THE SCUTTLEBUTT

Sept. 2007 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Scuttlebutt Flotilla 12-8, 7th District Charleston, South Carolina Vol. 33, No. 9-September 2007
Page 1

Flotilla Web Site: http://www.uscgauxcharleston.org

Commanders Corner
Allen James, FC 12-8

Vice Commander
Joe Fleming, FC 12-8
Hurricane season is here! Heres hoping we do not have to deal with one. That would be a blessing but nature will make that call for us. In the event it ocInside curs, remember we have to FC ............. 1 be 100% accountable to the VFC .......... 1 gold side if we evacuate. You need to CM ............N/R let FC or VFC know where you are CS ............. 6 and when you are coming back FN ............. 3 within 24 hours of leaving. IS ...............N/R Operations this month on the MA ............ 3 water was poor. We have enough MS ............ 3 members capable of filling these MT ............ 2 OP .............N/R needed times on the water. Summer PA..............N/R is almost over and busiest time of PB ............. 2 boating is now. Im hoping to finish coxswain training soon, so I can help PE ............. 6 PS .............. 3 with the boating schedule. PV ............. 5 Labor Day will soon be here, so be ready to be called on by gold side SR ............. 4 VE ............. 6 for help with operations on the water Calendar... 8 Its always busy that week. Joe Fleming, VFC Trivia ........ 7

September is the month that members should declare if they intend to run for the elected offices of Flotilla Commander or Flotilla Vice Commander. These are the positions of leadership that we elect to lead our flotilla and to select the staff officers. If you plan to run for an office make it known to the Screening Committee Chairman, Bob Mathewes (rhmathewes@comcast. net), who will verify your qualifications. We will be publishing a " Disaster Calling Tree " which will state who will call whom in case of a disaster. Be sure your phone number and address are correct. Allen James, FC

Happy Birthday
Members with September Birthdays Richard Daniel..4th. Lou Mintz....17th. Mike Morris.19th. Jane Orenstein..23rd. Eric Kilpatrick......24th. John Rodgers....27th.

In Memory of
5/1/1923-8/15/2007

James J. Dalton

Confidentiality Notice: Telephone numbers and addresses of members are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974. As a matter of policy, rosters of names, addresses and telephone numbers shall not be made available to the general public or any outside organization. Privacy of all rosters shall be safeguarded and the page clearly labeled. The publication of these rosters, addresses, and telephone numbers on any computer on-line service including the Internet is prohibited by the Privacy Act of 1974. The Auxiliary is guided by the current equal opportunities policies of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. No Person shall be subject to

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page 2

Member Training
t our last division meeting, the new Director of Auxiliary for 7th District was present. One of the points he made was that some individuals needed to use the ribbon checker to properly arrange the order of the ribbons on their uniform. There has also been a notification come down regarding the fact that people are showing up at C Schools in improper uniform. When you put on the Auxiliary uniform, wear it properly. That applies, no matter what uniform you are wearing. The proper wearing of the ODU is just as important as the Service Dress Blue. I have observed the wearing of Gold Side insignia on Auxiliary ODUs. That is at no time permissible. The public does not differentiate between the Gold Side and the Auxiliary. They just see the Coast Guard. When you wear the uniform improperly you are doing a disservice to the men and women of the active duty Coast Guard and the Reserve. The Auxiliary Manual is quite explicit as to what constitutes the various uniforms and how they are to be worn. One of the duties of the coxswain is to be sure that all members of the crew are in proper uniform. If someone shows up improperly dressed, that discrepancy should be rectified before they are allowed to go. When undergoing the Oral Board for becoming a QE, one of the questions I was asked was how you should handle a situation where of this nature. The proper answer was that effort should be made to get the offender into the proper uniform. If that was not possible, they should not be allowed to go on the patrol. Webster defines uniform as, ... conforming to a given standard; always alike. That means that the uniform is not a place to demonstrate individuality. Those of you who have served in the military know that the slightest deviation in the proper wearing of the uniform will bring down the wrath of someone

