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NORTHWIND -­‐ OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF D11N Volume 20, Issue 3 NORTHWIND
Official Newsletter of
District 11 Northern
JULY 2014
COMO ROD COLLINS
District Commodore, D11N Volume 20, Issue 3
IN THIS ISSUE DISTRICT COMMODORE
Page 1 DISTRICT CHIEF OF STAFF
Page 2 DCAPT – RESPONSE
Page 5 Why am I losing attendance at my meetings. Is it something I ate? I hear a lot lately that “the number of members we have attend our meetings is very poor”. My first question to this is, Are your meetings boring? Are your meetings planned out by your leadership? Do you have an agenda that is followed during the meeting? Are your members courteous to each other? Do you need to change the time that it is being held? These are just a few of the issues that can cause poor attendance at our meetings. In today’s world time is precious to all of us. If I want you to attend my meeting I need to make it worthwhile and interesting for you. Being in a good environment, pleasant people and discussing items that pertains to you will go a long way to having you decide to attend my meeting. Maybe you need a send out remainders to your members of your meetings. Someone may need or want to ride to the meeting. Many Flotilla leaders will remark about lack of attendance but the agenda or substance of their meetings is same one that was used 15 years ago. Be respectable of your member’s time. No one wants to sit in a four-­‐hour meeting on their own time and listen to personal conversations. Have the meeting then provide a social time after for those that want to stay. Do you offer any training in your meetings? With all of the programs we have in the Auxiliary there should be no reason why our meetings should be void of training. Make the training timely and pertinent to activities coming up for your unit. An example would be a training session on the handouts that you provide at an informational booth just before NSBW. I can guarantee that you will have members that have never read the handouts that they will provide to the public and are expected to answer questions pertaining to them. (Continued on page 2) (From left to right) Curtis Han, DSO-­‐PB, Wally Smith, DCAPT-­‐P, Richard Celia, DCDR 1 – DTRAIN 2014 PHOTO GALLERY - OPS Page 6
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Page 7 D11N NORTHWIND NEWSLETTER TEAM Curtis Han William Kinsey Victor Beelik Dennis Wilson DSO-­‐PB ADSO-­‐PB ADSO-­‐PB ADSO-­‐PB NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 2 RICH THOMAS
(COMO Collins – Continued from page 1) District Chief of Staff, D11N PERKS Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience for participants. As we all know the Auxiliary isn’t the easiest volunteer group to join and no one needs to remind us that it can be a costly experience. With sequestration, funds are cut for many activities and travel. Like almost all Volunteer organizations each time you start your car to go do some volunteering it costs out of pocket money. Unlike many organizations, we in the Auxiliary actually have some benefits that other organizations don’t have. Since we all donate time and out of pocket expenses I wanted to provide some information regarding some benefits we get that can help save you some money. The basic benefits are simple and may not seem like much, but where else can you get lunch and dinner for $4.55 and breakfast for $2.45. Certainly working next to and with some of the finest heroes of our county [Coast Guard Personnel] is not only a great experience but a perk as well. I am surprised by the number of Auxiliary members that are not aware of some of the other perks or benefits that are available to us. In the long run – if you utilize some of the benefits likely you will save a significant amount of money that will off-­‐set some of your out of pocket cost. The two main perks that we can benefit from are MWR and Coast Guard Auxiliary Assn. membership. As a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association there are numerous discounts you can receive from many public sector companies. For example: Red Roof Inn: I did a search using July th
