DEC

ONE TWO — THREE
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY District 7
Chartered 1947
Flotilla Meritorious
Achievement Medal 1997
Lake Murray Flotilla 12-3
Columbia, South Carolina
Meetings: Last Monday of each month on Flotilla Island at 1900. Next meeting: 9 December 2008 COW
Information contained in this newsletter is for official US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary use only, under the Privacy Act of 1974.
The Auxiliary is guided by the current equal opportunity policies of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. No person shall be subject to
discrimination in the Auxiliary or its programs because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability.
Editor: COMO Jay Dahlgren, 803-536-6538
Richard G. Miner
DECEMBER 2008
(803) 462-2196
FC12-3 Volume I
Issue 12
Next to know when to seize an opportunity, the most
important thing in life is to know when to forego an
advantage.
Flotilla 12-3 Change of Watch Dinner will be held 9 December, 1830 at
New Orleans Riverfront Restaurant, West Columbia
This will serve as the monthly flotilla meeting.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you and your families a very Merry Christmas, the happiest of Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. As you and
your family come together this holiday season, reflect on our blessings as Americans, and remember our soldiers who cannot be with their families during the holidays because of their duty to protect
and preserve our great nation and the freedoms we all enjoy.
Finally I want to thank each of the Staff Officers, and each of you for the contributions you have
made toward keeping 12-3 the best, Thank You
Sherry L. Ruschkofski, loving wife of member Gerald ‘Jerry’ Ruschkofski, both a mother and
grandmother died on Wednesday, 26 November 2008 after a long, courageous battle with cancer.
Memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. on Monday, 1 December at Ashland United Methodist
Church in Columbia with a “Celebration of Life” reception immediately following.
Happy Hanukkah
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is one of the
most joyous times of the Jewish year. The
reason for the celebration is twofold (both
dating back to c. 165 BCE): the miraculous
military victory of the small, ill-equipped Jewish army over the ruling Greek Syrians, who
had banned the Jewish religion and desecrated the Temple; and the miracle of the
small cruse of consecrated oil, which burned
for eight days in the Temple's menorah instead of just one.
The New York Sun perhaps captured the
essence of the holiday best in its famous
1897 editorial, "Yes, Virginia, there is a
Santa Claus": "He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion exist,
and you know that they abound and give
to your life its highest beauty and joy...
The most real things in the world are
those that neither children nor men can
see... he lives and lives forever."
To e-mail any of the flotilla elected/staff, click on their first name.
Merry Christmas
ONE TWO — THREE
Marty Delk
Another way of making enemies is to
talk to your friends as only a friend
should.
DECEMBER 2008
Page 2
I got paid this month. Gratitude and the satisfaction of a job well done are the only paychecks a volunteer can receive. It’s no different in the Auxiliary. On 11 November, I participated in the annual Veteran’s Day Parade in Columbia
along with COMO Jay Dahlgren, COMO George Jeandheur, Don Davis, and Richard Miner, FC 12-3.
This wasn’t my first parade, and it went pretty much as I had expected – with one exception. I was overwhelmed by
the response of our fellow citizens lining the streets. Old veterans, many of whom have served and sacrificed more than I
ever will, school children and their teachers, kids and their parents cheered, waved flags, smiled, and saluted. Along the
way, I noticed many adults pointing out the various services to their children, saying “they protect us” or “I served in that
branch.” What also stood out were the numerous “thank you” shouts by many in the crowd. Then, about half way through
the parade, a little boy, maybe about four or five, looked at me and threw a perfect salute. He received a perfect salute in
return. Payday!
We pay to belong to the Auxiliary. We pay dues. We buy uniforms that change. We spend time and money traveling
to patrol, train, or meet. We then have to deal with the changes in job requirements and expectations (Re: POMS, TCT,
GAR, fuel usage, etc.) Then, we have to deal with other organizations or individuals that ought to support us, but rather
put up roadblocks. Sometimes it gets frustrating.
