Boat Crew Trainees Hit the Pool

Brandon Butters enters the water for his PFD Swim. Brandon demonstrated how a manual inflating PFD works for the group.

(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Doug Jansen)

The group of boat crew member trainees float for fifteen minutes during their training. (Left to right) Phil Patterson, Wendy Faganel, John Halbrook, Chuck Brudtkuhl, Brandon Butters, and John Hawkinson)
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Doug Jansen)

As their training winds down Flotilla 4's new Boat Crew Member trainees hit the pool to perform their PFD Swim. Trainees must enter the water properly, float on their own, and swim in their PFD as part of this training evolution.

Coast Guard Auxiliary and Iowa DNR Promote Wearing Your Life Jacket

Auxilarists Wendy Faganel (above) and Phil Patterson (below) paint the yellow base for a "Life Jacket Zone" sign at Big Creek State Park.

(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Suzanne Tomlinson)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary have partnered in a program to increase public awareness of boating safety. This spring, signs are being painted on all DNR maintained boat ramps reminding boaters that life jackets need to be worn when boating.

The signs declare the ramp to be a "life jacket zone". The first set of Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers, Flotilla 4 of Des Moines, joined Susan and Donise of the Iowa DNR at Big Creek State Park to begin the painting project. After dividing up the paint, templates, food and other essentials, two groups set out to various State Parks. Susan pointed out which parks and where each boat ramp was located in the park.

When painting just the third sign of many, a boater and his son appeared at the ramp for a little fishing. They both donned their jackets and Alex Whitney modeled his for the group. Remember that Iowa's new law is that any child 12 or younger is required to wear a life jacket.

The painting lasted until nightfall, with over 24 ramps being painted today with more to come at a later date.

Susan Stocker of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (left) and Auxilarist Paul Faganel (right) lay the template for the "Life Jacket Zone" sign at Big Creek State Park.

(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Suzanne Tomlinson)

A completed "Life Jacket Zone" sign at Big Creek State Park
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Suzanne Tomlinson)

A painting team finishes a "Life Jacket Zone" sign. Susan Stocker of the Iowa DNR (upper left) with Auxilarists (left to right) Paul Faganel, Wendy Faganel, and Ralph Tomlinson.
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / photo by Suzanne Tomlinson)

April 2009 Above Board Newsletter

The April edition of Above Board is available at http://www.flotilla4.org/newsletter.htm



This month's newsletter has articles about the North Dakota Flooding, John Hawkinson's completion of the AUX-10 Course in California, and members receiving the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation Award.

Thank you to all of our contributors who made this month's edition possible.

The submission deadline for Above Board is the first Friday of each month. Photos, narratives, and information is always appreciated.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Works With Iowa DNR To Promote Life Jacket Safety

This weekend members of Flotilla 4 will hit the road to begin a water safety project with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. These Auxilarists and DNR personnel will travel to various state boat ramps throughout Central Iowa to help paint stencils onto the ramps to encourage boaters that they are entering a “life jacket zone.”

"As part of this state-wide project, there are approximately 140 boat ramps located within 45 different state parks. Painting a large 'Life Jacket Zone' sign directly on the ramps will help to remind boaters to protect everyone aboard their boat by wearing life jackets.” says Auxilarist Wendy Faganel, Auxiliary project coordinator.

The project is expected to last over a month and involve several Coast Guard Auxiliary flotillas in Iowa.

Auxilarist Jeff Towle shows the stencil for the boat ramp painting project to
members of Flotilla 4.
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / Photo by Doug Jansen)

One of the stencils for the boat ramp painting project with the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources.
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Photo / Photo by Doug Jansen)

Hawkinson Completes AUX-10 Course in California

John Hawkinson showing a fellow Auxiliarist how to set up a “field query” in Oracle during the AUX-10 Course in Alameda, CA.
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 085-33-04 photo / Photo by Mr. Harry McBain, ADSO-PAP, Division 11N)

Flotilla 4 member John Hawkinson attended the Coast Guard Auxiliary AUX-10 course at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, CA. The course is designed to take new staff officers in the Information Systems (IS) field and give them some exposure to the mechanics of the AUXDATA and AUXINFO systems used to manage people and facilities in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. This class had every range of experience from brand new to experienced Auxiliarists who had been recently appointed to Auxiliary information systems positions. Some of these appointments ranged from being part of a flotilla job rotation, to a staff member of a DIRAUX office, to the then Department Chief-Information Technology (DC-I), now the Deputy Chief Technology Officer from the National Staff. (The DC-I was there to get oriented on how training and system operations look like to someone serving at the flotilla or division level).

Training ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and until noon on Sunday. The training was fairly fast-paced, as there was a lot of material to go through, learning how to enter personnel, activity and facility data into AUXDATA, how to run various queries into AUXINFO, and how to run a variety of reports. Students also received an orientation to the Patrol Order Management System (POMS). It was quite clear why the Auxiliary prefers to have its new information systems officers go through the AUX-10 course early on; there’s a lot of process knowledge involved in running the different databases and reporting tools effectively.

Dining was at a Coast Guard mess hall for lunch. At night students dined off-site at seafood restaurants around Oakland on Friday and Saturday evenings.

John Hawkinson is now a graduate of the AUX-10 course, and is now in the “practicum” portion of his training. He is still reviewing Flotilla 4 forms and forwarding the approved ones to the Division 33 IS Officer for data entry as before, but he is also keying in the information into an AUXDATA Training Database. This “dual data entry” will continue for awhile (potentially up to 60 days), while the Division IS officer reviews Hawkinson’s work and provides needed feedback and “course corrections”, before he is approved to officially key records into the “live” production database.

“The AUX-10 course was a very worthwhile experience,” said Hawkinson, ”one that I would encourage new Information Systems officers to apply for as early in their careers as possible.”

John Hawkinson (center) is figuring out one of the data entry assignments, entering in a simulated Boat Crew mission. Course Director McBain (standing) is making the rounds to see if we’re “getting it”.
(U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 085-33-04 photo / Photo by Mr. Harry McBain, ADSO-PAP, Division 11N)

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)

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