District 7 Conference

It's Monday afternoon and the conference is history. The D7 leadership chose one of the other candidates for the District Captain - East position, but I'm glad I ran anyway. I learned a lot about the other Divisions in D7 and about the election process.

The choice leaves me free to concentrate on my national staff job (Division Chief - Aviation) - which I would have needed to give up if I had been elected. I had mixed feelings about that anyway, as there were ongoing projects and efforts that have not yet come to fruition. Now I will be able to continue those efforts and after 01 January will have more time to concentrate on them.

There are pressing things happening in other areas also... the largest of which is the Mercury Team having the privilege of presenting at the Coast Guard Innovation Expo in November in Tampa, FL. I am excited about the opportunity, but there is a lot of work to be done.

Had a great flight today - and had the privilege of having LT Lori Bard with us... she's the Chief Director's active duty Operations Officer for the Auxiliary.

District 7 Conference

It is that time of year - the annual Conference of the Seventh District Auxiliary. This is a time for renewing old friendships and making new ones, for learning and socializing, and for choosing the District's leadership for the next two years.

For me, this is a special Conference, as I am a candidate for the position of District Captain - East. This area includes 6 Divisions, (5, 3, 6, 13, 1, 16) running from Sebastian, FL at the north end, to Key West at the other end, and also including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This year I have had the privilege of serving as the Division 5 Commander - the Treasure and Gold Coasts of southeast Florida. The next level up is an exciting but daunting prospect; I relish the challenge.

Friday afternoon, we'll all know.

Congratulations to the National Incident Command and Teams

A hearty congratulations to those responsible for the massive response operation for dealing with the Deepwater Horizon sinking and the related leaking of the Macondo 252 well in the Gulf of Mexico. As of this morning, the well has officially been declared dead.

This massive effort included thousands of people from the Coast Guard (active duty, reserve, auxiliary, and civilian components), a host of other federal alphabet specialty organizations (NOAA, EPA, DoI, and many others I'm not aware of), State and DoD organizations, BP and a bunch of contractors, and thousands of seafarers, fishermen, and other local individuals. The magnitude of this disaster required a response that was unprecedented in size and scope.

Further, this was the first national-scale implementation of the National Incident Response System (NIMS) - at least for the Coast Guard. All of the levels and components of the system that we all studied in abstract and theory became flesh and blood, staffed with real people, and fully functional. As with any first such implementation, there were bottlenecks and disconnects for sure, but overall it was an incredible learning experience for all involved, especially those from the Coast Guard Auxiliary, for whom it was their first full participation in such an event.

The knowledge gained will be of significant value to those in leadership positions and will position us well for future events.

My hat is off to Admiral Allen and his incredible team. Well-done, all.

FEATURE STORY/PHOTO RELEASE: Miami Beach Coast Guardsman to deliver goods to Colombian orphanage

FEATURE STORY/PHOTO RELEASE: Miami Beach Coast Guardsman to deliver goods to Colombian orphanage

Those of us in South Florida are thankful that we've had 3 misses lately - Earl, Fiona, and Gaston. I'm currently in St. Thomas, where they weren't quite so lucky with Earl. He came right by. They had a lot of tree damage, with some large trees completely blown over and lots of limbs lost from other trees. I haven't seen a lot of building damage, but it was after dark last night when we arrived. This afternoon's ride to the airport will tell a much more complete tale.

Of course, the NWS is watching another "disturbance" that's coming our way from Africa... but I guess that's the way of things this time of year. We're at the peak of hurricane season and it's not unusual to see 3 or 4 "things" to watch in the parade of "things" coming west out of Africa. I know our island friends have not let their guard down. We shouldn't either. Preparedness is the key.

What a week!

Back from the Auxiliary's National Conference (NACON), where I had the opportunity to meet numerous people with whom I have only corresponded or talked on the phone. Among those are Andrew Welch, COMO Gary Taylor, many of the District Commodores, and ADM Robert Papp, the Commandant of the Coast Guard.

Election results have been widely reported, so I won't re-transmit them here. I will simply make the comment that I am pleased with the results and believe that both the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary are in good hands at the national level. I am excited at the possibilities for the next two years and look forward to good things happening. I say this primarily because of the extensive leadership and management backgrounds of those coming into the top leadership positions.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary national staff is just completing a very difficult transition period - one in which most mid- and upper-level positions and responsibility sets were re-defined. Many jobs were divided into two or more positions, generating at least the appearance of multiple overlapping responsibility sets and functions. The word is that this upcoming term of national office (two years) will be one of stability and consolidation, rather than large-scale change. I believe that will be good for the staff and good for our programs.