posted Mar 4, 2010 7:02 PM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Mar 5, 2010 7:34 AM
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Fellow Guardians: For those who don't know, the old AUXSAR course has been discontinued and replaced with new curriculum developed by the National Search and Rescue School at Training Center Yorktown. The new certification is called AUXSCE ( Auxiliary Search, Coordination, and Execution)
National is currently planning AUXSCE training and has invited interested Auxiliarists to submit their requests for orders. The course will be held May 3rd through 7th in Traverse City, Michigan.
If you are interested, you should contact our FSO-MT (Earl Olson) immediately so we can begin the process of cutting you orders.
Any member involved in surface operations should give careful consideration to this valuable training.
Brian Rollins United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Commander, FL-73
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posted Mar 4, 2010 6:56 PM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Mar 5, 2010 1:24 PM
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Good morning from the D13 PATON Manager,
Here it is March and folks are wondering... "When will I get my Bridge-PATON assignments?" I can give you an answer to that question.
Up until today the Coast Guard has had a software problem, which has been resolved, that kept me from putting out assignments. As you probably know "funding" is always an issue as well. So to keep cost down we will handle Bridge-PATON assignments this year as we did last year. Bridges and Class I PATON will be once again be assigned for inspection/verification. Class II and III PATON are not being assigned for verification this year.
One thing to always keep in mind, any discrepancies observed with an ATON (Coast Guard maintained federal Aid TO Navigation), PATON (Private Aid to Navigation) or bridge shall be immediately reported.
I foresee having Bridge-PATON assignments out by the end of April and hopefully earlier.
On the subject of annual bridge inspections and PATON verifications; Headquarters policy no longer requires the Coast Guard to do an on-site-visit to bridges and/or PATON for the purposes of doing an annual inspection or verification. However, D13 has elected to continue doing annual inspections of bridges and verifications of class I PATON in the hopes that having CG Team members, which you are, looking at waterways that don't get looked at regularly. More and more things are being found and reported by Aux folks when they are out on or near the water annually.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you for your support!
r/ Timothy L. Westcott
13th Coast Guard District
Prevention Division (dp)
Waterways Management Branch (dpw)
Federal ATON Damage Claim Manager
Private Aids to Navigation Manager
Seattle, Washington
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posted Mar 4, 2010 6:49 PM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Mar 5, 2010 1:30 PM
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Shipmates, I've received a very interesting help wanted request via the District Chief of Staff for a Director of the new Performance Measurement Directorate. If you have the requisite skills I encourage you to apply for the position. It is likely that they will also be staffing some of the Directorate positions with applicants for the Director position.
So why does this matter? The key item is in the vision statement for the Directorate: "identifying and measuring outcomes and results, not just member activity". An outcomes and results focused set of measures will make a far better case to the Coast Guard, DHS, Congress and the President that we are the absolute best value in government and that our efforts deserve to be funded.
In addition there is a saying in business "what gets measured gets managed". We currently tend to manage for recruiting (and to a lessor extent retention) and hours/activity in certain missions because these are the things for which we have numbers. I've spoken before that there are a whole series of things that happen between recruiting and actual mission performance including member training, qualification maintenance, and member satisfaction. We need processes in place which collect the data for our Flotilla leaders to manage these and other issues while simplifying the reporting processes for the members -- this position working with IT will be responsible for moving us towards giving our leaders the tools they need.
What might this look like? What if, as a Flotilla Commander, you could easily track where all your members are in qualification processes? What if the system let members indicate which training and qualification they wanted to pursue (online individual development plans) so you could manage training programs? What if you could access a risk profile for an adjacent, unserved or underserved area and plan your expansion in light of the data and ask for the requisite funds based on how you will reduce the risk in that area? What if you could get an estimate of the lives saved by your PV, VE, PA and PE programs?
Interested? Have a look at the Director position, the Directorate description, and keep your eyes open for more information in the months ahead.
DIRECTOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS (DIR-M)
Mission: The Director, Auxiliary Force Readiness Performance Measurements, under the direction of the Assistant National Commodore, Planning and Performance Support, assists Auxiliary leadership in the development of measurement tools, concepts and strategies in order to evaluate the effectiveness of Auxiliary programs, provides the Leadership with insights and strategies to better align performance with measurable outcomes, and offers recommendations for increasing program effectiveness.