All of a sudden, a mom shouts “thank you,” and old Marine waves, and a little boy salutes. In the end, it’s worth the
time, money, and aggravation. What we do matters… the people told us so on the 11th. I’ve got the paycheck to prove it.
Semper Paratus,
PREVENTION
FSOs: Marine Safety & Environmental Protection: Billy Lindsay; Member Training: Don Davis;
Public Education: Al McCallister; Program Visitor/Vessel Examiner: Burnette Sheffield
I urge the MDVs to take advantage of the many items that are available regarding the two programs.
One new item is the Boat Responsibly Bags. They come in handy to place informational materials in
them and pass out at the upcoming Boat Show and in the marinas you visit. To order use #9025. It has been difficult getting the Officer Snook Future Boaters & Environmental Guide but there are other ‘Snook’ books available. Ask
our Material Officer to request them as substitutes. I have 6-8 boxes of material that have been requested for the Boat
Show. We also have the Boat Responsibly Bags.
November 2008 - Reminder on ICS-210 (Initial Incident Commander) is a classroom course designed for Single Resource Leader Type 5/Type 4 Incident Commanders. It is a four-hour
course. This course or the full ICS-300 course is required for Auxiliary coxswains, pilots (Aircraft
Commander, First Pilot and Co-Pilot), any member in the Trident Program or any other team/task force leader
determined by a Coast Guard unit Commander to have a need based. The deadline for this course is 31Mar09 (revised
form the original 31Mar08). You WILL go into REYR for these qualifications (Coxswain/Pilot) if you have not completed
this course by this revised date. See additional details on
our Incident Management page.
It's not too early to be thinking about the next regular boating course that will be coming up in February. Be on the lookout for prospective students and spread the word in any way you can. Let's do
all in our power to make and keep our lake safe for everyone!
New Public Education Course Available
Replacing Basic and Advanced Coastal Navigation, the new public education navigation course based on the book,
The Weekend Navigator, is now available and in stock at AUXCEN. Refer to SpeedGram 2008-01 for details. http://
www.cgauxed.org/elib/speedgrams/SpeedGram_2008-01.pdf
How to be the Best Darn VE Possible! And then become a Program Visitor too!
http://safetyseal.net/training.asp
(continued on page 5)
So what have we learned in 2 millennia?
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be
curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance." Cicero - 55 BC
Evidently nothing.....
ONE TWO — THREE
LOGISTICS
DECEMBER 2008
Page 3
FSOs: Communications Services: Ladd Harrelson; Information Systems: Don Davis; Public Affairs:
Marty Delk; PuBlications: COMO Jay Dahlgren; Personnel Services: Russ Jernigan
Ignore the alphabet soup. Processor names are among the more confounding elements of a computer’s specs. Don’t worry about interpreting the meaning of P8400, 9100E, or Q9300. Just make sure
you get a system with at least a dual-core processor. For budget users, that means an Intel Pentium Dual-Core,
an AMD Athlon 64X2, or an AMD Turion X2. For more power, consider the Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Phenom. Hard-core
gamers or video editors should kick up the specs and buy an Intel Core 2 Quad system, which has four processors. Centrino refers to the chipset that houses some Intel processors.
FINAL NOTICE FOR THOSE SEEKING TO REMAIN QUALIFIED
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George Mendenhall needs 6 more hours on the water.
Joe Livingston does not need any more hours for this year, since he was certified as crewman this year.
He will have to do 12 hours next year.
Richard Miner needs 4 RBS visits for this year.
Aaron Small and George Mendenhall need 5 RBS visits each for this year.
Perry Moses needs 2 RBS Visits.
Al McCallister, Dale McCoin, Kent McCoin, George Mendenhall, and Aaron Small all need 5 VSCs to remain
certified.
All Instructors have the required hours to remain certified.
If anyone finds an error in my figures, feel free to notify me.
