With water temperatures raising our crews will soon be hitting the water. As we prepare for the upcoming season we have realized that many of us have "Wintered Well". In order to combat these added pounds our Flotilla Commander has challenged us. The challenge is to meet the active duty PT standards for our age and sex. This means that we are hitting the gym, and in the next few months we will be conducting an honest to goodness PT test. In order to properly prepare for this test we are setting up organized sessions at the gym. Flotilla4 will be at the gym Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7pm. Feel free to join in if you are interested
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Flotilla 4 hits the gym
With water temperatures raising our crews will soon be hitting the water. As we prepare for the upcoming season we have realized that many of us have "Wintered Well". In order to combat these added pounds our Flotilla Commander has challenged us. The challenge is to meet the active duty PT standards for our age and sex. This means that we are hitting the gym, and in the next few months we will be conducting an honest to goodness PT test. In order to properly prepare for this test we are setting up organized sessions at the gym. Flotilla4 will be at the gym Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7pm. Feel free to join in if you are interested
Red River Flood Rescue Footage
From the U.S. Coast Guard:
MARVIN, N.D. – Airboat crews from U.S. Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and the Fish and Wildlife Department, working with the Grand Forks Sheriffs Department, rescue a stranded man April, 1, 2009, from a home surrounded by flood waters. The man had been helping build dikes around his son’s home when flood waters from the Red River Valley left him trapped, unable to leave without a boat. (U.S. Coast Guard video/Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=513031&g2_navId=xc41f59ac
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FARGO, N.D. -- In this video, a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit show the extensive flooding surrounding the Red River near Fargo, N.D., April 1, 2009. Many local residents have found themselves stranded after the recent devastating floods and snowstorms. Rescue teams comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, The Fish and Wildlife Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Cass County and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department, Valley Rescue Service and several other local, state and federal agencies have saturated the area for more than a week rescuing residents from the flooded homes and working to restore the community. On the later half of the video, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class James Downey is shown pushing a stranded resident in a rowboat out of harms way so that he could be hoisted to safety. (U.S. Coast Guard video/AMT2 Chris Shaw)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=513116 (MOV)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=514719 (WMV)
For the latest Coast Guard news and imagery regarding the Red River floods, please visit:
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36783873@N03/
http://www.uscgstormwatch.com/go/site/1769
MARVIN, N.D. – Airboat crews from U.S. Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and the Fish and Wildlife Department, working with the Grand Forks Sheriffs Department, rescue a stranded man April, 1, 2009, from a home surrounded by flood waters. The man had been helping build dikes around his son’s home when flood waters from the Red River Valley left him trapped, unable to leave without a boat. (U.S. Coast Guard video/Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=513031&g2_navId=xc41f59ac
**********************************************************************************************************
FARGO, N.D. -- In this video, a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit show the extensive flooding surrounding the Red River near Fargo, N.D., April 1, 2009. Many local residents have found themselves stranded after the recent devastating floods and snowstorms. Rescue teams comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, The Fish and Wildlife Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Cass County and Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department, Valley Rescue Service and several other local, state and federal agencies have saturated the area for more than a week rescuing residents from the flooded homes and working to restore the community. On the later half of the video, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class James Downey is shown pushing a stranded resident in a rowboat out of harms way so that he could be hoisted to safety. (U.S. Coast Guard video/AMT2 Chris Shaw)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=513116 (MOV)
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=514719 (WMV)
090326-G-9937C-003 Red River Flood 2009 FARGO, N.D. -- Coast Guard Stations Sault Ste. Marie and Marblehead of the Ninth District conducted neighborhood sweeps in communities affected by flooding along the Red River, Thursday, March 26, 2009. The Coast Guard and several federal, state and local response agencies coordinated a massive rescue effort for the state of North Dakota March 24.
(US Coast Guard. Video by PA2 Bill Colclough.)
For the latest Coast Guard news and imagery regarding the Red River floods, please visit:
http://cgvi.uscg.mil/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36783873@N03/
http://www.uscgstormwatch.com/go/site/1769
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
So what have we learned?
“As an Auxilarist, I would like to be deployed to augment the Coast Guard for a mission. What are some things that I should know? “ This is a question we have heard this week and thought we might address.
This week our three deployed Auxilarists from Flotilla 4 have learned a lot of lessons. They have sent back information to us here and given some advice.
Augmentation is a privilege. Remember that you are representing the Coast Guard and your country. Be qualified, be prepared, and be ready to get the mission done (whatever that may be) in a professional manner.