Functions: Under the general direction and supervision of the National Commodore; the Deputy National Commodore for Force Readiness, and the Assistant National Commodore for Planning and Performance Support, the Director of Performance Measurements shall have the following duties:
• Be responsible for the vision, direction, leadership and administration of the Auxiliary’s performance measurement.
• Supervise and provide quality control of the programs and projects administered by the Performance Measurement Directorate.
• Maintain close liaison with related offices in the Coast Guard to assure that service policy and procedures are understood and followed.
• Coordinate closely with other Directorates in developing an effective evaluative process of the outcomes of relevant programs.
• Coordinate specific activities and/or requests as assigned with the Auxiliary leadership and appropriate Coast Guard offices.
• Partner with other National Directorates and programs to insure seamless integration and maximum efficiency for the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
• Write articles on performance measurement topics for Navigator and other publications.
• Design and deliver training and presentations on Directorate-related topics as required.
• Carry out special projects as requested.
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS DIRECTORATE
Vision: The Auxiliary Force Readiness Performance Measurements Department will evaluate the contributions of the Coast Guard Auxiliary to our principal “customers” – the recreational boating public and the U.S. Coast Guard - identifying and measuring outcomes and results, not just member activity.
Mission: The Auxiliary Force Readiness Performance Measurements Department is responsible for measuring and evaluating Coast Guard Auxiliary performance in each of its mission areas, as well as its overall effectiveness and contribution.
In the area of recreational boating safety, we evaluate the Auxiliary’s impact in protecting boaters from boating casualties.
In the area of Coast Guard Support, we evaluate our readiness and ability to augment Coast Guard missions.
Strategic Imperatives:
Identify the key sources of data and other information required to measure performance; evaluate the integrity of the data; participate in the improvement of data collection systems and the development of new systems; and create new information collection systems, such as surveys and other qualitative measurement tools.
Identify measures of effectiveness in recreational boating safety nationwide, and by geographic region, collaborate with Coast Guard districts and Auxiliary districts and regions to correlate Auxiliary activities with recreational boating safety outcomes.
Coordinate our efforts with those of the performance measurement resources within Active Duty FORCECOM to integrate Auxiliary efforts and assist in advancing Active Duty FORCECOM doctrine and readiness programs.
Collaborate with each Auxiliary Department and the Auxiliary National Leadership to develop outcome-related measurements of the effectiveness of each of our programs, as well as the impact of those programs on our impact as an organization.
Develop and maintain specific measurements of Auxiliary training, standardization, interoperability and readiness to support and augment Coast Guard mission areas and advance operational doctrine.
Support Area/District/Sector efforts to evaluate the contribution of the Auxiliary in qualitative and financial terms.
Develop Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) as well as practical tools to enable unit leadership (Flotilla, Division, District and National elected and appointed officers) to evaluate readiness and performance in each mission area. These tools should be easier to access than the current AUXDATA/AUXINFO resources, and should provide for appropriate drill-down and communication with staff officers. Some sort of “dashboard” may be developed to assist elected leaders with these tasks.
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posted Mar 4, 2010 6:34 AM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Mar 4, 2010 6:48 AM
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Flotilla 73 was recently involved in the search for a missing canoest from Stevenson Washington.
The following article mentions our involvement and was published in The Columbian newspaper.
Special thanks to Ken Babick for his efforts presecuting this search and rescue.
Missing Stevenson man not likely to be found alive, sheriff says
By Bob Albrecht
Columbian staff writer Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Stevenson, WA — The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office is still searching for a Stevenson man who went missing on the Columbia River early Sunday, but they no longer expect to find 55-year-old Jimmie Caldwell alive. “You get a small community and something like this happens and it really affects everybody,” said Undersheriff Dave Cox. “It’s tragic.” Deputies joined Multnomah County’s Marine Patrol unit on the river Tuesday, examining the water’s floor with side-scan sonar equipment. When that failed to turn up Caldwell, hope took a major hit. “We’re this far into it, it’s a matter of waiting for the body to come up to the surface,” Cox said. “That’s what we’re waiting on at this point.” Caldwell was well-known around town, Cox said, adding it was not unusual for him to paddle out on the Columbia in the middle of the night when the weather was clear like it was Sunday. He set out Sunday at 1 a.m. By 8 a.m., his wife reported him missing. Two hours later, Skamania County’s Marine Patrol unit located Caldwell’s canoe and a paddle about a mile from where he had launched. It is unknown whether Caldwell was wearing a life jacket. The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon State Patrol all provided resources to the search. Friends and family with civilian aircrafts also assisted, according to the sheriff’s office. Republished from The Columbian Newspaper |
posted Feb 26, 2010 9:56 AM by USGA Flotilla73
We were a live-aboard family with three active children at a freshwater marina on a tributary of the Willamette River near Portland, Oregon. Other kids were already swimming in the cove because it was that kind of day—hot and lazy. This was a common practice by adults as well as children during the warm summer of 1999.