Please contact me if you know of any group or school looking for speakers or if you have a newsworthy item or photographs. Getting out the message that we are here, have a job to do, and need help
is a twelve-month-a-year job.
Continuing the 4S principle in writing … keep it Short…..Simple…..Strong…..Sincere
Short & Simple were explained in the November newsletter.
Strong. Use concrete, specific words. Abstract nouns name qualifies, conditions, actions, or relations.
These are useful but writers frequently use them when verbs or adjectives would be more forceful. More damaging than
abstracts are generalities. Use more active verbs. Don’t weaken construction with wordy phrases.
Sincere. Write in human terms. Intensives like highest, deepest, very much, extremely, and undoubtedly have the
tendencies to overwhelm your readers. Similar to intensives in effect on the tone of writing are emphatics which call
special attention to a statement. Useless emphatics give the reader the impression you are laboring to put your facts
across, or even to convince yourself, too. Don’t over use superlatives. Don’t be ‘tone-deaf’ - write an article that sounds
pleasing, factual and readable.
Traditionally, the main avenue for reinvigorating membership numbers came from students taking the
Auxiliary’s public education courses with smaller numbers from those recruited from vessel safety
checks and “walk-ins,” those who found out about the Auxiliary by other means. Recruiting drives, where
National asked local flotillas to make a special effort to find and process new members, accounted for others.
In fact, none of these tried and true methods now works well enough to make up the Auxiliary numbers. Recruits from
public education classes have fallen off dramatically, as have the other traditional methods.
Why this drop in recruiting new members? There are many reasons, one of which is that aggressive recruiting is often
not done in flotillas which take a more laid back approach, accepting new members if they’ve contacted us first. Even
then, there are many flotillas that don’t accept recruits because, “it’s too much effort to train them,” or “we’re just the right
size and don’t want more members” to “it’s not our job.” Let’s hope this is not true in Lake Murray Flotilla 12-3.
The ‘Signs of a Stroke’ were included in the August 2008 newsletter. These were:
S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) ( i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
Now another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask a person to stick out his/her tongue. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes
to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects
of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the
patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
ONE TWO — THREE
DECEMBER 2008
Page 4
RESPONSE/OPERATIONS
FSOs: CoMmunications: George Crouch; OPerations: Kenny Uschelbec
Coxswains: Here is the latest on requesting patrol orders. As far as you are concerned, continue to request patrol orders from me. I in turn will jump through all of the new hoops and ensure you receive your
patrol order number and your Form 5132. Continue to send your Form 5132 for reimbursement to: USCG SECTOR Charleston, 196 Tradd Street, Auxiliary Liaison Officer, Charleston, SC 29401-1817. Remember that coxswains must calculate a GAR Risk Assessment Number for each patrol and record it in their log. Lake Murray
patrols will report the GAR Number to George Summer or other Watchstander at the beginning of the patrol
along with the other currently required information. The GAR Number for that patrol must also be shown on the
7030 in the comments section.
The state postal codes, for example ‘SC’ for South Carolina, are not always used as the prefix to illustrate the state in which the vessel is registered. There are 11 states whose boat registration prefixes
are different than their postal codes. They are: California, CF; Colorado, CL; Delaware, DL; Hawaii, HA; Kansas,
KA; Massachusetts, MS; Michigan, MC; Mississippi, MI; Nebraska, NB; Washington, WN: and Wisconsin, WS.
Law of the Sea. The master or person in charge of a vessel is obligated by law to provide assistance that
can be safely provided to any individual in danger at sea. The master or person in charge is subject to a fine and/or
imprisonment for failure to do so. Under the “Good Samaritan Clause,” an individual complying gratuitously and in
good faith rendering assistance without objection by the individual assisted is not liable for damages as a result of
this assistance.