Bob Mathewes, DSO-MT D7

above you in the chain of command. Folks, please have respect for those who have brought honor to that uniform and have the self respect to want to wear it properly. I know that we are not part of the military but we are granted the privilege of being allowed to wear this uniform. The oath we all took says, As an Auxiliarist, you enjoy certain honors and privileges, among them, wearing the Coast Guard Uniform. It is and honor. Lets always wear it in the proper manner so that we will be worthy of that honor. On another subject, there is some new information on the AUXOP courses. Have you ever wondered if the document you are about to use for program qualification or for one of the AUXOP courses is the latest? Have you wondered if you have studied the most current guide for the course, or if the exam you are about to take is current and aligned with the material you have studied? Wonder no more. Visit the National Training Department website at http://www.auxtdept.org/ . On the left side of the home page select "Documentation Revision List". This document has been developed by the National Training Department to provide a list of the current revision of training material required for program qualification and AUXOP courses. The list is modeled after the "Training Update" table that circulated in the 2004 timeframe. Unfortunately, that list has not been updated....until now. All items listed have been reviewed by responsible departments and confirmed as the latest revision. Earlier or previous editions of training material are obsolete and should not be used or retained. The current AUXOP course is due for revision late this year of in early 2008. The new course will require an instructor trained specifically for that course. Here is some information for those working toward AUXOP Anyone who has taken and passed the current AUXSAR course will receive full credit for the course and will not have to take AUXSCE (unless they want to!). Current AUXOP members have received that qualification and do not have to take any further training to retain that status unless they want to
(Continued on page 6)

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page

Marine Safety

Personnel Services

Agnes Wright, FSO-MS

f any of you have some free time that you would like to volunteer to the M side, the Regional Examination Center (REC) at Sector Charleston is in need of help. The number of civilian employees has been reduced due to the move of much of the record keeping aspect of the work to Kentucky. Unfortunately, because of the mandate to vet and investigate all mariners the workload is tremendous. This is a wonderful way to get direct support hours for our flotilla and to gain personnel satisfaction at the same time. You can work a half a day or all week if you want. The busiest day of the week is Monday. Most needed is someone to fingerprint the mariners (They will train you). But any help to include filing, stuffing envelopes etc would be greatly appreciated. If anyone is interested contact Sarah Bower at (843) 720-3251 and tell her that Gary Graham asked you to call. The uniform is ODU. Agnes Wright, FSO-MS

Alan J.P. Miles, FSO-PS

embers are encouraged to spread the word about the Auxiliary. Talk to your friends and neighbors about us and the importance of our mission. Our role is a vital one to the boating public as well as to the GOLD SIDE. If you run across someone who would is interested in the USCG AUX refer them to me. I would be more than happy to meet with them and discuss membership. I would like to thank those members who have helped me thus far in obtaining literature and materials, As well as those who have given me guidance. Please record my phone number and Email address in your records for future reference. (843) 709-5932, Email: bigcid@comcast. net. Alan J.P. Miles, FSO-PS

Finance
Frank Leister, FSO-FN

Materials
embers are encouraged to check the Materials section of our web page. www. uscgauxcharleston.org/ materials.htm. If there is something you need that you cannot find, contact me and I'll try to help you find the source. We have a new catalog and price list from Mustang if anyone is in need of a new jacket or the inflatable vest. Henry G. Wolf , FSO-MA

Hank Wolf, FSO-MA

wenty-one percent of our members have yet to pay their annual dues. That is fourteen out of sixty-six are past due. A couple of those, maybe a few more, have called or emailed to say the check is in the mail! Our rules state that everyone must be current by the end of August. Since the last report we have not spent any money. Our balance is healthy but it includes almost $1500 of accounts payable, namely the dues to Division and District. Frank Leister, FSO-FN
Check these boxes for more of those pesky acronyms & abbreviations

