A team from Flotilla 39 won the 1999 Top Prop award in Division 3. Larry Patrick (Coxain), Mark DeVoe (Crew), and Debra Shaw (New Member) working on the "Consolation" earned a score of 81 out of a possible 100 in the competition. They were evaluated against the same standards that the full time Coast Guard units are evaluated. After the contest, the team was debriefed on everything that happened during the simulated rescue of the "Orange Crush" (RHI) and given suggestions and equipment to improve their performance. All the team members had a great time at this event and agreed that this is what the Auxiliary is all about. They are already looking forward to defending their title next year.

October 9 was the first day of training for Flotilla 39 at Station Mobile. Marlinspike and the use of dewatering pumps were covered on this day. Several members stayed late to go out on the 41 footers. Station Mobile is planning on having our Flotilla at the Station the second Saturday of each month (except for holidays) to provide us with whatever training we desire. There will be time to socialize from 0800 to 0900. The training will start at 0901 and normally last two hours. Contact Ron Waters for ANY training topic that you would like. The Station has made it clear that they will train us on ANYTHING that we need.

June l8, l9, 20 CGAS NOLA

By Alex Grimes

If you enjoy swimming 50 yards in full flight gear, including boots and a survival vest loaded with rocks instead of actual survival gear, being strapped into an aircraft seat floating in the middle of a pool and flipped upside down (you do have a choice of the direction in which you are flipped), then you may want to consider becoming involved in Air Operations for the Auxiliary. That is just part of what Harold Martin, Mike Grimes, Ron Waters and I did during this weekend in June.

One of the requirements to be on an aircrew is annual recurrent training in operational policies and procedures, water survival and emergency egress. This two-day seminar was held at the CGAS NOLA. Day One is full of lectures and presentations to acquaint you with the Auxiliary program and procedures. For us, it began with a presentation by Lt. Brian Wetzler, a CG helo pilot and the topic was "Lessons Learned." It analyzed the causes of a mishap in which a CG helo actually "flew" into the water while on a mission. The principles discussed included CRM "crew resource management", weather/preflight and emergency procedures. From there the topics included METAR/TAF training (weather briefing), public affairs training, and operational training with emphasis on MSO missions and SAR. All of the presentations were very informative and extremely well done. Saturday night the group went to dinner at one of the many fine places in New Orleans.

Sunday morning everyone arrived at the pool full of anticipation, especially those of us who were first-timers, and began the water survival and emergency egress portions of the program. The anticipation soon turned to plain old fun. The swim, although strenuous, served its intended purpose. That is to build your confidence and provide a real-life feel for what you may encounter should "ditching" become necessary.

The "chair" as it was called did the same thing. Some statistics suggest that most aircraft the Auxiliary uses will wind up in this attitude after "ditching", so the exercise provides the participants with just a touch of what a real-life event would be like. Although the thought of being strapped into a seat and suspended upside down underwater sounds terrifying, the line quickly grew with individuals who wanted to "do it again".

In summation, I can truly say that the entire weekend was a total blast and I can’t say enough about the professionalism with which it was conducted. The four of us are looking forward to next year and I would encourage any of the other members who may be interested in Air Ops to talk to us.

As per COMDT (G-WKW) msg R 070949Z OCT 99 food service meal rates have been changed reflecting a decrease. Auxiliary members on an authorized patrol during specified meal times shall be reimbursed via Category (2) Standard Meal Rate as follows: Breakfast - $1.50, Lunch - $3.00 and Dinner - $3.00.

Thank you all for your support,

SK1 Lisa Roberts

Director of Auxiliary Office, D8 Coastal Region

New Orleans Regional Color Guard Coordinator

(504)589-6620/6629 or Fax: (504)589-3653

Email: [email protected]

We received reports of problems with four GPS’s after the August reset of the GPS systems. The fix for Garmin models is to hold down the <page> key as you power up the unit. Let it sit in an open area for two hours. This process may need to be repeated once per week for four weeks.

Ed Beachum was sworn in as a member of Flotilla 39 during the September meeting. Also, Mike Agapos, George Davis, and Debra Shaw were approved by DIRAUX.