12-3 COAST GUARD
UNITS
CGA UNIT 1
CGA UNIT 2
CGA UNIT 3
CGA UNIT 4
CGA UNIT 6
CGA UNIT 7
CGA UNIT 5
CGA UNIT 8
ON PATROL, LAKE MURRAY
CGA UNIT 9
Southbank - Turkey Shoot
Ahhhhh… Autumn
ONE TWO — THREE
FSO MAterials: Tom Callan
DECEMBER 2008
Page 5
Please be advised that the D7 Store will re-open on Monday, December 7, 2008. Due to back orders on materials and a staff shortage, some of you have not received your orders as quickly as before. We are doing everything possible to fill your orders in a timely fashion. Remember, the center is entirely staffed by volunteers
and we are working hard to give the best service possible. We thank you for your patience and continued support.
LOOK FOR OUR NEW WEBSITE! Coming in December, we will have a new D7 Materials website! We are
excited about the look and ease of use with the new site and are anxious for you to view it too. We are sure this will enhance your shopping experience and shorten processing and shipping time. Thank you for your patience and support.
FLOTILLA 12-3 AND USCG STATION CHARLESTON ON PARADE IN COLUMBIA FOR VETERAN’S DAY
Towing UNIT 4 were Marty Delk, VFC 12-3; COMOs Jeandheur & Dahlgren; Don Davis, SO-IS 12
Continued
Whether it’s cruising on a diamond day or anchoring to watch Venus and the pearly moon
set, our Lake Murray has treasures for us all!
Remember to take adequate precautions,
though. If you don’t have time to be careful, do
you really think you’ll have time to deal with the
aftermath? Cleaning up a fuel spill before you
start the engine could save lots of headaches
later. "VEs please continue to stress safety
because we'll never run out of opportunities to
teach."
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as
cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
ONE TWO — THREE
DECEMBER 2008
Page 6
Flotilla 12-3, Lake Marion Detachment
Meetings: 3rd Monday of each month at 1900 (contact FSO). Next meeting: 15 December 2008
We enjoyed a great meeting on 17 November. Auxiliary guests were COMO
Jay Dahlgren and Richard Miner, Flotilla Commander 12-3. We also had 4 prospective members in attendance which is always nice. One of the highlights
was the swearing in of new member Steven Hill. Some of our regular attendees
were absent. The other highlight was the swearing in of our incoming Assistant
Flotilla Staff Officers (A/FSO). A brief discussion was held concerning our proposed name when we are chartered. COMO Dahlgren was surprised that we
Perry Moses
did not intend to patrol both Lakes Marion and Moultrie to include Diversion CaDetachment Leader
nal. The discussion was concluded with an understanding that we just were not
a large enough flotilla to cover 75,000 acres of water. Perhaps in the future
with reasonable growth and adequate coxswains and facilities we could revisit the subject of territory. We also announced that we would be seeking the Flotilla number 12-29 in honor of the original
flotilla that patrolled this area in the ‘60s. Responsibilities of incoming staff were explained with Perry
Moses, Detachment Leader, setting out goals for the new year. Please make every effort to attend
the Flotilla 12-3 Change of Watch dinner (info on page1).
Newest member Steven Hill sworn in at
the November 17th
meeting. Richard
Miner, FC 12-3, and
Perry Moses administering the pledge.
The 2009 incoming A/FSOs being sworn in by FC 12-3.
Richard Kinkade, SR
Joe Livingston, OP A/Leader
Don Kerl, CM
Larry Odom, PE MV
Dick Phillips, PA
Flotilla 12-3 Lake Marion Detachment Safety Patrol
Our maiden Lake Moultrie—Charleston Harbor safety patrol occurred 24 November 2008. Coxswain COMO Jay Dahlgren and crewmembers Perry Moses and Joe Livingston departed Short Stay at 0900 traversed the locks, through the
Tail Race Canal, down the beautiful Cooper River , into Charleston Harbor and lunched at Shem Creek. The patrol
terminated back at Short Stay at 1700. “Just another lousy day in Paradise.”