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St. Simons Island Flotilla 10-1=
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Volume
XIII Issue 1 &nbs=
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nbsp; &nbs=
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nbsp; &nbs=
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nbsp; Janu=
ary,
2006
Inside This Iss=
ue:
Commander’s
Compass &nbs=
p; &nb=
sp; 3
January Meeting in
Review =
&nb=
sp; 4
Flotilla Commander:
Bill Capitan
Vice Flotilla
Commander:
Joe
Jurskis
Editor:
Carole Hawkins
U.S.
Senate Thanks Coast
The United States Senate passed Senate
Resolution 246 on September
21, 2005 , thanking the U.S. Coast Guard for the heroic service =
it
provided in the days leading up to and following Hurricanes Katrina and Rit=
a.
We can all take pride in being part the
organization that has earned this honor.
Excerpts follow below.
[This
resolution is] to express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and
performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane
Katrina.
The Un=
ited
States Coast Guard has been charged by Congress with missions central to
protecting the lives and well-being of individuals and communities in the <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">United States.
The Coast Guard anticipated the pot=
ential
for significant loss of life and property as Hurricane Katrina approached <=
st1:State
w:st=3D"on">Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama
and made landfall on August
29, 2005 , and, in advance of the storm, relocated its personnel,
vessels, and aircraft out of harm's way.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a
Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching 175 miles per hour and massive sto=
rm
surges, the combination of which left a trail of devastation unprecedented =
on United States
See Katrina p. 2 <=
/b>
Continued from p. 1
leveled countless homes, businesses=
, and
other structures, displaced millions of people from their communities, and
otherwise made coastal urban and rural areas unliveable. <=
/p>
Coast Guard personnel who had never
personally worked together before began to work as teams to conduct and
coordinate search and rescue operations while Hurricane Katrina continued to
bear down on the central Gulf of Mexico shoreline.
The Coast Guard rescued or evacuated
33,544 individuals as of September
21, 2005 , a number that represents eight times the number of li=
ves
saved by the Coast Guard in an average year.
Three Coast Guard pollution response
Strike Teams responded to 1,129 pollution incidents as of September 20, 200=
5,
which include total discharges of more than 7 million gallons of oil, unkno=
wn
amounts of sewage, and unknown quantities of other toxic chemicals, and the
Coast Guard has contained or otherwise closed 426 of these cases.
Coast Guard buoy tenders have respo=
nded
to 964 discrepancies in buoys and other aids to navigation and have restore=
d 39
of 48 critical aids to navigation as of September 21, 2005 .
The Coast Guard performed its hurri=
cane
response missions largely with outdated legacy assets, increasing the wear =
and
tear on these assets while foregoing regularly scheduled maintenance activi=
ties
in the interest of sustaining its surge in life-saving operations.
In addition to covering operation a=
nd
maintenance costs of a rapidly aging fleet, the Coast Guard needs to rebuild
several Coast Guard facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi , and Alabama
More than 700 Coast Guard personnel
stationed in the Gulf region lost their homes and all personal property and=
are
now living on overcrowded Coast Guard vessels and in makeshift shelters.
Before, during, and after the landf=
all of
Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel exhibited determination and a full
commitment to their missions, and the Coast Guard has proven to be one of t=
he
most resourceful and capable services in the United States government.=
Before, during, and after the landf=
all of
Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel performed their missions with the
highest level of bravery and self-sacrifice, and their effectiveness in
performing their missions is unparalleled in the United States
The Coast Guard has
See Katrina p. 5 <=
/b>
The new year is marked by enthusiasm among staff offi=
cers
and membership.
Our division was one of two divisions, out of a total=
of 16
in District 7, which reached its goal of 10 percent growth this past year. =
We
did this despite the heavy toll taken on our membership by security questio=
nnaires.
By all expectations we can look forward to growth in our Flotilla and the D=
ivision
again this year.