Bring value by your presence. The old adage of giving 110% is not just it. It is taking the required courses and training and then going further and doing electives to broaden your knowledge and value for such situations. Be flexible and be willing to use your talents to help others in ways you may not have expected. Be ready and willing to learn something new and do it to the best of your ability.
Follow the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus” or always ready. We are a small organization that does a great deal. We should be ready to go. This includes having a “go kit” with uniforms, toiletries, computers, batteries, etc. that can make you ready to deploy on short notice. Have things at home and work prepared to be able to do this. A few of our Auxilarists have said that the 4-for-1 ODU sale at the Uniform Distribution Center is something they are going to take full advantage of. Most of them only have two or three pairs of ODU Uniforms and that it just wasn’t enough for them.
Finally, we are the Guardians of all citizens and should be prepared to lead from the front and be proactive in an emergency. There is only one Coast Guard and we are in it. We should be up to the standards of the active duty and feel proud to work with them when called to do so.
- Semper Paratus
This week our three deployed Auxilarists from Flotilla 4 have learned a lot of lessons. They have sent back information to us here and given some advice.
Augmentation is a privilege. Remember that you are representing the Coast Guard and your country. Be qualified, be prepared, and be ready to get the mission done (whatever that may be) in a professional manner.
Bring value by your presence. The old adage of giving 110% is not just it. It is taking the required courses and training and then going further and doing electives to broaden your knowledge and value for such situations. Be flexible and be willing to use your talents to help others in ways you may not have expected. Be ready and willing to learn something new and do it to the best of your ability.
Follow the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus” or always ready. We are a small organization that does a great deal. We should be ready to go. This includes having a “go kit” with uniforms, toiletries, computers, batteries, etc. that can make you ready to deploy on short notice. Have things at home and work prepared to be able to do this. A few of our Auxilarists have said that the 4-for-1 ODU sale at the Uniform Distribution Center is something they are going to take full advantage of. Most of them only have two or three pairs of ODU Uniforms and that it just wasn’t enough for them.
Finally, we are the Guardians of all citizens and should be prepared to lead from the front and be proactive in an emergency. There is only one Coast Guard and we are in it. We should be up to the standards of the active duty and feel proud to work with them when called to do so.
- Semper Paratus
Auxilarist Jeff Towle (left) works at the Minnesota State Emergency Operations Center alongside Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Allen Turner (right) during the flood response operation.
(Photo Courtesy of Nick Critelli)
Engineering a Flood Response
From the U.S. Coast Guard:
by Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson, 11th District Public Affairs
FARGO, N.D. - As the workhorses of the Red River flood search and rescue operations, U.S. Coast Guard and the North Dakota Department of Fish and Wildlife airboats coast through the neighborhoods and business districts devastated by record flooding of the Red River. The rescue boat crews move swiftly from house to house responding to the cries of help from people stranded or in trouble throughout the towns of Oxbow, Harwood, Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D. Of the 95 rescues by the Coast Guard to date, 68 were performed by airboat crews. But, these heroic acts are only possible through the hard work going on behind the scenes of these rescues.
Seven Coast Guard engineers are responsible for the maintenance and repair of seven Coast Guard airboats that have saved 68 people and a number of pets and animals during the 2009 Red River Valley floods in North Dakota and Minnesota.
The boat maintenance team is comprised of machinery technicians, electricians mates and a storekeeper, deployed from Integrated Support Command St. Louis, Sector Detroit, Small Boat Station St. Clair Shores Mich., Toledo and Marblehead, Ohio. The team operates every day from the Cass County Highway Department building in South Fargo, N.D., starting at 6:30 a.m. and stopping only when the job is done.
“Our goal is to have all the boats ready to go the next morning,” said, Chief Petty Officer Tom Rising, the Ready for Operations chief from Sector Detroit. “The Cass County Highway Department has provided us with tools and a shop to get our job done and keep these boats running.”
Rescue boats from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the boat maintenance facility with the Coast Guard, dropping off their damaged vessels in need of repair.
“We’ll fix anything,” said Rising “We’re not territorial. We’re all here for the same reason.”
After repairs are completed on the Coast Guard boats, the team volunteers their time to ensure all the rescue boats, no matter their affiliation, are ready to respond in the event of a search and rescue case.
“This is the stuff engineers love,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Marvin, a machinery technician from Station St. Clair Shores, “you never know what is coming at you, and we have to get creative sometimes to get the job done.”
The airboats range from 18 to 20 feet in length and come back from search and rescue missions needing a multitude of different repairs to be operational. They return with overheated engines, broken lights, electrical and communications shortages, as well as body and hull damage.
