[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 25 (Thursday, February 14, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E205-E206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA COAST GUARD AUXILIARY TEAM WINS INTERNATIONAL 
                     SEARCH AND RESCUE COMPETITION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 14, 2008

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, For the first time ever, an 
American team has won the International Search and Rescue Competition 
in Toronto, Canada and I am proud to say that the four members of the 
team are from Pinellas County, Florida, which I have the privilege to 
represent.
  Representing the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, the Seventh Coast Guard 
District, Sector St. Petersburg, and Search and Rescue Station Sand 
Key, team captain Kevin McConn of Tarpon Springs, and Don Hoge, Jim 
Ryder, and Max Garrison all of Dunedin beat 11 other U.S. and Canadian 
teams, scoring an impressive 88 out of 104 possible points. They 
finished 35 points ahead of the second place team.
  Two volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotillas combined into one team 
that trained together for more than 5,000 hours during an 8-month 
period. To get to Toronto, they first had to win district and regional 
events.
  The international competition emphasizes events that are designed to 
test teams' abilities to plan, communicate, and carry out a maritime 
search and rescue mission. These are skills that all Coast Guard 
sailors and auxiliary members must know and be able to execute on a 
moment's notice to save a life or lives at sea.
  The team will be honored on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, during 
ceremonies at Coast Guard Search and Rescue Station Sand Key when they 
will officially receive the winning trophy for the 2007 International 
Search and Rescue competition. Rear Admiral David Kunkel, the 
commanding officer of Coast Guard District Seven, will preside at the 
ceremony.
  Coast Guard Search and Rescue Station Sand Key is one of four major 
Coast Guard installations I have the privilege to represent in the 10th 
Congressional District of Florida and this winning team is symbolic of 
all the men and women of the United States Coast Guard who serve to 
defend our coastline and protect lives every day of the year, 
regardless of the threat and the weather.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating these volunteers from 
Pinellas County that through hard work, dedication, professionalism, 
and spirited teamwork have brought great honor to our Nation and the 
United States Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.

       Auxiliary Wins International Search and Rescue Competition

       A quartet of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarists from Pinellas 
     County Fla., beat five other U.S. teams and six Canadian 
     teams at the 2007 International Search and Rescue Competition 
     in Toronto Harbor, Canada Sept. 28-29.
       For the first time in the eight year history of the 
     competition, American lifesavers carried home the coveted 
     trophy.
       To get to ISAR, teams of lifesavers must compete in 
     preliminary regional events. Teams are judged in skill areas 
     in the field of Maritime Search and Rescue. ISAR 2007 
     featured events that are designed to test the volunteers' 
     ability to plan, communicate and prosecute a maritime search 
     and rescue mission.
       A Person-In-the-Water Recovery Event evaluated each team's 
     ability to safely approach and retrieve a person or other 
     object in the water and rescue a person from a burning boat. 
     Other events included: Search and Rescue Planning, 
     Seamanship, Communications, Dewatering Line Toss and 
     Marlinspike and two surprise events, one with the boat 
     helmsman blindfolded and taking direction from a crewman and 
     another where crews rowed out to retrieve and backboard a 
     mannequin and bring this simulated victim to shore.
       The winning American team consisted of team captain Kevin 
     McConn, 48, of Tarpon Springs, Don Hoge, 59, Jim Ryder, 69, 
     and Max Garrison, 65, all of Dunedin, Fla. In events that 
     included skills involving strength and speed, these veteran 
     American

[[Page E206]]

     mariners beat out teams that included much younger U.S. and 
     Canadian competitors. Scoring an impressive 88 out of a 
     possible 104 points, the Florida Auxiliarists bested the 
     closest competitors, a Canadian team, by an impressive 35 
     points.

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