IN THIS STORY:
>New friends and old friends
>Apple pie and safe boating
>Eyes, ears, rudders, and wings
>Changing roles
>Name your pace
>Ready for anything
>Into the future

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Fall 2003 Issue

Today, the 35,000 auxiliary members work in nearly 200 local flotillas, the basic organizational unit, with members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. Although many members have military experience, it is not required. Membership is open to anyone who is at least 17 years old, and there is no maximum age. Many active duty military personnel find participation in the auxiliary an excellent off-duty volunteer opportunity. "You don't need to own a boat, you don't need to even like the water; all you need is a desire to serve your country," O'Connor explains.

Name your pace

Auxiliary members find themselves in interesting situations every day, but the work is always voluntary, and each member contributes as much time and effort as he or she can. Oliver Knight, a retired sales representative in Callao, Va., is a typical auxiliary member. "Every weekend and holiday we have our boats out on the water for the auxiliary," says Knight, who also teaches boating safety classes at the local library.

Linda and Terry Vetter of Redwood City, Calif., joined the auxiliary after learning they could receive advanced training at no cost. "We both like boating, but we're not into fishing; we just like to be out on the water. We joined and just kept getting in deeper," says Linda. Their increasing involvement in the auxiliary led to them having a 33-foot aluminum boat custom built to use as an auxiliary vessel. They call her Silver Charm, and they spend many hours patrolling the San Francisco Bay.

The Vetters also help with Coast Guard night training missions, working with helicopters to practice pulling people from the water in the dark. Both Vetters also are qualified coxswains, meaning they can lead missions, and frequently help with verifying channel markers and aids. "There are more than 600 private aids to navigation in the Bay Area, and the Coast Guard needs to check them but doesn't have the resources to do this," explains Linda.

The Vetters' work has not gone unnoticed. Linda was honored Sept. 10, 2002, when Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta came to San Francisco to present the "Transportation 9-11" medal to 10 active duty and two auxiliary members of the Coast Guard for their vigilance in patrolling northern California's waters after Sept. 11. Inscribed "ne obliviscaris," which means "never forget," the medals recognize the large amount of time Coast Guard auxiliary members donated in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.

Linda is thankful for the personal rewards she and Terry have received as auxiliary members. "All you have to do is pick one person up and it's all worthwhile; you've gotten your pay," she says. "And every now and then a secretary comes along and puts a medal on you!"

Ready for anything

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has responded to many national crises. In February 2003, it was called into action when the national Incident Command System was activated to respond to the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. There were concerns that pieces of the shuttle might have landed in the Toledo Bend Reservoir, a large man-made body of water that extends about 65 miles along the border of Texas and Louisiana. David Phillips of Lake Charles, La., was one of many auxiliary members from Louisiana and Texas who volunteered to help search for shuttle debris.

As law-enforcement staff and divers from federal, state, and local agencies converged on the area, Phillips used his 18-foot runabout to direct traffic on the lake, known for its rugged underwater forest of tree stumps and submerged timbers. Phillips says the Coast Guard requested the smaller boats owned by many auxiliary members to move people around the tricky terrain of the reservoir. He stayed for a week in a "very rustic" fishing camp lodge with several other volunteers, describing his experience as "rainy, muddy, foggy, kind of a nightmare, and absolutely rewarding.

Cmdr. James Montgomery, director of the auxiliary for the 8th Coast Guard Region in New Orleans, put out the call for auxiliary members after the shuttle disintegrated. "I was humbled by the amount of dedication shown by the auxiliary," he says, adding that the volunteers who helped with the space shuttle recovery "weren't getting paid yet provided a sparkplug of enthusiasm."

Auxiliary members never know what the next mission might be. Most flotillas have a member who carries a beeper to take calls for emergency assistance. In January 2003, David and Linda Bickford received a call they describe as "a bit different." David, who served as an Air Force medic in Vietnam and retired as a law enforcement diver before moving to Florida, was ready when called to assist a pygmy sperm whale stranded near the entrance to Coast Guard Station Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

"The whale was brought to the boat ramp at the Coast Guard Station," explains David. He and Linda stayed at the station overnight, providing coordination and security for the parties helping the whale. A frost warning prompted them to move the whale to an outdoor heated saltwater pool at a nearby motel, and the Bickfords went along to continue watching over the whale.

Into the future

Despite adventures and successes, Boodell mentions two serious challenges faced by today's auxiliary. First, the auxiliary needs an infusion of new and younger members. In her district, Boodell works closely with Petty Officer 1st Class Jim Ammons, a Coast Guard recruiter, to bring local high school students into the auxiliary. If a coxswain-certified auxiliary volunteer later decides to join the Coast Guard, he or she emerges from boot camp as an e-3, or seaman, a significant leg up on recruits without similar qualifications.

Boodell also is pushing for more and better equipment for the auxiliary force, citing a critical need for more personal protective equipment, such as face masks and bodysuits, necessary to respond to many hazardous situations. "We don't want to put our volunteers at risk," says Boodell.

"We are one family," says Boodell, who travels almost every weekend to look after the volunteers in her district. "When you're so tired you can hardly see straight and then you get a call from an auxiliarist who is so proud of something they've done, it all comes together."

To learn more about joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary or to find a flotilla in your area, visit the Coast Guard Auxiliary Web site, www.cgaux.org, or call (877) 875-6296.