“I’ve never even seen an airboat until now,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Efrain Fernandez, an electrician’s mate from Integrated Support Command St. Louis. “We improvise and pick up after each other, everyone contributing their individual specialties to complete the projects.”
Sometimes the parts needed to complete the job are not on hand and need to be ordered.
“We have a great storekeeper,” said Marvin, “Petty Officer 3rd Class Stacey Darnell has been working hard to find the parts we need.”
A constant theme in the Coast Guard is that no one job is more important than the other. From the boatswain’s mate who rescues a stranded person to the machinery technician who repairs a broken rescue boat, every member contributes vital skills needed to complete the mission.
by Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik Swanson, 11th District Public Affairs
FARGO, N.D. - As the workhorses of the Red River flood search and rescue operations, U.S. Coast Guard and the North Dakota Department of Fish and Wildlife airboats coast through the neighborhoods and business districts devastated by record flooding of the Red River. The rescue boat crews move swiftly from house to house responding to the cries of help from people stranded or in trouble throughout the towns of Oxbow, Harwood, Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D. Of the 95 rescues by the Coast Guard to date, 68 were performed by airboat crews. But, these heroic acts are only possible through the hard work going on behind the scenes of these rescues.
Seven Coast Guard engineers are responsible for the maintenance and repair of seven Coast Guard airboats that have saved 68 people and a number of pets and animals during the 2009 Red River Valley floods in North Dakota and Minnesota.
The boat maintenance team is comprised of machinery technicians, electricians mates and a storekeeper, deployed from Integrated Support Command St. Louis, Sector Detroit, Small Boat Station St. Clair Shores Mich., Toledo and Marblehead, Ohio. The team operates every day from the Cass County Highway Department building in South Fargo, N.D., starting at 6:30 a.m. and stopping only when the job is done.
“Our goal is to have all the boats ready to go the next morning,” said, Chief Petty Officer Tom Rising, the Ready for Operations chief from Sector Detroit. “The Cass County Highway Department has provided us with tools and a shop to get our job done and keep these boats running.”
Rescue boats from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the boat maintenance facility with the Coast Guard, dropping off their damaged vessels in need of repair.
“We’ll fix anything,” said Rising “We’re not territorial. We’re all here for the same reason.”
After repairs are completed on the Coast Guard boats, the team volunteers their time to ensure all the rescue boats, no matter their affiliation, are ready to respond in the event of a search and rescue case.
“This is the stuff engineers love,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Marvin, a machinery technician from Station St. Clair Shores, “you never know what is coming at you, and we have to get creative sometimes to get the job done.”
The airboats range from 18 to 20 feet in length and come back from search and rescue missions needing a multitude of different repairs to be operational. They return with overheated engines, broken lights, electrical and communications shortages, as well as body and hull damage.
“I’ve never even seen an airboat until now,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Efrain Fernandez, an electrician’s mate from Integrated Support Command St. Louis. “We improvise and pick up after each other, everyone contributing their individual specialties to complete the projects.”
Sometimes the parts needed to complete the job are not on hand and need to be ordered.
“We have a great storekeeper,” said Marvin, “Petty Officer 3rd Class Stacey Darnell has been working hard to find the parts we need.”
A constant theme in the Coast Guard is that no one job is more important than the other. From the boatswain’s mate who rescues a stranded person to the machinery technician who repairs a broken rescue boat, every member contributes vital skills needed to complete the mission.
FARGO, N.D. - In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mavin, a machinery technician from Small Boat Station St. Clair Shores, Mich., works on an airboat at Cass County Highway Department, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.(U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Colclough)
OXBOW, N.D. - In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, two airboat crews deployed from Coast Guard District 9 await the next search and rescue mission during the 2009 midwest flood response, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.The airboats are used in shallow water throughout residential areas. Numerous Oxbow residents were evacuated to dry ground.(U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello
In Harm's Way: Coast Guard Swimmers
This is a great story about the aircrews and swimmers that go into the worst conditions to rescue people, just like they are doing up along the Red River in North Dakota.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Deployed Auxilarists Still Hard At Work
Our deployed Auxilarists are back at it again for another day of hard work with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Trevor Henderson is at the North Dakota State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) working with the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has brought a tremendous amount of assets to help North Dakota and Minnesota and Trevor gets to see it first hand.
Jeff Towle is back at the Minnesota SEOC working with the Coast Guard. With the winds following the snow storm all eyes are on the waves and levees today.
Nick Critelli is back at the Moorehead, MN Emergency Operations Center today. He had a very successful radio interview with Bradshaw on 98.3 WOW FM in Des Moines yesterday. He was able to explain why the Coast Guard is in North Dakota and Minnesota helping during the flooding and how the Coast Guard is there to help the states who are affected by this disaster.
