THE SCUTTLEBUTT

Oct.. 2008 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Scuttlebutt Flotilla 12-8, 7th District Charleston, South Carolina Vol. 34, No. 10-October 2008
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Flotilla Web Site: http://www.uscgauxcharleston.org

Commanders Corner
Joe Fleming, FC 12-8
Looks like fall is here. Temperatures are dropping and the wind is coming out of the North. Not a good time to be on the water. That is for most people should I say. We on the other hand dont fit that category of boater. Safety and security of our harbor and rivers depend on us being out there. That is why we put so much time on the water assisting the Coast Guard with their every-day jobs. So give us a little of your time to help get the Job done. New member crew training is going well. Currently on-water training is underway New recruits have started a new member class and are on the way to getting in. I hope everyone is ready for some good southern seafood. Its time for our annual cook- out at the base. Octobers meeting is a traditional cookout for our flotilla to relax, enjoy each others company and feast on the fabulous food prepared for us by two of our members, Dean Creed and David Beaudrot. You will not go home hungry. Members and family are invited. Marguerite Bishop has been a member of the auxiliary for over 40 years and is still active, she is battling breast cancer and
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Vice Commander
Bob Lovinger, VFC 12-8
Shortly after Labor Day, my wife Sophie and I were returning from a vacation, having cut short a visit with friends in Kentucky because of a threatening hurricane that actually did not mateInside rialize. We left FC ............. 1 later in the day than we nor- VFC .......... 1 mally would have and AN ............. 5 wanted to make as much CM.N/A time as we could. It was CS ............. 2 mid-afternoon on a bright, FN ............. 6 IS............... 4 clear day in Tennessee on MA ............ 6 Interstate 75 approaching MS ............ 7 Knoxville. I had my nose MT ............ 2 stuck in a book when we OP ............. 5 had a slight lane disagreePA ............. 7 ment with the tail of a semi. PB ............. 2 Whether Sophie drifted over PE ............. 6 a bit or the semi did, or per- PS .............. 4 haps both, it left a long gash PV ............. 6 in the side of Sophies much SR ............. 3 loved Prius. No ticket was VE ............. 6 issued. We were not injured Calendar... 9 Trivia ........ 7 nor was our stuff in the car damaged although we were shaken by the accident. The state police arrived shortly, called a flat-bed wrecker, and the car was towed to a nearby town where there was a Toyota body shop that took our
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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

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Member Training
Bob Mathewes, SO-MT
et me begin by recognizing some accomplishments in the AUXOP program. Kelly Duncan, now that she is officially a member of 128, has jumped right in and taken the AUXPAT exam. Congratulations to Eric Kilpatrick for having taken and passed the dreaded AUXNAV Parts A and B. Those of us who have done that know how much work and study that entails. A partial list of the C Schools for fiscal 2007 is out. Dates and locations have not bee determined for all courses yet. For those not familiar with these, they are resident courses where you get several days of intensive training. They are NOT vacations at CG expense. Those who have had the opportunity to attend one will tell you that the work is hard and the training is worth the effort. I will not try to reproduce the entire list (3 pages) but on page 8 you will find an abbreviated list of those courses that may be of interest to our members. I will list only those whose dates and locations are known. Out FSO-MA, Tom Beauchemin, has obtained CDs with all six of the AUXOP courses. The old AUXSAR course on the disc is no longer current. It has been replaced by the AUXSC&E course which cant be done as self study. The Seamanship, Communications, Patrols, and Weather courses on the disc are current and lend themselves to self study. Contact me if you want to work on one of these courses. Please only take a disc if you are seriously interested. The AUXNAV course in on the disc but is due for a major change in the near future. Bob Mathewes, ADSO-MT (N)

Publications
Bob Mathewes, FSO-PB

nce again I am led to use this space to tell the officers what a great job you are doing in regard to submitting articles. Last year, through the first 10 months we has a submission rate of about 75%. This year only one officer has failed to submit an article each and every month. That gives us an unheard of submission rate of 95%. I just want to thank you again for your cooperation in making this newsletter what it is. Bob Mathewes, FSO-PB

Communication Services John Sikes, FSO-CS

id you know that, as an Auxiliarist, you can make purchases from many boating suppliers at a discount and still benefit our organization? There's a link on the Auxiliary National Web Site for Shop Auxiliary or you can get to it at http://www. shopauxiliary.com/ . Your login ID and password are the same as for the eDirectory. Haven't registered with the eDirectory? Check my article on page 3 of last month's Scuttlebutt to find out how to register. As of this writing, with 84 members, only 28 members have verified their information in the eDirectory. If you have not yet registered, please do so at your earliest convenience. If you have a problem registering, drop a note to Frank Leister, FSO-IS. He should be able to guide you through the process. John Sikes, FSO-CS