Our sons Ian, age 10, and Lucas, age eight, asked to swim with their friends. Permission was granted, subject to close adult supervision by parents including their mother, a graduate nurse. The boys were both wearing Type II PFD life jackets, so it was great fun and a presumably safe to play in the water. Our children were schooled in aquatic safety. Being young professional people, my wife, Sheryl, and I had taken every precaution we could for peace of mind in a water environment.
On the inside of the dock, the kids were having a great time floating down with the river current on an inner tube. Lucas moved away from the others toward his mother, who was keeping pace on the dock with the children’s water activity. As he approached the ladder to get out of the water, he let out a loud gasp, immediately rolling onto his back in his life jacket, apparently unconscious. Sheryl yelled to the other kids to help him and jumped into the water herself.
As the kids approached Lucas, they felt a slight tingly sensation in the water and immediately backed off. Upon hitting the water downstream from Lucas, Sheryl’s extremities went numb and she experienced extreme difficulty moving her limbs, which, at the time, she attributed to fear. Somehow, Sheryl managed to pull Lucas to the dockside where others assisted in getting him onto the dock.
I arrived moments later after hearing the commotion and, along with another onlooker, started giving him CPR, which we continued until the paramedics took over approximately 15 to 20 minutes later. Our beloved Lucas was pronounced dead at 6:30 pm at Portland’s Emanuel Hospital. One moment he was laughing and playing—an instant later, his short life was over, leaving our hearts broken forever.
As parents we suffered agonies of “how did this happen?” This question then turned into “why did this happen?” We relived every moment trying to sort out what we did or didn’t do. It was not until the next morning that we were able to start unraveling the pieces of the mystery. The first assumption was that he drowned. However, he was wearing the best life jacket money could buy, which kept his face out of the water even though he was unconscious. He was pulled from a floating position only moments after rolling onto his back and CPR was started immediately. Also, at no time during CPR could we detect a heartbeat and his color was good. Neither of these observations would indicate drowning.
As Sheryl was telling me what had happened, she said she had never been so fearful in her life as to have her extremities tingle and go numb to the point where she could hardly move while in the water. Ian then related to me for the first time that he also felt a tingling as he approached his brother. Upon hearing all this it seemed clear to me that he did not drown, but that somehow, some way, AC electricity was present in the water where the kids were swimming. Our Lucas had been electrocuted.
I then called the County Coroner’s office, requesting an autopsy if they had not already done so, because knowledge of the circumstances and common sense pointed to electrocution, not drowning. They argued that there were no burns on his body. I pointed out that Lucas had been in an electrolytic solution, which eliminated the resistance of the skin (ordinarily skin resistance results in burns when an individual is electrocuted on land). To my complete horror, they responded that they would not even know how to test for something like that.
I told them that testing was not difficult and that I was going to test the water in the area. I then called the local Sheriff’s Department and left a message telling them my suspicions. With my digital voltmeter, I went to the area where Lucas had been, put the negative lead to a ground, dropped the positive lead into the water, and immediately got AC voltage. I notified the Sheriff’s Department, reporting what I had found and that I wanted to get someone to confirm my test. They agreed to send out some deputies while I called in an electrician. He arrived later that morning, tracing the electricity to a powerboat that was in the area where the kids had been swimming.
Concerns about liability soon unleashed a stream of other investigators, all of whom were suddenly interested in determining the source of the current. The local utility company wound up sending a team. The owner and manager of the marina arrived. More deputies were called.
Meanwhile, the electrician and I continued our investigation, focusing on the powerboat. We found a 12V wire lying on top of an AC wire, which had gotten hot enough to melt its own insulation and that of the hot (black) AC wire. This put 120V AC into the entire ground system of the boat, including the engines and propellers. This, coupled with lack of an AC safety ground, forced the voltage and electrical current into the surrounding water.