Trevor Henderson is at the North Dakota State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) working with the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has brought a tremendous amount of assets to help North Dakota and Minnesota and Trevor gets to see it first hand.
Jeff Towle is back at the Minnesota SEOC working with the Coast Guard. With the winds following the snow storm all eyes are on the waves and levees today.
Nick Critelli is back at the Moorehead, MN Emergency Operations Center today. He had a very successful radio interview with Bradshaw on 98.3 WOW FM in Des Moines yesterday. He was able to explain why the Coast Guard is in North Dakota and Minnesota helping during the flooding and how the Coast Guard is there to help the states who are affected by this disaster.
The Coast Guard undertook its 95th rescue of this flood relief operation yesterday. Our Auxilarists are proud to be able to help in their way with this epic flooding.
Coast Guard Lieutenant John Ott (left) and Auxilarist Trevor Henderson monitor the weather conditions as a blizzard bares down on North Dakota from their post at the North Dakota State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC)
(Photo courtesy of Auxilarist Trevor Henderson)
Airboats Are Awesome
A boat that you would normally not see this year in Fargo, ND is playing a major role in the operation; the air boat. The Coast Guard is using airboats all over the flooded area because of their ability to float on water or ice. We have seen many pictures this week of our brave Guardians and the airboats that have been doing a lot of the hard work in the flood relief mission.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny McDorman from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste Marie, Mich., watches the rear view mirror for back-up directions from Duane Kashmark, a diver from the Valley Water Rescue in Fargo, N.D., before backing up a boat trailer on County Road 81 in Harwood, N.D., Mar. 30, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Valley Water Rescue joined the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and Border Protection in the response efforts to the flooded areas around Fargo, N.D.
FARGO, N.D. – Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Wheeler, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer, radios to the Coast Guard HH-6575 “Dolphin” helicopter during a search and rescue case here March 26, 2009. A Coast Guard air boat passes behind him.
(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Blackwell)
A Coast Guard Station St. Clair Shores airboat crew prepares to deploy to a staging area in West Fargo, N.D. with a convoy of several Coast Guard and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trailerable airboats at the Cass County Roads Department in West Fargo, Saturday, March 28, 2009. The Coast Guard and the USFWS deployed three airboat teams to neighborhoods in the North River City area. Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River coordinated a multi-agency response effort along the Red River March 24.
(U.S. Coast Guard/Photo by Petty Officer Bill Colclough)
A convoy of Coast Guard and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service airboats prepares to deploy to flooded communities in North Dakota along the Red River from the Harwood Community Center in Harwood, N.D., Saturday, March 28, 2009.
(U.S. Coast Guard/Photo by Petty Officer Bill Colclough)
A Coast Guard airboat crew rescues a woman from the 2009 Red River flooding.
(U.S. Coast Guard)
OXBOW, N.D. - In this photo by the U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 1st Class Gabe Wilch stands watch on the bow of a Coast Guard airboat, Thursday, March 26, 2009.Wilch remained on the lookout for Oxbow residents needing evacuation assistance. Residents have been asked to place a red object in a highly visible location on their house to notify responders help is needed.
(U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Renee C. Aiello)
Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny McDorman from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste Marie, Mich., watches the rear view mirror for back-up directions from Duane Kashmark, a diver from the Valley Water Rescue in Fargo, N.D., before backing up a boat trailer on County Road 81 in Harwood, N.D., Mar. 30, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Valley Water Rescue joined the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and Border Protection in the response efforts to the flooded areas around Fargo, N.D.(U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 Annie R. Berlin)
Petty Officers 3rd Class Jeremy Sergey, front, Dan Fraley, right, and Danny McDorman stand in front of an 18-foot Special Purpose Craft-Air, a fan propelled vessel designed to be able to operate in a minimum of six inches of water. The three crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste Marie, Mich., have been a part of the multi-agency response to the rising floodwaters in Fargo, N.D.
Petty Officers 3rd Class Jeremy Sergey, front, Dan Fraley, right, and Danny McDorman stand in front of an 18-foot Special Purpose Craft-Air, a fan propelled vessel designed to be able to operate in a minimum of six inches of water. The three crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Sault Ste Marie, Mich., have been a part of the multi-agency response to the rising floodwaters in Fargo, N.D. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 Annie R. Berlin)
Bravo Zulu to all of our Coast Guard Men and Women serving in North Dakota and Minnesota this week!
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