[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6911-S6912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to call the attention of 
my colleagues to the distinguished record of the United States Coast 
Guard Auxiliary, which today marks its 59th year of operation.
  Most of us know this fine group of men and women only as the civilian 
arm of the Coast Guard--a volunteer group of friends and neighbors who 
offer safe boating and navigation classes, and perform courtesy 
inspections to ensure that our boats are equipped the way they should 
be.
  However, Mr. President, there is far more to the Auxiliary. The 
Auxiliary was formed when the clouds of war threatened all the 
civilized world, and when war came to the United States, the members of 
the Auxiliary served their country well.
  Recently, the commander of United States Coast Guard Group San 
Francisco, Captain Larry Hall, spoke to Auxiliary Flotilla 5-7 on the 
55th anniversary of its formation. His address is a capsule history of 
the Auxiliary in general, and of San Francisco's ``Diablo'' flotilla as 
a specific example, as well as a look at how the Auxiliary and the 
active-duty Coast Guard work together to keep Americans safe.
  Mr. President, I ask to have Captain Hall's remarks printed in the 
Record.
  The remarks follow:

Remarks to Commemorate the 55th Anniversary of ``Diablo'' Flotilla 5-7 
                         Coast Guard Auxiliary

                  (By Captain Lawrence A. Hall, USCG).

       Immediate Past District Commodore Marilyn McBain, Vice 
     Commodore Mike Maddox, District Rear Commodore Jack O'Neill, 
     Flotilla Commander Bill Graham, Members of Diablo Flotilla 5-
     7, fellow members of Team Coast Guard, and friends:
       You have honored me with the kind invitation to speak to 
     you on this special occasion * * * to share this important 
     piece of Coast Guard History--of the Coast Guard Auxiliary 
     and the role Flotilla 5-7 played in it. Needless to say, the 
     Auxiliary has been an important part of our Service's history 
     during this century, and as an active-duty Coast Guard 
     member, I'm honored to be associated with you all.
       I realize that many of you here tonight have personal 
     memories of World War II, and that some of you served our 
     country with distinction during those years of trial for our 
     nation. Of course, I'm but a youngster, and wasn't even a 
     gleam in my parents' eye until nine years after the war 
     ended! I don't share any of those memories, and had to borrow 
     from someone else. So, before I get too far along in talking 
     about the Auxiliary's early years, let me credit Malcolm 
     Willoughby's book The Coast Guard in World War II, published 
     in 1957 by the U.S. Naval Institute. It's an excellent 
     reference.
       Let me start at the beginning * * * The forerunner of the 
     Coast Guard Auxiliary, originally called the Coast Guard 
     Reserve, was created on June 23, 1939. Its missions were to:
       Promote safety of life at sea and upon navigable waters,
       Disseminate information relating to the laws, rules and 
     regulations concerning motorboats and yachts,
       Distribute information and knowledge concerning the 
     operation and yachts, and,
       Cooperate with the Coast Guard
       It seems that we were just yesterday celebrating the 
     Auxiliary's 50th anniversary--I know we're not getting any 
     older, but shudder to think that somehow time's flown, and 
     next year we'll actually be celebrating the Auxiliary's 60th!
       To continue * * * With war underway in Europe, on February 
     19, 1941, Congress passed the Auxiliary and Reserve Act. The 
     Act in effect created a real military Coast Guard Reserve as 
     we have today, added the uniformed but unpaid Coast Guard 
     Temporary Reserve, and gave you, the civilian arm of the 
     Coast Guard, your present name. Then war broke out * * * and 
     you jumped into action. I've read that Seattle flotillas 
