Volume -- IV  Issue – 5                          District--8  Flotilla--39                                                 May 2000

 

 

Congratulations Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews received a letter from G.J. Muise, Officer in Charge, Coast Guard Station Mobile stating, "You are hereby designated Communications Watch Stander at this station in accordance with RADIO TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS COMDINST M2300.7.".  Steve went through the same training and testing as the active duty Coast Guard to obtain this rating.  The next voice you hear on the VHF radio while you are on an Auxiliary patrol may be Steve’s.  If you are interested in obtaining this or any other rating let the Station know.  They have repeatedly offered to train us on anything that they legally can (including crew on their own vessels).  Law Enforcement activities are about the only things that they cannot involve the Auxiliary.

 

GPS – Selective Availability is OFF!

The United States turned off the intentional error known as Selective Availability (SA) on May 1.  SA has been used to degrade the signal that the public could use GPS to determine their location. 

 

Below are images that illustrate the dramatic difference. 

 

The images compare the accuracy of GPS with and without selective availability (SA). Each plot shows the positional scatter of 6.5 hours of data (0730 to 1400 UTC) taken at one of the Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) operated by the U.S. Coast Guard at Hartsville, Tennessee. On May 2, 2000, SA was no longer present. The plots show that SA causes 95% of the points to fall within a radius of 48.3 yards. Without SA, 95% of the points fall within a radius of 4.5 yards.

 

As illustration, consider a football stadium. With SA activated, you really only know if you are on the field or in the stands at that football stadium; with SA switched off, you know which yard marker you are standing on.

 

For additional information:

http://www.igeb.gov/sa/diagram.shtml

 

National Moment of Remembrance -- President Clinton is calling on all Americans to join in a National Moment of Remembrance on Monday, May 29th for one minute, beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time. At that time, Americans around the world are urged to pause from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or to listen to "Taps", in tribute to those who died for our country. As many of you this Memorial weekend will be in uniform and interacting directly with the recreational boating public while conducting Vessel Safety Checks, staffing boating safety education booths, or out on the water on patrol, I ask that you not only participate in this moment of silence, but share President Clinton's message and encourage others that you may meet to do the same. I would also encourage you to plan a short ceremony where practicable to commemorate this moment. Please read the information from President Clinton, and have a safe, enjoyable and reflective Memorial Weekend. Mark S. Kern, CAPT, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Auxiliary.

 

             

 

18 May	Flotilla 39 Meeting, Base Mobile, 1930
20 – 26 May	National Safe Boating Week
27 May	VE, Dauphin Island, 1000 - 1400
29 May	Memorial Day, Moment of Silence, 1500
10 June	BC Training, Dauphin Island SAR Station
10 June	Division Meeting
15 June	Flotilla 39 Meeting, Base Mobile, 1930
15-17 June	NEXCOM Meeting, San Antonio, TX
17 – 18 June	Aviation Safety Seminar, NOLA
24 June	VE, Fowl River Marina, 1000 - 1400
30 June	Change of Command, ATC
4 July	Fireworks, Convention Center
8 July	BC Training, Dauphin Island SAR Station
15 July	Division Picnic, hosted by Flotilla 39
20 July	Flotilla 39 Meeting, Base Mobile, 1930
29 July	VE, Luscher Park, 1000 - 1400
5 August	Coast Guard Day Event
12 August	BC Training, Dauphin Island SAR Station
17 August	Flotilla 39 Meeting, Base Mobile, 1930
26 August	VE, Dauphin Island, 1000 - 1400
21 September	Flotilla 39 Meeting, Base Mobile, 1930
23 September	Division Elections, hosted by Flotilla 39
30 September	VE, Fowl River, 1000 - 1400

 

Driftwords on Web

A copy of this issue and others are at:

http://www.geocities.com/devoema1/driftwords