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page 4

Secretary Records
Shirley Wolf, FSO-SR
Flotilla 12-08 Membership Meeting Minutes 08 August 2007 The meeting was called to order at 1900 hr by FC Allen James. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Hugo Endris. Members present: Allen James, Joseph Fleming, Paul H. Berka, R. S. Baker, Jr., Eric Kilpatrick, Frederick Schultz, Bob Mathewes, Robert Wieland, Henry Wolf, Hugo A. Endris, Agnes Wright, Tom Jerussi, Dean Creed, Tom Beauchemin, Dan Cowley, James L. Tindall, Bill Dempsey, Ridgley Miller. Guests/visitors: Barbara Thibodeaux and Andrew A. Robinson. Bob Mathewes made a motion to accept the minutes of the April meeting as published in the Scuttlebutt and was seconded by Henry Wolf, motion passed. The financial report was presented by FC James who commented that the annual dues are to be paid at this time otherwise there will be a $6.00 charge to the Flotilla for each registered letter to be sent to delinquent members. Hugo Endris moved that the Financial report be accepted and was seconded by Dean Creed. Ridgley Miller was welcomed back from the hospital and was administerd the Membership Oath by FC James and received his member certificate, id card and letter. Additional new members are in the pipeline especially the detachment at the Citadel. Also, the son of the Flotilla Commander in Islameralda, Florida is in Charleston and has an interest in our Flotilla. Awards: Dan Cowley received the 15 year Membership

Service Award. The Operational Annual Service Performance Award was presented to Joe Fleming (with ribbon), Bob Mathewes, Bob Wieland, Agnes Wright and Henry Wolf with Richard Daniel not present. The ribbons for the Examiner Qualifications were presented to Paul Berka and Eric Kilpatrick. The Instructor Qualification ribbon was presented to Eric Kilpatrick. Staff Officer Reports: Publications: Bob Mathewes, FSO-PB reported the results of a test of his email list. Some of the addresses bounced indicating that some members are not getting the Scuttlebutt. He requested that if an email has changed either let him know or change it directly in AUXDATA. Member Training: Bob Mathewes, FSO-MT passed on the request from DIRAUX Cmdr. Allen that the ribbon checker program be used to check for proper ribbon order. The link is: http://www.cgaux.info/g_ocx/cgi-bin/ribbons. pl?./g_ocx/awards/checker/config.txt. One can easily check off their ribbons and submit to get view of correct order. Progam Visitor: Paul Berka, FSO-PV thanked Henry Wolf, FSO-MA for getting the South Carolina Boating Handbook. Public Education: Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE reported that two sessions of ABC are scheduled through the James Island Community Education and will be listed in the Fall Catalog which will be out early September. He asked that members try to recruit students for the classes and will provide handouts for the VE Blitzes. One course will start 18 SEP and the other 06 NOV. Cost of the course will be $45 which matches that of Flotilla 12-06 at Wando High School. Anyone who needs Instructor hours be sure to contact the FSO-PE. Materials: Henry Wolf, FSO-MA had nothing to report. Vessel Examination: Joe Fleming, FSO-VE reported that the Power Squadron requested assistance to get their Vessel Examiners qualified. He announced a VE Blitz at Wappoo Boat Landing on 11 SEP but discussion revealed that few VEs would be able to attend so a resched-

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page

uled date was set for the following week on Sunday. Be Moore from Edisto Flotilla would be contacted to see if 12-12 would like to participate as well. The Rockville Regatta yielded many tickets issued by DNR at the Limehouse Bridge. FC James passed on concerns from Division Captain Riley that uniforms are not being properly worn. FC James stressed that either wear a proper uniform or civilian clothes. Other items mentioned were saluting, particularly the Colors upon boarding a commissioned Coast Guard Ship. Charleston has several stationed here including Yellowfin, Dallas, Oak, Anvil and Gallatin. Hugo Endris pointed out that the patrol boats are assigned to station and a salute isnt required when boarding. FC James also indicated from his conversations with the Active CG at the USCG Birthday Picnic that the service from Auxiliarists is welcomed and desired by the Gold Side. VFC Fleming reported that the Auxiliary can now receive surplus Federal Equipment. The Coast Guard will tell us what is available and if we are interested in something we can work through them. Old Business: Tom Beauchemin reported an offer from the BM1 at Station Georgetown to provide charts of local area of operations to Operational Facilities in need of them. Suggestions were made for Charleston Harbor, Stono, North Edisto and strip charts. However, it was commented that OpFacs shouldnt pass VE without the charts, so they should have them already. New Business: Frederick Schultz reported that the Spirit of South Carolina Captain Tony Arell invited Flotilla 12-08 for a Charleston Harbor Cruise sometime after Labor Day. The cruise would be limited to 40 people for approximately 2-3 hours. Frederick also passed on that Charleston EMS Director Captain Paula Spurgens re-