     actually commenced patrols on the evening following the Pearl 
     Harbor Attack. Many patrols were quickly established 
     elsewhere, with Auxiliarists putting in countless hours 
     patrolling in their own vessels. By June 1942 the Auxiliary 
     had grown to about 11,500 people, with 9,500 boats organized 
     into 44 flotillas.
       At first any Auxiliary member could volunteer the services 
     of his boat, himself, and crew for temporary service in the 
     Temporary Reserve. In this way, the Coast Guard drew on 
     trained Auxiliarists for the performance of regular Coast 
     Guard duties afloat on a military basis, and the Auxiliary 
     became chiefly a source of military supply.
       The program for temporary reservist on full-time duty with 
     pay was originally established to aid the acquisition of 
     badly needed reserve boats and people from the Auxiliary 
     because the need for small craft in the early days was 
     extremely urgent. Men were enrolled for temporary duty for 
     specific periods such as three or five months, and usually 
     assigned to their own vessels. They were not transferred from 
     their particular boat or out of District. Their duty was 
     chiefly with the Coastal Picket Fleet from June through 
     November 1942, when this type of duty was discontinued.
       As the war tempo increased and port security 
     responsibilities grew, the Coast Guard leadership realized 
     that the Auxiliary's civilian status prevented their 
     effective wartime use. Not only did Auxiliarists lack 
     military authority, but when going out on anti-submarine 
     warfare patrol, they risked, if captured, being executed as 
     spies! The need for militarization was obvious, the result 
     being that the majority of Auxiliarists were eventually 
     enrolled in the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve. This final 
     setup for the Temporary Reserve, enacted on 29 October 1942, 
     included Auxiliarists in a part-time no-pay status. The 
     Temporary Reserve gradually took over patrol responsibilities 
     from the Auxiliary, with Auxiliary patrols finally being 
     discontinued in 1 January 1943. In the various configurations 
     of the Temporary Reserve, the Auxiliary provided a nucleus of 
     men well-qualified in small boat handling, along with their 
     boats. This force, which by war's end numbered 30,000 
     Temporary Reservists and 1,000 boats recruited from the 
     Auxiliary, allowed our more able-bodied men to be sent to the 
     combat theaters, and performed a service on the home front 
     which was vital to our national security.
       So, it was in this context that the Diablo flotilla was 
     created in 1943. Though I don't have access to much in the 
     way of Flotilla historical records, your Flotilla Commander 
     Bill Graham tells me that, depending on how you count it, the 
     Diablo flotilla was either the sixth flotilla--or one of the 
     first nine flotillas--formed in the Northern Region of the 
     Eleventh District. I'm sure that your predecessors in this 
     Flotilla had a large part in patrolling the lower Sacramento 
     and San Joaquin Rivers as well as the upper San Francisco and 
     San Pablo Bays. People from Diablo Flotilla undoubtedly gave 
     their service to the Temporary Reserve, making a vital 
     contribution to the security of the Bay and Delta areas. I 
     have to think this was no insignificant task, given the 
     strategic sites at the Naval Weapons Station and Port 
     Chicago, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and the oil refineries 
     of the area. This, and they still performed all their usual 
     boating safety functions.
       Now I'll fast forward from the forties to modern times. 
     Flotilla 507 has been an active force in promoting safe 
     boating in the Delta. I note that:
       In 1994, under Jack O'Neill's leadership, you were lauded 
     as the District Eleven (Northern Region) outstanding 
     flotilla.