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Secretary

Page 3 Scuttlebutt application for elected office have been received by the election screening committee. Records

Rick Miller, FSO-SR

Flotilla 12-8 Membership Meeting Minutes 10 September 2008 The meeting was called to order at 19:05 by FC Joe Fleming and commenced with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present: Joseph Fleming, Agnes Wright, Marguerite Bishop, Jerome Bishop, Dan Cowley, Kelly Duncan, Bob Mathewes, Tom Jerussi, Paul Berka, Robert Orenstein, Allen James, Rick Miller, Bob Lovinger, Tom Beauchemin, R. E. Wieland, S.A.Wolf, Hank Wolf, Robert Baker Jr., Barbara Thibodeaux and Richard Daniel. Visitors and Guests: Kerri Puckhaber and Paul Thomas The minutes were approved as published in the Scuttlebutt. FC reported that the Treasurer stated that $827 of the $900 received from IBM has been spent on the Flotilla vessel. We are short on member dues, please submit them as soon as possible. FC issued USCG manual inflatable life jackets to all VEs to be worn while performing vessel exams to promote the wearing of life jackets by the public. As a manual jacket they cannot be worn on patrols. VFC Lovinger mentioned that instructors are needed for the next ABC course and anyone wishing to volunteer should contact him. VFC called for Staff Officer Reports: FSO-MT Bob Mathewes stated staff officers have fifteen days to submit articles for the Scuttlebutt. One written and one verbal

FSO-PA Tom Jerussi stated we have received a request to participate in the next Southeastern Wildlife Expo and he suggested that we might not want to participate based on our experience in previous years. Motion by Bob Orenstein and seconded by Marguerite Bishop not to participate in SEWE this year was approved. FSO-MA Tom Beauchemin said that he received 30 new member packets for Alan Miles. FSO- MS Agnes Wright stated that she had nothing to report. FSO-PV Paul Berka had nothing to report. FSO-SR Rick Miller had nothing to report. FSO-AN/OP Allen James stated that Paul Berka and Eve Egan have passed the ABC course and are now BQ qualified. Allens boat is currently out of operation, but if it is repaired in time, he hopes to do a patrol this weekend. Daytime ATON verification on the Cooper river will be scheduled soon. In the absence of Alan Miles, Bob Orenstein reported that there would be a new member class on 9/24 and 10/1 from 1900 to 2100 in the upstairs meeting room. Old Business: FC stated that the Flotillas vessel has been approved for operations and the OpsFac sticker has been received. Bob Orenstein reminded us that ICS300 training will be held on September 29th and 30 from 08:00 to 16:30.in civilian attire.

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You must complete this course if you wish to participate in the MER program. New Business: FC distributed the emergency calling tree roster and stated that the Flotilla is 100% accountable to Sector on the status of our members in the event of an emergency. After promptly calling their assigned members, staff offices must report the results of their calls to the FC or VFC. If a member will be out of town, he/she should call the staff officer assigned to them in the calling tree. If you are unaccounted for the Sector will go looking for you. Sector has facilities for us at Lake Lanier in the event of an evacuation. Details on the evacuation procedures will be published in the Scuttlebutt. A discussion about the cookout on October 8th ensued and FC stated that he would contact Dean Creed to complete the planning. Marguerite Bishop stated that we should know that 1 out of every 2 women and 1219% of all men will get Breast Cancer. Breast Cancer can be cured if caught in time. A motion by Bob Orenstein that the flotilla sent a contribution of $50 to the fund for the families of the victims of the recent Coast Guard Helo crash was approved. Program: None Motion to adjourn seconded and approved. Meeting adjourned at 20:08. Next meeting will be the cookout on 8 October at the USCG Base at 1900. Rick Miller FSO-SR

Information Services
Frank Leister, FSO-IS

t is extremely important that AUXDATA has your correct information. It is all vital but particularly so your correct address, phone numbers (home, business, cell) and, of course, your correct email address. In following up on some late dues payers, I have found disconnected phones and bad email addresses. The way AUXDATA is currently structured you cannot see these records! If you suspect your information may not be current, email me at 128FSOIS@gmail.com or call me on my cell phone, 843-991-1118 and leave a message. With that message leave your email address so I can call up your record and email it to you. This information is vital because that is how we contact you for emergencies like the recent hurricane. Frank Leister, FSO-IS