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11 check in and July 12 check out for room rate at the Red Roof Inn at San Francisco International Airport located in South San Francisco. The room rate is $149.99, then I ran the same dates and same room through the Association and the room rate is $127.49. A savings of $22.50. Get your staff to provide input to your meeting’s agenda. Trying to do it all by yourself never works out. However utilizing your staff to help out with ideas for meetings is an excellent idea and you might be surprised what comes up when the creative juices start to flow. Planning for your meetings is a recipe for success. Once the word gets out that your meetings are interesting and time well spent you will have to start looking for bigger facilities. This is what our membership expects of us and we need to deliver. Stay safe and keep saving those lives! Rod Collins, DCO Budget Rental Car: When I did a search using pick up date of August 21, 2014 at noon and return date of August 24, 2014 at noon (the dates of NACON) at Orlando International Airport, the rate is $60.00 per day and I ran a reservation request through the Association and the same model, dates, location discounted the price to $39.00. A savings of $21 per day. Pen Fed (Pentagon Federal Credit Union) offers CG Aux Credit cards, auto loans, Savings and IRA Products, Home equity loans, and First mortgages with discounts. Based on current national data some of their interest rates or better than the average market. Additional discounts are available: AVIS, Boat US, Boat Insurance, International Marine, VPI Pet Insurance, Cruises Only, Wyndham Hotel Group, Office Depot, Motel 6, RX Savings Card, Long Term Care Insurance LTC Global, Life Lock,, TNT Vacations Soft Choice – Adobe products discounts, Power Flare -­‐ Safety Lights and others. (Continued on page 3) NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 3 (Rich Thomas, continued from page 2) You can get more information at the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc. website: http://cgauxa.org/index.php and go into members-­‐only benefits link on the left side of the page. You will need to use your id number and password to get into the link. •
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MORALE, WELL-­‐BEING and RECREATION Likely many of us have heard of MWR (Morale, Well-­‐Being and Recreation) and as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary we are active participants and are authorized to utilize many of the products and services that active duty personnel have. •
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There are substantial “great” deals that could save you up to hundreds of dollars. The key to utilizing MWR is: •
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Make reservations as far out as possible Keep in mind that all purchases are absolutely non-­‐refundable Active Duty and Reservist have first priority Double check if Auxiliary members qualify for certain products or services – some have restrictions. Check the MWR Coast Guard Island Ticket Book at: http://www.uscg.mil/baseAlam
eda/PSD/docs/2014JuneTicketb
ook.pdf Some of our local benefits (subject to restrictions) •
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San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay – online direct: $21.95 for adults – through MWR -­‐ $16.00. (yes-­‐if you are a senior you can get lower price) – discounted children tickets are also available through MWR. Concord Water World -­‐ online direct: $35.99 or $29.99 if you purchase 7 days in advance-­‐ plus $15.00 parking fee. Through MWR -­‐ $23.00 and $9.00 parking fee. Great America Park – Santa Clara-­‐ online single ticket $62.99. Through MWR -­‐ $36.00 Hornblower Dinner Cruise – San Francisco-­‐ online direct $131.99 – Through MWR -­‐ $81.50 Movie Tickets –various locations – AMC theaters, Century, Regal Cinemas, United Artist, Edwards Theaters – Available through MWR at $8.50. We of course, have access to the Coast Guard Exchanges and can purchase any item with the exception of tobacco or alcohol. All recreation facilities on Coast Guard Island are open to Auxiliary members including the gym, pool, and auto hobby shop. There are other events that come up periodically, such as a couple of weekends ago there were 200 free tickets available to attend the NASCAR race at Sears Point. That would be FREE. At times local sporting teams discount or donate tickets to games. This is only local, when you go through ticket book – you will see dozens and dozens of discounted venues, not only from the bay area but all of California and the entire nation. Website for our local MWR is: http://www.uscg.mil/baseAlameda/PSD/
docs/2014JuneTicketBook.pdf These are available for use by Auxiliary members and rent from $85 to $125 per night – 1 and 2 bedroom units. Each unit is fully furnished with cable color TV. TRACEN Petaluma – Petaluma Lake RV PARK.