[[Page S6912]]

       In 1996, with Michael Hays as Flotilla Commander, you were 
     given the award as Outstanding Flotilla in Division 5.
       In 1997, led by Tim Martell, you collected two of seven 
     District awards for flotillas, for public affairs and for 
     highest number of vessel examinations.
       Looking at recent Auxiliary Management Information System 
     (AUXMIS) reports, which I thank your Immediate Past Commodore 
     and District Staff Officer for Information Systems, Marilyn 
     McBain for making happen, I see you're still building good 
     numbers:
       I see strength in your membership--77, which includes 14 
     Auxiliary Operators!
       I see strength in your public education: two Boating Skills 
     and Seamanship (BS&S) and three Sailing and Seamanship (S&S) 
     courses in 1996; four BS&S, one S&S and four Boating Safely 
     courses given in 1997; and 19 class sessions in various 
     courses given so far this year.
       I see strength in your vessel examination program: 20 
     examiners conducting 459 CME's in 1997, up from 210 in 1996--
     and you've already completed 210 exams so far this year.
       I see strength in your Marine Dealer Visit Program, with 
     between five and seven Marine Dealer Visitors making 66 
     visits in 1996, 88 visits in 1997, and still building numbers 
     this year.
       In these and all your other programs--Operations, Public 
     Affairs, Member Training--you show that the Diablo Flotilla 
     is active, is connecting with the public, is making a 
     difference. I hope you still have room on your trophy shelf, 
     since you'll no doubt be adding more ``hardware'' to it!
       This brings us to today. I stand here as the Group 
     Commander within whose area of responsibility you spread the 
     gospel of safe boating. I'm here to tell you that I am your 
     partner in serving the public--the Coast Guard's customers in 
     the lower Delta and Suisun Bay. Our safety missions are 
     mutually dependent, and firmly linked together. Since taking 
     command of Group San Francisco last Summer, I have embarked 
     the Group on the strategy of community interaction. Yes, we 
     in the Group do exist to provide critical search and rescue 
     resources to the citizens of Central California and to 
     enforce Federal laws where necessary. But the greatest of our 
     missions is in protecting the safety of recreational boaters 
     in the area we serve. I see the recreational boater's life as 
     a continuum, starting when they buy and equip their vessel, 
     continuing hopefully with some good education. Then comes the 
     voyage, which usually, hopefully ends safely, but sometimes 
     ends in a search and rescue case or an adverse Coast Guard 
     boarding. In the past we at the Group dwelled too much on 
     that far end of the continuum, especially in our huge number 
     of law enforcement boardings--and I'm sure you read about it 
     in the local maritime press. Where I am guiding our efforts 
     now is to the start of that continuum--before the boater gets 
     underway. To that end, I've directed Group personnel to steer 
     their efforts at meeting and getting to know the boaters:
       We're walking the docks, boat ramps, and marinas, seeing 
     the boaters with their vessels, answering their questions, 
     giving advice, steering them toward the products you offer--
     vessel exams and boating safety courses.
       We're making more public appearances: at boat shows, yacht 
     clubs, service clubs, and schools.
       We're making friendly contacts with boaters on the water, 
     commending them for safe boating practices, for wearing their 
     personal floatation devices (PFDs), for being conscientious.
       We're listening to the boaters, constantly looking for 
     better ways we can serve them.
       Finally, to show my regard for your vessel exam program, I 
     have directed Coast Guard crews to not conduct random 
     boardings on recreational vessels showing a current Courtesy 
     Marine Examination sticker. We'll still board all vessels, 
     including those with current CMEs, any time we can articulate 
     a valid reason, such as for unsafe operation. But again, we 
     will not randomly board vessels showing the sticker--proof of 
     their commitment to equip their boats properly. I believe in 
     your vessel exam program, and want to give boaters all 
     possible motivation to let you aboard!
       In all our efforts, while we won't ever give up our 
     responsibility to enforce boating safety law when necessary, 
     we're out to show the boating public that we're a partner 
     with them in maximizing success and enjoyment in their 
     boating experience. In face-to-face contact I want them to 
     see that we're real people, just like them, who have an 
     important job to do.
       Now, here's where our fortunes really are linked. It's no 
     surprise that we all have been searching for good measures of 
     effectiveness in our boating safety programs--for ways that 
     we can relate our hours of effort into the desired outcome of 
     safer boating. Knowing that the Commandant has established a 
     goal that we save at least 90 percent of distressed boaters 
     after Coast Guard notification, I think we can make a 
     difference there. To that end, I am measuring the number of 
     person hours and personal contacts made by Group San 
     Francisco people. This hopefully will translate in the next 
     couple years to an increase in the number of people coming to 
     you for vessel examinations and registering for safe boating 
     courses--whether Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power 
     Squadron. Finally, increased vessel exams and boating course 
     students should translate to both a reduction in search and 
     rescue cases among recreational boaters and better outcomes 
     for the cases we do respond to. We're making the effort to 
     encourage boating safety, and hope that our future numbers 
     bear it out.
       With this, I ask a couple things of you, the Diablo 
     Flotilla. First, keep up the great work. You've got a rich 
     tradition, going back to earliest days of the Auxiliary. 
     You've got the strength in numbers to keep it going. Second, 
     work to ensure that the quality of your vessel exam and 
     public education programs is second to none, along with your 
     Marine Dealer Visit Program, which is yet another way that we 
     can direct boaters to the services we offer. I'm depending on 
     it and I'm doing the same with the services that we in Group 
     San Francisco perform.
       In closing, I'm extremely proud to call you partners, 
     members of Team Coast Guard and Team Group San Francisco. Be 
     proud of where your Flotilla has come from, of the missions 
     you've performed, and of your excellence yet to come. We'll 
     be there with you. May we all be--Semper Paratus. Thank you. 
     

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