of presentations, discussions and demonstrations that were given and the whole group was very active (and interactive) for the entire session.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS (PA)
By Robert E Nelson, DVC-AN, Chief, Internal Communication (PA-Department)

It has been several years since the DSO-PAs have attended NTRAIN. I was amazed at the talent level of all the Public Affairs Officers that attended.

The weekend was divided into three sections of training. Friday night we spent time meeting all the other attendees within the Public Affairs and then late Friday night we meet with all the other DSOs attendees of the Member Services Directorate and discussed how to increase membership and promote retention of our members.

Saturday morning started early with the opening ceremony and then we headed for the days training. We spent the morning learning about American Waterway Watch, Public Affairs Policy, Resources available to DSO-PA from National A Department, Fleet Home Town News, Public Affairs Advancement and Recognition Program and the Nuts and Bolts of Public Affairs.

Sunday morning we also received training in leadership (based on John Maxwell's book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership) and on the importance of teamwork (based on John Maxwell's book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork). We spent time applying these principles in a round table discussion format to see how we can improve our role as program manager and leaders in the public affairs area.

PERSONNEL SERVICES (PS)
By Jennifer Fletcher, Department of Personnel Services

Personnel Services had a great turnout for N-Train this year, 24 members of the department were in attendance for the 15 hours of training. DSOs-PS were present from every District except one. The focus of N-Train this year was "RECRUITING" in an attempt to prepare for the membership drive that will be held in April. Guest speakers from other departments, Diversity, Mentoring etc. added to the educational benefits of the seminar.

After the grueling all day session, "The Purple Pirates of PS" donned their purple logo shirts and headed off together for an evening of fellowship and networking - where dinner conversation seemed to continue the training session!

A new member was even recruited at the Hotel during N-Train! When he appeared in uniform early Saturday morning, Rear Commodore-Sector Boston, Frank Keslof was asked questions about the Auxiliary by the hotel's Head Doorman, Dwayne Manning. After answering his questions, Frank found the local PS Officer and introduced them. Dwayne was not only interested in the Auxiliary - he was ready to join! Gloria Tobin, DSO-PS D8-WR, began the paperwork immediately!

Look for great things to come from the "Purple Pirates of PS"

NTRAIN 2006 a success for our DSO-CSs!
By Jeff Mahl, Department Chief, IT Department

Your DSO-CS officer had a great opportunity during NTRAIN in St. Louis 27-29 January to not only learn the latest advances in the CS (Communication Services) program, but to also share ideas and experiences with their fellow District Staff Officers (DSOs). Discussions included a full overview of the newly re-named IT (Information Technology) Department as well as in-depth sessions on the new resources being employed. This included AIRS (Auxiliary Internet Resources Site): http://airs.uscgaux.info/, the CS Guide: http://csguide.auxservices.org/index.php, the eDirectory: http://www.auxedirectory.org/ as well as the AUX-04 C-School (web design and PowerPoint training) program: http://cschool.auxservices.org/aux04/ . Topics also included new resources like cPanel available to our local units hosted on the National server, as well as discussions on streamlined processing to better service our nearly 700 local unit websites.

The newly design National website: www.cgaux.org was reviewed as well as new PowerPoint presentations for DSOs to utilize when they return home to their Districts. These were just a few of the topics covered during the 3 day session. It wasn't all work, as we gathered together for dinner Saturday night for some well deserved fellowship!

Your DSO-CS will be sharing with you these advances and resources in the weeks to come....

Education Department
By Richard Clinchy, Department Chief, E Department

The Education Department's activities at N-Train were two pronged. First, a team of specialists assigned to the revision of Boating Skills & Seamanship in preparation for publishing of the 13th edition were hard at work with our publisher, International Marine Division of McGraw-Hill. The rest of the department received an update on current projects and looked ahead.

Key issues and discussions focused on the upcoming Weekend Navigator course, the navigation course series mentioned recently by NACO in "On Course", and issues that can help to increase PE traffic at local Flotilla courses: Sharing of best practices; ABC: Just One More! promotion; and, improved access of public education class information on District web sites. Our DSO-PE approved the addition of Radar for Mariners as a new course to be developed and work on that will start in the next few months. The Auxiliary IDC was given a final once over and it will be moved to the next level in the approval process so our members should be looking for the Auxiliary Instructor Development Course later this year. Something unique about this year's N-Train was the fact that we had as our guest for the weekend Ms. Gail Kulp, Education Director for NASBLA, and we are sure she left with a far greater appreciation of how we operate and the quality of Auxiliary public education.