We began the year by installing five new members and =
are
waiting for security clearance for three more.
The staff officers have helped me put together a set =
of
goals to make this another year of achievement and growth in training and
skills for individual members.
One challenging idea is to train a team to compete in=
the
2007 ISAR competition in Punta=
Gorda ,
Florida
We also would like to ask everyone to call a member f=
riend
or invite a guest for each meeting. This would help stimulate interest in o=
ur
goals and activities and help us to eventually attract contributing members=
.
We need to improve our intake process. New members sh=
ould
begin tracking with uniforms and member involvement soon after they enroll.=
Each officer might consider inviting a member to be an
assistant so that they may prepare to serve as an officer down the road.
Officers can use help any time, so offer to assist. <=
o:p>
Also, don't forget to assess your own member involvem=
ent.
New training options are going to open up. There is more to being a member =
than
just coming to meetings or (Should I mention it?) paying dues.
In addition to our usual workshops this year, we are =
going
to have a number of specialized
training sessions, so listen for announcements about =
this
if you want to improve your boat
handling, navigation, and radio operations skills.
Finally, I want to remind everyone of the Coast Guard
policy on sexual harassment. The Commodore has sent his annual statement on
this. Fortunately, we have had very few problems. Courtesy, respect, and
professionalism should be our watchwords in all that we do.
I am looking forward to a year of growth and continued
fellowship. I hope you are, too.
January Meeting Reviews 2005, Looks
Ahead
The Janu=
ary
meeting of Flotilla 10-10, held Jan. 11, assessed accomplishments of the pa=
st
year and planned new efforts for 2006.
FC Capit=
an
proposed that we put together one or two teams to train for and eventually
compete in the 2007 International Volunteer Search and Rescue Skills
Competition scheduled for next April in Punta=
Gorda ,
Florida
Held alt=
ernately
in Canada U.S. Canada United States
and tests not only the seamanship and search and rescue skills of the auxil=
iary
volunteers, but also volunteers’ ability to plan, communicate and
prosecute a maritime SAR mission. ISAR is a joint operation sponsored and
supported by both federal governments.
FC Capit=
an
outlined goals for the coming year as discussed during the FSO meeting held
prior to the general membership meeting. Also the Blessing of the Fleet in =
Darien Brunswick were di=
scussed.
PE Dixon
reported that there was currently a shortage of instructors for the BS&S
and BCN courses. The spring BS&S class was set at a maximum of 20 stude=
nts.
MS/OP Pa=
rrinello
reported that the water temperature was too cold to conduct patrols this mo=
nth,
but expected that patrols might resume in late February.
Reports =
of
activities in 2005 included:
=
·
=
·
=
·
Three new
members were sworn in.
Membersh=
ip
awards were presented to John Patterson, 5 years of service, Gene Wilson, 10
years of service, and Chuck Van Horn, 10 years of service.
Next Meeting:
1930 hours
February
8, 2006
University of Georgia
Marine Extension
Building =
Bay Street i=
n Brunswick , GA
Uniform for this meeting is the
Tropical Blue Long
Con=
tinued
from p. 2
=
;
an operational and =
command
structure that allowed it to quickly take a leadership role in saving lives,
without waiting for instruction or permission to act.
The Coast Guard's operational and c=
ommand
structure continues to serve as a model for other agencies that need to res=
pond
quickly to large-scale natural and man-made disasters.
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, by =
the
Senate, That it is the sense of the Senate that -
(1) the United States Coast Guard s=
hould
receive Congress's highest commendation for its tremendous and highly effec=
tive
response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina;
(2) the United States Congress shou=
ld
commit to providing the Coast Guard with the resources it needs to modernize
and maintain its fleet of vessels and aircraft; and
(3) the Administration should ensure that the C=
oast
Guard receives sufficient funding to cover its unexpected operational and
capital costs associated with Hurricane Katrina.
Congratu=
lations
and thanks to you all. Semper Paratus!
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