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Contact: Betty Zoellner Flotilla Commander 3-13 8WR USCGAUX District Staff Officer - Public Affairs 314-852-2909 September 8, 2008
For Immediate Release: Coast Guard Auxiliary Turns Readiness into Hurricane Support With the Atlantic Hurricane season in full swing, members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary are at a heightened state of readiness in not only the affected areas, but all over the country. In southern California , far from the churning storms, Auxiliary members of the Coast Guard concentrated on honing their communications skills by establishing a makeshift communications center, very similar to the makeshift communications centers that were established in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and now Gustav and perhaps Ike.
While the temporary radio station established this weekend was used to maintain non-emergency communications (between the Coast Guard Operations Center at Sector Los Angeles/ Long Beach and Coast Guard Auxiliary boats assisting civilian planners with a regatta patrol in Dana Point Harbor, California), "The effort provided practical experience in establishing an operational communications center that could be duplicated anywhere in the United States in 5-hours or less." said Harry Jacobs, the Incident Command Section Chief for Communications for the exercise.
"Disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes have the potential to disrupt traditional communications such as landline, satellite and cellular telephone service and so we train to be able provide conventional radio communications in an emergency" according to Bill Sholz a communications specialist for the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Immediately after Hurricane Gustav struck, Coast Guard Auxiliary communications specialists put their training to work “real time”, setting up a makeshift communications center in the affected area. Other Auxiliary units have been mobilized providing logistical support to Coast Guard Sector New Orleans and outlying Coast Guard units in the region.
In the aftermath, more than 50 Auxiliary members are involved in everything from surveying marinas and harbors for sunken boats and floating hazards to the delivery of personnel, food, water and ice to the affected area. While Active Duty Coast Guard members from District 8 in New Orleans set up a temporary command center in St. Louis to continue operations during the height of the storm, St Louis Area Auxiliarists provided additional manpower to assist the Coast Guard’s Personnel Resource Center at the Federal Building downtown. With Hurricane Ike looming in the distance, and the hurricane season far from over, Auxiliary units around the country will remain “Semper Paratus” – always ready to serve.
Pictured above - Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel operate a makeshift communications center as part of a communications training exercise. ( U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Anthony Turner)
Whether you are interested in joining the Auxiliary, or would just like to learn more about the services offered to the boating public such as Safe Boating Classes and Vessel Safety Checks, information is available on the web at www.uscgauxflotilla3-13.org or www.cgaux.org – or you can contact the Flotilla Commander at bcz@charter.net or 314-852-2909.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation’s waterways, in classrooms and on the dock, performing safety patrols, vessel safety examinations and public education. The 28,000 members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions. |