Earlier I had mentioned saving hundreds of dollars. Well here are some more perks available to the Auxiliary. If you are a traveler looking to visit some locations for vacations, here are some great deals. For Example – Coast Guard Station Lake Tahoe have A frame Cabins available for rent. Right here in our own back yard is a Lake that offers fishing, softball, volleyball, horseshoes, picnicking, and swimming pool. (Continued on page 4) NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 4 (Rich Thomas, continued from page 3) This location offers both RV and tent camping sites. The cost is $20 per night for RV Space and $6.00 per night for tent areas. Don’t forget that while you are there you can utilize the swimming pool, gym, and of course the culinary delight of the TRACEN Food Service School. Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, California – RV Park. This MWR site is located directly across the street from the Coast Guard Station. Season of Operation: Year round. Description: Located at Channel Islands Harbor, across the street from the Coast Guard Station. Well maintained rustic atmosphere, near many community attractions. Facilities: Ten self-­‐contained RV pads with water, electricity, and picnic tables. Volleyball, basketball court, horseshoes, and picnic pavilion. for RV only and no camping. The fee is $18.00 per night. This organization provides reservations at hotels/condos all over the world. There are dozens of Coast Guard facilities available through the United States that have variety of lodging available. If you open this link – you will find different locations and available. Remember not ALL facilities will be available to Auxiliary members, however many are and you need to research what is available. For Example: th Booking 1 week – September 6
th through September 13 2014 I found that a 2 bedroom unit (sleeps 6) at the Ona Cala Pi Club located on the island of Majorca, Spain, the rate is $799.99 for the week. ($111.00 per night) – when I went onto an internet booking service the rate for the exact same time and the same 2 bedroom unit that sleeps 6 is $991.87. (Direct access to the beach) http://www.uscg.mil/mwr/lodging/Lodgi
ng.asp In addition you might check all the hundreds of locations the other branches offer. I made a couple of calls to Army, Navy, and Air Force. The common answer was that yes, Auxiliary members would be able to make reservations, however, the key comment was – as long as you can get onto the base. Therefore, it would be of the utmost importance that Auxiliary members make sure that they can gain access with the Auxiliary ID card. Army Lodging: http://new.armymwr.com/travel/lodging
/default.aspx Navy Lodging: http://get.dodlodging.net Air Force Lodging: http://www.dodlodging.net/ Recreation Equipment Available: None. Army RV Campgrounds: http://new.armymwr.com/travel/lodging
/default.aspx Reservations: Reservations are required and can be made by application only, obtained from the contact listed below. Reservations should be made as early as possible, at least 21 days in advance, but no more that 50 days in advance. This is Residence Portoselvaggio – LecceNardo, Italy
Sites are as follows: Activities: Just minutes away from swimming, surfing, surf fishing, hiking, charter boat fishing, boating, shopping, and bicycle touring. General Information: There are no sanitary hookups. There is a dump station available. Open fires are not permitted, except for BBQ grills, camp stoves, and picnic pavilion fire pit. Pets are allowed, but must be kept on a leash. Owners must clean up after pets daily. Ona Cala Pi Club Hotel/Apartments Marines Lodging: http://www.usmc-­‐
mccs.org/lodging/index.cfm Navy RV Campgrounds: http://get.dodlodging.net/ How about international travel. As a member of the Auxiliary you can sign up and become a member of the Armed Forces Vacation Club (actually if you are a veteran or retired military you can sign up) – however if you don’t have prior service and are a member of the Auxiliary this membership is free to sign up. Residence Portoselvaggio is a brand new complex situated in the Torre Inserraglio tourist region of Southern Italy. Framed by the Ionian Sea, where you can take advantage of the Mediterranean experience, and fine art and historic sites nearby, this resort has a healthy mix of adventures. Residence Portoselvaggio combines 4-­‐star luxury with the natural beauty of its location, and it is close to Portoselvaggio National Park, one of the loveliest areas of the Salentine coast. Resort amenities include an adult pool, kiddie pool, live entertainment and a snack bar for your convenience. (Continued on page 5) NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 5 (Rich Thomas, continued from page 4) st I used the dates of September 21