quested contact with Coast Guard Communication Center. Joe Fleming took the task of providing the information to her to do that. Paul Berka asked if there were any communication training scheduled and FSO-MT stated there is not at this time. Paul also asked where to get the summer shorts and if black athletic shoes are acceptable if the correct size half boot cant be obtained. FC James indicated that would be an acceptable substitution and the shorts are available from Galls. Eric Kilpatrick asked who to contact for the 8 hour TCT workshop scheduled for the 25th of August. FC James said to contact DCP Riley directly. Hugo Endris strongly recommended that any who needs the workshop to take it now. The directive from Chief DIRAUX is no TCT, no crew qualification. Bobby Baker offered his OP FAC for the patrol and requested a coxswain and one more crew. Motion to adjourn was made by Dean Creed and seconded by Hugo Endris. Meeting adjourned at 20:30. Next meeting: 12 September 2007 at the USCG Base at 1900. Minutes submitted by Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE

Partner Visitor

Paul Berka, FSO-PV

ertified (two RBS Visitations) Lt/ C Arthur D. Clark, P and Lt/C Richard Howells, AP from the Charleston Power Squadron on Wednesday August 22, 2007. I am still looking for members to join the PV rank. Please call me at 843 559 4668 if you have an interest. Paul H. Berka, FSO-PV
ANSC = Auxiliary National Supply Center AUXLAM = Auxiliary Leadership & Management Course CHDIRAUX = Chief Director, Auxiliary (HQ)

Sept. 2007
(Continued from page 2)

Scuttlebutt

Page 6

Members who have not yet completed all 6 courses for their AUXOP status, but who have taken and passes our current AUXSAR will not be required to take AUXSCE. They will only need to complete the courses they have not taken to get their AUXOP qualification. After January 1, 2008, members taking AUXOP courses but have not completed and passed AUXSAR, will need to take AUXSCE. The current AUXSAR course material will not be available for distribution from ANSC. The paper-based and online exams for the current AUXSAR course will be available until April 1, 2008 for folks engaged in the current course when we switch over. In light of this information, I would strongly suggest that anyone working toward AUXOP should consider finishing AUXSAR before 31 Dec. If there is enough interest, I will hold classes. Bob Mathewes, SO-MT 12

Public Education
Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE
ur Flotilla will be offering two sessions of ABC safety class through the Charleston Community Education - James Island Charter High School this fall. Session One will be four Tuesdays in September: 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. Session two will be four Tuesdays in November: 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th. Class will meet two hours each night, 6:30 8:30 P. M. The course fee will be $45.00. Instructors have been volunteering to teach and the books have been ordered. All that is needed now are students. The course description is found on the following link: http://www.charlestoncoce.org/ classdetail.cfm?ClassID=15708. The School will be handling registration and interested parties should contact them directly at 843-762-2793; however, we should be beating the bushes trying to get a many students as possible. Spread the word, talk it up, be persuasive. The more students that are enrolled, the safer we all are and so much the better for the Flotilla finances. Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE

Publications
Bob Mathewes, FSO-PB

Vessel Examinations
Joe Fleming, FSO-VE essel safety checks at Wappoo Landing were at a minimum due to school starting. Allen Miles, Dick Morgan and myself had a good time with boaters. Nobody was in a rush like they normally are. All boaters passed inspection this time. Some inquired about boating classes for the Fall. Hopefully Eric will hear from them. Lets schedule our next VE Blitz for September 16, at the Leads Ave. Boat Ramp, from 10am to 2pm. Allen Miles has completed all the requirement for his VE certification this month, We are happy to have him on board with us. Joe Fleming, FSO-VE

ongratulations to the elected and staff officers of the flotilla. In July and August the rate of submissions for The Scuttlebutt was almost 90%. Those were the best two consecutive months we have had this year. This publication is only as good as you make it. You supply the material. I merely fit the pieces together. Those of you who are not officers are certainly encouraged to send in anything that you think is worthy of publication. Chris Thomas sent an article last month in addition to his IS report. I do not guarantee to print everything but will certainly consider other submissions. The Scuttlebutt is your newsletter! Bob Mathewes, FSO-PB