Freshwater is not a good electrical conductor; therefore the AC was unable to reach ground at a sufficient current to potentially trip the breaker. Because of its high salinity, the human body is a much better conductor of electricity than freshwater. (Saltwater is more conductive than the human body, which explains why electric shock deaths have not occurred in saltwater.) As Lucas approached the ladder, he passed into the field of AC current and, for a brief moment, completed the circuit to ground. His heart was stopped instantly; the insidious path of electrical current took the life of our son.
At first we considered this a freak accident—a unique set of circumstances that just happened to us. But this event completely changed my life and my focus. I was determined to understand how this could happen and to do everything I could to keep it from happening again. I did not want anyone else to suffer the pain we had suffered. I, with the collaboration of my business partner, wrote a couple articles for The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), describing the accident and the action that I have taken to create public and professional awareness of the problem, to provide education and a better understanding of the concepts involved, and to encourage the following of the ABYC standards and the use of ground fault-type devices onboard boats and in marinas.
I determined to enhance my own knowledge so that I would have a solid understanding of the workings of AC currents in freshwater environments. With Andy Tufts, my business partner, we have done that using many different avenues, not the least of which was with ABYC. We are now both ABYC Master Technicians. Also, the thrust of our marine business changed significantly from emphasis primarily on sales to one concentrating on keeping boats electrically safe using ABYC standards. Our business motto became “Safer Boating Begins With A Safe Boat.” On-line, I also started checking out freshwater drownings with the suspicion that many were possibly electrical current related.
 Note the very small melt in the AC hot wire. This tiny connection between the AC and DC systems was all it took for AC electricity to find a path to the water. |
Much has happened in the years since and all of it good. The awareness of “electric shock drowning” as a serious freshwater issue has significantly increased. A USCG-funded ABYC grant implemented by Capt. David Rifkin and James Shafer has greatly added to the understanding of how AC current behaves in freshwater.
The truth is that most people electrically shocked in freshwater, unlike my son, are drowned. This is because of skeletal muscle paralysis caused by low levels of AC current using the body as part of its return path to its source. This is what Sheryl experienced when she jumped into the water to rescue Lucas. That she didn’t drown or get electrocuted was due to the voltage gradient of the electrical current from its source. She entered the water farther from the faulty boat leak than Lucas. Depending upon several bodily factors, a range of say 15 to 30 milliamps (mA) of AC current will create muscle paralysis, and the drowning of even good swimmers is the result. An AC current flow of around 100 mA will put the heart into fibrillation, and death will likely follow within seconds. This is a very serious problem, but it is preventable.
First and foremost, no one should go in the water at a marina. Signs should be posted on every pier warning people to stay out of the water. But, since not everyone will read this article and since people often ignore signs, (as happened in the case of 19-year-old girl in 2005), or may fall into the water accidentally, the only certain cure is to have GFCI-type devices installed on boats that would automatically interrupt the flow of electricity in the case of a fault. There have been at least 60 needless fatalities and 100 unwarranted casualties from freshwater electrically induced faults. The solution in the future may be ELCI’s (see sidebar).
The unfortunate reality is that currently there is no post-mortem evidence available to coroners to ascertain whether electricity was involved in a drowning. Nor do most law enforcement personnel have the technical skills or tools to investigate this type of accident. This lack of knowledge, training, and tools leads to questions about how many deaths have occurred due to faulty wiring on boats. Some time after Lucas’s death, two Multnomah County River Deputies and I conducted a random sampling of 50 boats in three freshwater marinas in the Portland area. We found 13 boats leaking potentially lethal electrical current into the water. A ratio of 26 percent of faulty boat wiring leads one to wonder if the number of reported electrical deaths in freshwater is only the tip of the iceberg. If you have any doubts about your boat, it should be inspected by an ABYC-certified technician. Do not depend on an electrician with experience only on land. Let’s boat safely and save lives.
For more information, contact Kevin Ritz: kevintritz@gmail.com. |
posted Feb 26, 2010 9:04 AM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Feb 26, 2010 9:09 AM
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Fellow Guardians:
Chief Eaton, OIC of Station Portland, has asked for our help.
