[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 81 (Friday, June 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1269-E1270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 11-08 D1NR AT AIR STATION 
                                CAPE COD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 17, 2005

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the members of the 
Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-08 D1NR for their distinguished 
service at Air Station Cape Cod. As a

[[Page E1270]]

former member of the Coast Guard Reserve, and as Co-Chair of the 
Congressional Coast Guard Caucus, I know full well the vital role that 
Auxillarists carry out. They are an integral and valued part of the 
Coast Guard family.
  I commend to my colleagues the following article from The Navigator, 
which showcases the dedicated efforts of Auxillarists like the men at 
Air Station Cape Cod.

                   [From the Navigator, Spring 2005]

                             Valued Service

       Cape Cod.--Members of Auxiliary Flotilla 11-08 D1NR just 
     surpassed the one year milestone in their volunteer service 
     to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod.
       A dedicated team of seven Auxilarists has been providing an 
     extremely valuable service in the Aviation Engineering 
     Department of Air Station Cape Cod since November 2003.
       By performing administrative tasks, which require 
     meticulous attention to detail and frequent repetition, they 
     freed up over 300 work hours that would have otherwise been a 
     burden on the over tasked active duty workforce.
       Aircraft maintenance technicians, who also serve as flight 
     crewmembers, are frequently task-saturated with flying duties 
     related to search and rescue, law enforcement, and Homeland 
     Security missions.
       When they are not flying, the active duty workforce is 
     fully employed with HU-25 and HH-60 maintenance 
     responsibilities. The regular presence of trained volunteers 
     to assume critically important administrative functions has 
     had an extremely positive effect on aircraft and crew 
     readiness postures.
       Working together in cohesive teams, Auxiliary volunteers 
     dedicate as much as 15 hours per week to administrative tasks 
     related to aircraft maintenance.
       One of the first and most successful projects this team 
     took on was the monthly audit of the aircraft maintenance 
     logbooks for the eight aircraft assigned to Air Station Cape 
     Cod.
       Working teams of two, these Auxiliarists compared the 
     computer printed configuration reports of all installed 
     components to the detailed component history reports. 
     Ensuring that the lists of installed components matched the 
     component history reports was an arduous task requiring great 
     attention to detail.
       An accurately performed logbook audit required that each 
     component be cross checked for the proper serial number and 
     part number against two computer generated reports for all 
     major airframe and engine instillations. With over 240 such 
     components per aircraft, this monthly review normally 
     consumes eight to ten man hours per month.
       Another vital maintenance support role that the Auxiliary 
     recently performed was a comprehensive audit of the technical 
     publications library.
       Semi-annual audits of the technical publications library 
     are required to ensure that vital technical publications are 
     updated with the latest revisions. Not only did the dedicated 
     Auxiliary team complete the audit, they also performed 
     several page changes to aircraft technical manuals that are 
     used by technicians on a regular basis.
       The Auxiliary team drew from their diverse work experience 
     to develop processes that increased the efficiency of each 
     hour dedicated to administrative actions. In the classic 
     case of working smarter to avoid the need to work harder, 
     they created a photographic archive of all tools requiring 
     calibration and cataloged them in an easy to use binder. 
     This made tracking tool locations and calibration 
     intervals much easier.
       With aircraft tools and avionics test sets distributed 
     among five different shops and two separate hangars, the 
     Auxiliary team had a daunting task ahead of them.
       Fortunately, their previous work experience lent itself 
     well to the arduous task and they made great progress. One of 
     their first initiatives was to catalog each tool according to 
     its location and function in a binder complete with digital 
     photographs which they took themselves. This greatly eased 
     the burden of sorting through the Precision Measurement 
     Equipment Lab (PMEL) report which lists the items that were 
     due for calibration.
       By relieving active duty members of certain administrative 
     functions, the Auxiliary team has significantly enhanced 
     productivity and morale. Auxiliary members committed over 400 
     hours in direct support of aviation maintenance activities. 
     Representing a significant departure from the traditional 
     uses of Auxiliary members at air stations, the innovative 
     management practices of this Auxiliary team made it possible 
     for active duty members to be relieved of support roles and 
     assigned to maintenance or flight related tasks.
       This was only possible because the highly talented 
     Auxiliary team gained the skill and ability to act 
     autonomously within the scope of their responsibilities after 
     receiving initial training and guidance from active duty 
     members.
       The Auxiliary members also represent a degree of continuity 
     that, as a result of frequent job rotations within the 
     enlisted workforce, has historically resulted in frequent 
     learning curves. Realizing the impact of their commitment, 
     technicians on the hangar deck accept the Auxiliary members 
     as part of the team that makes Air Station Cape Cod one of 
     the best units in the Coast Guard.

                          ____________________