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page

Nautical Trivia
The answer to last months question is USCGC Midgett (WHEC 726). USCGC MIDGETT is the twelfth and last of the Coast Guard's fleet of 378 foot High Endurance Cutters. She is the third in her class (HERO) to be named for outstanding Coast Guardsmen. Her namesake, the late Chief Warrant Officer John Allen MIDGETT, Jr. was born in 1876 in Rodanthe, North Carolina and served for nearly forty years with the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the Coast Guard. He was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroic rescue of 36 crewmen from the torpedoed British tanker MIRLO in 1918. Bos'n Midgett and his lifeboat crew (all but one of whom were named Midgett) rescued the entire crew, despite rough seas and flames from the tankers cargo of refined oil and gasoline. J. A. Midgett, Jr. was also one of seven of Midgett family members to have been awarded the nations highest award for saving a life - the Gold Lifesaving Medal. More than 150 living members of the Midgett family have made the Coast Guard a career, including more than thirty still on active duty. Correct answers were received from Reggie Hollar, Dick McLaren, John Sikes and Agnes Wright. Many of us spend time on the Intracostal Waterway. The Big Ditch which runs from Massachusetts to Texas was the brain child of two visionaries of the early nineteenth Century. The first to propose the possibility of linking existing bodies of inshore water with canals to run from Boston Harbor to southern Georgia was a Secretary of the Treasury who submitted a report on Public Roads and Canals to the US Senate in 1808. Eleven years later the Secretary of War published his Report on Roads and

Canals and proposed that it should extend even farther. It took over 100 years to complete this project that the Secretary of the Treasury proposed should take ten years when he presented his plan in 1808. Who were these proponents of todays Intracoastal Waterway?

Communication Services

John Sikes, FSO-CS

ant to hear about a little known tool that can speed up communications within our flotilla? What I'm talking about is AUXCHAS, the Yahoo Group that was established about 18 months ago. AUXCHAS has many capabilities, one being messaging to the entire group. Members of the group can select whether to have messages sent to them immediately or in a once-a-day digest. They may also choose to have their messages left on the Group for retrieval at their convenience. Another use for the Group is sharing of photos and files, several of which have already been posted. A calendar may also be used for posting of important occasions, and reminders may be scheduled to be sent to members of the Group. Thus far, seventeen of our members have signed up and are enjoying use of the AUXCHAS Group. Membership is by initiation only, and at least one invitation has been sent to each member but only the seventeen mentioned have opted to accept. We'll be sending another invitation within the next week to those who are not already members, and encourage everyone to at least sign up to be able to take a look at what's there. You won't know what you're missing if you don't at least sign up and take a look. You could drop out at any time if you don't like it. Use of a Yahoo Group does not take a rocket scientist or a computer guru, so when you get your invitation via email, go ahead and sign up. Access to the AUXCHAS Group is only available to Group members. Membership is controlled by the Group Moderators, Bob Mathewes and myself. If you have any questions, please direct them to one of us. John Sikes, FSO-CS COMDTINST = Commandant Instruction ICS = Incident Command System

Sept. 2007

Scuttlebutt

Page 8

September 2007
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 9 16 23
Autumnal Equinox

3
Labor Day

4
Last Quarter

5 12
Flotilla Meeting

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

8 15 22 29

10 17 24

11
New Moon

18
Fist Quarter

19 26
Full Moon

25

30

Flotilla Officers
Flotilla Commander Allen James jamesan38@bellsouth.net Communication Systems John Sikes jsikes@netrockets.com Marine Safety Agnes Wright seabrownie@bellsouth.net Personnel Services Alan Miles bigcid@comcast.net Flotilla Vice Commander Joe Fleming joeflemingjr@comcast.net Finance Frank Leister FCL@Lwinslow.com Member Training Bob Mathewes rhmathewes@comcast.net Public Affairs Tom Jerussi jscaaty@bellsouth.net Secretary Records Shirley Wolf saw41@bellsouth.net Aids To Navigation Vacant Information Services Chris Thomas irish29483@earthlink.net Operations Richard Daniel rbdaniel1829@aol.com Communications Dick Clarke clarkerc@netzero.net Materials Hank Wolf hgw39@bellsouth.net RBS Visitor Paul Berka phberka@comcast.net

Public Education Publications Eric Kilpatrick Bob Mathewes ekilpatrick@earthlink.net rhmathewes@comcast.net Vessel Examination Joe Fleming joeflemingjr@comcast.net