Personnel Services
Alan Miles, FSO-PS

am happy to report that I am up and running a little bit and feeling much better. I want to thank all of the members of our Flotilla for their calls and prayers and offers of help. I am back at least with a reduced capability. I should be back to full speed in the next month or so. I have fallen behind a little on working with the new members but I am trying to make up lost ground. We still have many prospective who that are in process of joining. So when you see new members please offer your help and assistance to answer their questions and coach them on their qualifications. Together, We are building an awesome Flotilla. Alan J.P. Miles, FSO-PS

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car. We rented a car, loaded our gear and were on our way. We tried to figure out what had happened. Sophie realized that she was getting a little tired and probably should have turned the wheel over to me. I recognized that being deeply involved in what I was reading left no mental resources over to be aware of what was going on around me. After all, Sophie had never had such an accident in 40 + years of driving, the highway was clear and dry, traffic was not heavy, and the weather was good. What was there to worry about? At a speed of 70 mph, things can go wrong with incredible rapidity and having been traveling for nearly three weeks, although not every single day, greater caution would probably have been a very good idea. The Auxiliary has much training aimed at increasing situational awareness, and for very good reason. While our patrols are in boats that often plod along at ten to twenty knots, not every one goes at this pace. My boat makes ten knots downhill in a following breeze. Recreational boaters do not need a license, boater training, or anything but a set of keys. These boaters may know about drunk driving on land, but think nothing about having a beer, or two, or three, or more on the water and then cranking up on plane to thirty or thirty-five knots. How much time will we have then if we are on a collision course? So we need to be alert, aware, and proactive in avoiding danger from fatigue, inattention, and the other guy on land or on water. Be safe, be careful, and come back in one piece! Bob Lovinger VFC

I ask All of You to keep her in your prayers. The Flotilla vessel will be test run the first week of October and, if all goes well, she will be put in service that month. Allen Miles is back on his feet but not running full speed yet. Bob Orenstein is helping him with new member training for now. Allen has quite a number of new prospects hes working on and we hate to lose them. Joe Fleming, FC

Operations

Allen James, FSO-OP

eptember has been a quiet month for patrols. With OPFACs being out of operation and some stormy weather, we have put out one patrol .Our crew class training has also lagged due to not being on the water. By the time you read this, I expect to have resumed training. My boat is again operational and the storm season is slowing down. There has been some difficulty in obtaining patrol orders due to a " on again, off again " situation with the fuel budget. This has been resolved and no order request should be delayed because of fuel Hap James, SO-OP

ATONS

P
tober.

Allen James, FSO-AN

ATON patrols have been delayed for the same reasons safety patrols were. I plan a daytime orientation patrol up the Cooper River in OcHap James, FSO-AN

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Finance
Frank Leister, FSO-FN

Materials
Tom Beauchemin, FSO-MA

ou will receive a detailed financial report at the October membership meeting. The dues process is about over. There are but nine members in the Flotilla proper that have not paid. I spoke to five of those and checks are on the way. Four have not returned my calls. We have twenty or so checks due shortly from the Citadel group. We bought manuals for the PE classes, registered the facility, paid for the GPS/plotter/dept sounder for the facility from the IBM grant and funded the shipmate of the quarter. If you have any questions, call me on 991-1118 or email to 128FSOFN@yahoo.com Frank Leister, FSO-FN

aterials have been supplied for our members taking the new member course. No other material requests have been received. Tom Beauchemin, FSO-MA

Partner Visitor

Paul Berka, FSO-PV

e complete over one hundred and five (105) visitations for the first three quarters of this year. Thats not bad considering the small number of qualified visitors we have. Contact me if you would like to help in this valuable aspect of our mission. Paul Berka, FSO-PV

Public Education

Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE

Vessel Examinations

he next ABC class of will be held in association with the Charleston County Community Education Program at James Island Charter High School. The class will run on four consecutive Tuesdays beginning 07 OCT 2008 from 1630 to 2030 hours. The cost will be $45 for the first person and $10 for an additional family member. Information about the class and registration can be found at the following link: http://www. charlestoncoce.org or by calling 762-2793. Eric Kilpatrick, FSO-PE

Joe Fleming, FSO-VE

he arrival of fall usually marks a slow down in boating activity. That doesnt mean that our activity slows accordingly. Lets set our sights on another VE blitz at Wappoo Boat Landing on the 18th of October from 0930 to 1300. Joe Fleming, FSO-VE

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Public Affairs

W
A

Tom Jerussi, FSO-PA

e received an invitation to participate, again, in the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) to be held 13-15 February. When our involvement was proposed at the last Flotilla meeting, members voted unanimously to decline the invitation. Our attendance at the last Exposition was not very productive. The Auxiliary did receive a lot of exposure, but after 3.5 days at the show only 2 individuals signed up for the boater safety course. Tom Jerussi, FSO-PA