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through 28 2014. Using booking.com, an internet hotel finder, the rate for a 1 bedroom room is $671 for the week. Going through Armed Forces vacation club the price is $369-­‐ but even better news-­‐ as of the date this article was written there was a special and the rate is $299.00. – That is a $372 saving from Internet published prices. There are numerous properties available at significantly below published prices throughout the world including but not limited to: Austria, Andorra, Cypress, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Australia-­‐
Oceania, Mexico, Canada, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Egypt, Middle East, Caribbean, England, Wales, and Scotland. In addition, there are dozens of available low cost places to stay throughout every state within the United States. Remember-­‐ there is no cost or fees to be a member of Armed Forces Vacation Club – check in and see if there is something out there for you. https://www.afvclub.com/military_mwr In conclusion, regardless if you are going somewhere on vacation or simply need some office supplies, medical prescriptions, department store discounts, and dozens of wide variety of other available resources, the perks of being an Auxiliary member is bigger than many of us know. When you look at some of the savings, whether it is $10 to $20 off regular prices or a big discount for a vacation, utilization of MWR can substantially add-­‐up over a year period. Rich Thomas District Chief of Staff, D11N Bill Stolz
District Captain – Response, D11N Is Telecommunications for you? Back in the early sixties it became clear to the Coast Guard that there were not enough radio stations in California. Auxiliarist from District 11NR, Flotilla 47 put their CB sets to work and set up a permanent radio tower on the roof of a restaurant in Santa Cruz. Today radio communication are done primarily on two frequency ranges, VHF (Very High Frequency) and HF (High Frequency). All of our surface facilities have VHF capability and some of our land-­‐mobile stations have both VHF and HF radios. As we look back over our rich 75-­‐year history the Coast Guard Auxiliary has evolved in many ways to serve the Coast Guard and citizens of the United States. In June of 1939 Congress passed legislation establishing the Coast Guard Reserves made up of civilian yachtsmen. In fact to become a member of the Reserves you had to be the sole or partial owner of a motorboat or yacht. On February 19, 1941 Congress pass a law restructuring the Coast Guard Reserves. The civilian forces would now be called the Auxiliary and the Reserves would be a reserve military force. The Auxiliary served in various capacities during World War II. There are many references describing how the Auxiliary served that can be found in books and the Internet. By jumping ahead, to the post war era, we can see some other changes. In 1945 Public Law 451 added owners of aircraft and radio stations to the list of those eligible for membership in the Auxiliary. Not every member has aspiration of serving on a vessel and the Auxiliary now had other opportunities to serve. Radio communications are a vital element to surface and air operations for the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary. In fact if we don’t have adequate communications the patrol must be terminated. Picture above is an example of a basic VHF land/mobile radio station. Peter Rast from 11-­‐03 is relaying position reports from a facility “The Melroy” on Lake Almanor to Coast Guard Station Lake Tahoe. A radio station like this can cost as little as $200 for the radio and antenna. VHF radios are for line of sight, short-­‐
range communications. The distance is predicated on the antenna height and power of the transmitting radio and the height of receiving antenna. When the need for long distance communication is required, HF radios are needed. The following pictures are examples of Land/Mobile radio stations that contain multiple radio frequency capabilities. NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 6 (Bill Stolz, continued from page 5) The land mobile 12’ trailer above is owned and built by Fred and Bonnie Sellstrom of 3-­‐10. It has been used for numerous events including San Francisco Fleet Week, various OPTREX’s, multi-­‐agency training, Delta Blitz as a command post and radio station, to name a few. It is also used for the West Coast HF Contingency Communications Net. Photo Gallery