The command has been invited to participate in an event to kick off National Safe Boating Week. We're asked to provide assets on 22 May 2010 at the Maryhill State Park boat launch. Maryhill State Park is located on the Washington bank of the Columbia River in The Dalles Dam pool (Lake Cellilo) several miles below the John Day Dam and across the bridge from Biggs Junction on I-84. Walleye and bass fishermen as well as some PWC and water-ski type boaters can be expected depending on the weather.
This will be a multi-agency event intended to reach some of the Mid-Columbia boating public who do not see an RBS type presence in this area. County resources out here are thin and their activities tend to be reactionary as their marine deputies are really road deputies that try to find time for marine training and duty. Weather can be a big factor on boating turn-out at mid-Columbia locations since we don't have the big metro centers, so even if boating turn out isn't what we hope for, I believe it's a good opportunity for our agencies to meet and greet each other in a non-emergent environment and establish points of contact with each other in preparation for any future emergency response needs in the Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day pools of the Columbia River. CRITFE, Army Corps, and Klickitat County operate within all of them. While they are outside of the Station's AOR, they are USCG jurisdictional waters and it might be nice for these other entities to meet some of the USCG folks that might come to assist them if circumstances warranted.
Some ideas for involvement:
· Conduct vessel safety checks at the ramp.
· A manned booth with boating safety and recruiting information.
· Opportunity for Communications Training (Comms trailer?)
· On the water patrol / AOR familiarization
There are just some of the ways we may be able to assist.
I've asked Tony Delucca, my acting Dalles Detachment Supervisor, to spearhead this event.
Tony will be responsible for overall planning and execution.
What I need from you:
Please consider if you can assist. Then send an email to Tony (tonydelucca@hughes.net ) listing your availability and the assistance you can provide.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Brian Rollins
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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posted Feb 16, 2010 12:32 PM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Feb 16, 2010 12:35 PM
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Division is having the TCT Refresher (Required for OPS Personal) and OPS workshop on Feb. 20. The class will be held at the Naval Reserve Center next to United States Coast Guard - Sector Portland. Start time is 08:30 and the uniform is ODU.
Brian Rollins
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Commander, FL-73
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posted Feb 16, 2010 9:09 AM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Feb 16, 2010 12:41 PM
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Good news, The new Flotilla 73 command t-shirts have been printed and are available for pick up. I will bring them to the February meeting and continue to bring them to events for some time until all have been distributed. You may also make arrangements to pick up your shirts at my home in Lake Oswego. Please contact me ahead of time if you wish to make these arrangements. Brian Rollins United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Commander, FL-73  |
posted Feb 12, 2010 3:34 PM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Feb 16, 2010 12:42 PM
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Shipmates,
As you may already know, the Uniform Distribution Center is now accepting Auxiliarist orders for the new untucked ODU uniform.
It's important to note that this is a new uniform and you sizing is different from the tucked version of the ODU.
For that reason, you should not order the same sized untucked ODU as you wore in the tucked version.
The Coast Guard has established a web page to assist you in selecting the appropriate size. Please see http://uscg.mil/uniform/ODUUntuckedUniforms.asp before ordering your new uniforms.
This will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.
Brian Rollins
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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posted Feb 11, 2010 10:14 AM by USGA Flotilla73
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updated Feb 18, 2010 8:15 AM
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Shipmates:
I want to take a moment to address the issue of competitiveness within our organization.
A healthy competition between units is a good thing. It motivates people to do their best and inspires a sense of unity amongst members in each unit. It motivate us to succeed in our goals and encourages honesty and ethical behavior. Examples of healthy competition include:
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Challenges in vessel examinations (Number completed) |
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Boat crew training competitions |
Competitiveness transcends the line between healthy and unhealthy when we lose our focus. We must all remember that we’re all equally a part of “Team Coast Guard”. Our focus should always be doing what’s in the best interest of our three main areas of focus: The boating public, the United States Coast Guard, and our membership.
Examples of self-serving actions include:
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Failure to share recruiting contact information with other flotilla’s that may better serve a potential member due to geographic location or other reasons. |
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Failure to share another flotilla’s public education information with the public with the intent to enroll in your own flotilla’s class |
(Note: The aforementioned examples are only hypothetical and are not necessarily representative of any person(s) actual actions)
As professionals, it is essential that we work together with one another whether working as a boat crew, a flotilla, a division or district.
I challenge all of us, myself included, to carefully consider our actions and ask ourselves if what we are doing is in the best interest of our 3 areas of focus .
When we all work together we make a stronger Coast Guard.
Brian Rollins
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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