02 Sat am- Color Guard-Integrated Support Command St Louis

The Color Guard from the Integrated Support Command, St. Louis presented and posted the colors. National Vice Commodore Jim Vass less the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Past National Commodore Gene Seibert offered the invocation followed by a moment of silence in memory of our members who have crossed over the bar and a silent prayer for those who are standing the watch at home an abroad.

NACO Kerigan introduced the National Bridge and thanked the special guests who took time off from their busy schedules to attend the training conference.

“Welcome to our National Training Conference 2009,” said NACO Kerigan. “In the spirit of accountability to the dedicated people who make up the Coast Guard Auxiliary membership and their responsibility for the public trust, the theme of this year’s National Training Conference is ‘Leadership, Performance and Readiness.’”

“No other volunteer organization in the world attracts people with talent and dedication as does the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary,” he said. “Selfless service and devotion to duty must be mirrored by the Coast Guard Auxiliary leadership, and therefore we must provide our members the training and tools needed for our evolving missions.

“I hope that each of you will find the time spent here educational and worthwhile,” he said.

The minutes of the Board meeting at NACON in August were seconded and approved.

Rear Admiral William Baumgartner, Judge Advocate General (JAG), USCG was introduced. Baumgartner serves as the JAG and as the Chief Counsel of the US Coast Guard. “I am a local guy who grew up not very far from here (St. Louis) but I would be willing to come to NTrain no matter where it is held,” he said.

“An Auxiliarist‘s interaction with our legal department is usually following some sort of unpleasantness,” he said. “My job is to make sure that every lawyer on our staff understands the importance of each member of the Auxiliary. We are here to serve,” he said.

NACO Kerigan then introduced RADM James Watson, USCG, Director of Prevention Policy. His job as Director includes responsibility for marine safety, security and stewardship and is located in Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC.

RADM Watson presentation on small boat safety and security included many examples and lessons learned from the recent “Mumbai incident.” He delineated many improvements already set in place and those that are included in current planning. He stressed the importance of the Auxiliary in Coast Guard operations. He specificall mentioned our “four cornerstones” and said, “You are the keepers of these cornerstones, just keep doing them.”

National Chief of Staff Steve McElroy offered remarks and thanked his Department Chiefs and their staffs for a job well done in past ninety days. The Department Chiefs and their Deputies were administered their oaths of office.

Following a short recess, National Commodore Kerigan introduced LCDR Andre Billeaudeaux, Director of Auxiliary, District 13. Billeaudeaux discussed the Citizen’s Assistance Program that has been working in the D13 area for a few years. He described how private citizens, living on the waterfront are voluntarily participating in this program. Some are offered special gear to aid them in the assistance and he compared the relatively low cost of the program vs. high cost sophisticated surveillance equipment.

Billeaudeaux, using text from President Obama’s inauguration speech stressed the need for these volunteer networks. His visual examples showed the value of these resources.

Auxiliarist Steve Pegram was introduced by NACO Kerigan. Mr. Pegram, Vice President of GSS, made a presentation on the “Disaster Communications and Alert System-3N System.” This is an almost instantaneous notification system that can be tailored to meet many needs. Mr. Pegram conducted a “live” demonstration that clearly showed how fast the notification system worked. Moments after keying a message into the system, via computer, telephones started ringing within the assembly.

Captain Mark Rizzo then presented three Coast Guard awards (see “Awards Presentation,” a separate article in SITREP’s coverage of NTrain.)

The assembly was recessed until after lunch.

~IJLA