OPERATIONS Auxiliary Vessels Kokua II and Delta Dancer II in stern-­‐tow evolution – Suisun City, CA Auxiliary Vessel Delta Max – conducting safety patrol in Napa River near the newly developed Napa City Dock in Downtown Napa. The fixed land equipment above is owned by Bill Leoppard from 11-­‐01. Bill’s antennae is located at 7000 feet in Truckee, CA. Bill works weekly on 6 HF radio networks with Districts 11 North and South,13,17 and 8. Bill was instrumental in setting up communications during the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that threatened Crescent City and Santa Cruz harbors. Bill is also working on the Joint Forces Radio Net and Automatic Link Establishment program. If you are not currently involved in a response program I hope you will consider communications. It can be very rewarding and in our district operational area there is always a need for qualified radio operators. Contact your FSO-­‐CM. Auxiliary Vessels String O’ Pearl and Kokua II during Division 5 OPTREX, performing side-­‐tow evolution during a check ride – Antioch, CA Bill Stolz DCAPT – Response, D11N Auxiliary Vessel Kokua II prepares to take Auxiliary Vessel Delta Max in stern-­‐tow during the QE checkride – Division 5 OPTREX, Antioch, CA For a 12-­‐minute video on how a VHF/HF relay works see http://www.sierracgaux.org/radioopex.h
tml District 11NR Communications web page: http://ops.d11nuscgaux.info/comms/co
mms.html CWO2 Matthew James, OTO (pictured right) observes the underway check rides during Division 5 OPTREX aboard Auxiliary Vessel Delta Max (left: Kevin Malloy, FC 52, center: Thomas Sarnicola, DCDR 5) Antioch, CA Coxswain Michael Ungersma (center) providing navigational and helmsman instructions to the crew. (left: Jim Minkel, SO-­‐FN 5, right: Gordon “Michael” Hunt) aboard Auxiliary Vessel Blue Jay – Suisun Slough. NORTHWIND -­‐ OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF D11N Volume 20, Issue 3 District Calendar of Events
AUGUST – DECEMBER, 2014
AUG 1 Flotilla Dues are due AUG 2-­‐3 Division 6 OPTREX Santa Cruz, CA POC: Lynda Dossett AUG 8-­‐9 Division 7 OPTREX Jordanelle Reservoir, UT POC: COMO Mike Williams AUG 13 District Board and Staff Meeting – Webinar 1900 Hours AUG 16-­‐17 PCA Fair Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA AUG 18 EXCOM Meeting – Webinar 1900 Hours AUG 18-­‐24 NACON Orlando, FL AUG 23-­‐24 Division 11 OPTREX Lake Tahoe POC: Linda Haynes SEP 1 Member Dues are Delinquent SEP 13-­‐14 Flotilla 55 OPTREX
Bodega Bay, CA POC: Wil Sumner SEP 19-­‐20 Flotilla 88 OPTREX (CANCELLED) SEP 19 EXCOM Meeting – Webinar 1900 Hours SEP 20 District Board and Staff Meeting, District Election 1000 Hours Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA OCT 1 ANSC 7035 – Due Deadline Due to DSO-­‐HR OCT 9-­‐13 San Francisco Fleet Week POC: Simone Adair OCT 11-­‐12 Division 10 OPTREX Millerton, CA POC: Rod Rollins OCT 13 EXCOM Meeting – Webinar 1900 Hours OCT 15 District Board and Staff Meeting – Webinar 1900 Hours OCT 17-­‐19 Flotilla 3-­‐10 OPTREX Sacramento/San Joaquin/Delta POC: Dean LaChapelle NOV 1 ANSC 7035 – Deadline to DIRAUX NOV 1 Division 11 COW Location: Casino Fandango, Carson City, NV NOV 2 Division 2 COW Location: TBD NOV 8 Division 6 COW Location: TBD NOV 14 EXCOM Meeting 1930 Hours Executive Inn, Alameda, CA NOV 15 District Board and Staff Meeting 0830 Hours Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA NOV 15-­‐16 Elected Officers’ Training (EOT) 1300 Hours Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA DEC 6 Division 3 COW Location: TBD DEC 7 Division 12 COW Location: Pier 29 Restaurant, Alameda, CA DEC 7 Division 5 COW Location: Commodore Yacht Cruise, Alameda, CA DEC 13 Division 10 COW Location: TBD Please refer to the online District 11N Calendar for recent updates and information: Disclaimer: The NORTHWIND reserves the right to proof read and edit-­‐copy all articles submitted. It takes no responsibility and accepts no liability for damages caused by errors left in the document. It cannot accept responsibility for the validity of web sites that link from this publication. It also cannot accept responsibility for any content submitted by any author. Articles published in the NORTHWIND must be consistent with the stated policies of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. 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 1974 Privacy Act. NORTHWIND OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF DISTRICT 11 NORTHERN Volume 20, Issue 3 8 NORTHWIND is the official publication of the United Stated Coast Guard Auxiliary, District Eleven North. Article contributions by the following: Rod Collins, District Commodore Rich Thomas, District Chief of Staff Bill Stolz, DCAPT-­‐Response Photograph contributions by: Curtis Han, Division 5 Dennis Wilson, Division 5 Website: http://d11nuscgaux.info NORTHWIND Publications Team: Curtis Han DSO-­‐PB William Kinsey ADSO-­‐PB Victor Beelik ADSO-­‐PB Dennis Wilson ADSO-­‐PB District 11 North Webmaster Jimmin Chang DSO-­‐CS Design and Layout: Curtis Han dso-­‐[email protected] NORTHWIND
Official Newsletter of
District 11 Northern
Commander (dpa-­‐n) Coast Guard Island, Building 50-­‐2 Alameda, CA 94501-­‐5100 [Addressee]
[Street Address] [City, ST ZIP Code]