Nautical Trivia

Marine Safety
Agnes Wright, FSO-MS
number of our members have availed themselves of the ICS 210 and ICS 300 classes taught by Lt.jg Litzinger in August and

ast months question was to name the only two freshwater aircraft carriers ever built and to name their type of propulsion. Congratulations to Dean Creed, Reggie Hollar, Bob Lovinger, Dick McLaren, John Sikes and Agnes Wright for coming up with the Sidepaddle-wheelers Sable and Wolverine, previously Greater Buffalo and See and Bee. The U.S.S. Wolverine and U.S.S. Sable, both former Great Lakes passenger steamers, were a unique part of World II history in many ways. The ships were powered by two side paddlewheels which turn in the same direction. They were used on the Great Lakes to train naval aviators to land on carriers. Between the two ships, over 120,000 successful landings were conducted and around 17,000 aviators were trained on landing aircraft. One of the pilots trained on these ships was George H.W. Bush.

September. Those who attended said that it was a very interesting class. Agnes Wright, FSO-MS

Happy Birthday
This Month To:

USS Wolverine

USS Sable

Marguerite BishopOct. 01 Stanley Kablick.Oct. 04 Ellen Kreiling....Oct. 09 Elizabeth Cowley..Oct. 15 Lawrence Coste.Oct. 27 Tom Schmidt.Oct. 28

Happy Halloween

In October of 1943 when German U-Boats were the scourge of allied shipping in the Atlantic, the first All Coast Guard Patrol squadron was formed. They operated from a airfield in Greenland with the code name Bluie West One. During the twenty-seven months that the squadron was in operation they provided air cover for navy and Coast Guard vessels and performed hundreds of rescue missions. Who was the first commander and what type of aircraft did they fly?

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COME ONE...COME ALL

GOOD FOOD GOOD FELLOWSHIP GREAT FUN
What?.. Annual Fall Flotilla Cookout When?. Wednesday 8 October at 1800 Where?.Coast Guard Base Charleston How Much?$10 adults, $5 children under 12. Money collected at cookout. RSVP by Monday, 6 October to Dean Creed at dbcreed@comcast.net or 843-708-1541 FYO9 Auxiliary C School Course Schedule As of 9/16/08
Course Short Name Location Dates Notes

AUX-04 Distance Ed Tech-Basic AUX-06 ATON & Chart Updating AUX-10 INFO SYS (AUXDATA/AUXINFO) AUX-12 AUX Public Affairs & MKT

Yorktown, VA

July, 29-Aug. 3

Yorktown, VA

June 5-7

0800-2130 Thur.-Mon. 5 training Days 0800-1600 Fri-Sun

AUXSC&E AUX Search Coordination & Execution

Alameda, CA Alameda, CA CG Academy ICS Miami, FL A/S Houston Alameda, CA Seattle, WA Phoenix, AZ Anchorage, AK Pontiac, MI

Jan. 24-26 Mar. 20-22 June 5-7 Feb 6-8 Mar 13-15 Apr. 24-27 May 17-20 Nov. 3-7 Feb. ? Apr. 14-18

0800-1700

This course is the Train-the trainer Course for new AUXSAR

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October 2008
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

8Fall Cookout 9
1800 Yom Kippur
(Begins at Sundown)

10

11

12

13
Columbus Day

14
Full Moon

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28
New Moon

29

30

31
Halloween

Flotilla Officers
Flotilla Commander Joe Fleming joeflemingjr@comcast.net Communication Systems John Sikes jsikes@netrockets.com Marine Safety Agnes Wright Seabrownie@bellsouth.net Publications Bob Matheaes rhmathewes@comcast.net Flotilla Vice Commander Bob Lovinger rlovinger@earthlink.net Finance Frank Leister fso128-FN@yahoo.com Member Training Bob Mathewes rhmathewes@comcast.nett Public Education Eric Kilpatrick ekilpatrick@earthlink.net Aids To Navigation Allen James jamesan38@bellsouth.net Information Services Frank Leister 128FSOIS@gmail.com Operations Allen James jamesan38@bellsouth.net Personnel Services Alan Miles bigcid@comcast.net Communications Dick Clarke clarkerrc@comcast.net Materials Tom Beauchemin tbeauchemin001@sc.rr.com Public Affairs Tom Jerussi jscaaty@bellsouth.net RBS Visitor Paul Berka phberka@comcast.net IPFC Allen James jamesan38@bellsouth.net

Secretary Records Miller, Rick rick.mllr@gmail.com

Vessel Examination Joe Fleming joeflemingjr@comcast.net