Coast Guard Club
Newsletter
June 2ØØ3
SPECIAL NOTICE: If anyone is interested in taking over the Coast
Guard Club, please notify me & I will provide needed details, plus
all the files.
WHO
RECEIVES THIS NEWSLETTER? Members who have an upcoming birthday, each potential Coast
Guard Club recruit, & any Coastie I write to. This Newsletter is
posted on the Web at HTTP://HOME1.GTE.NET/KE7A/INDEX.HTM, WWW.JACKSJOINT.COM
& at WWW.FREDSPLACE.ORG. If you can receive e-mail files & would like a
copy of this Newsletter each month, please contact me.
CGC MEMBERS, LET US SEE YOU. You may
add your picture(s) to the club’s call book by sending it (them) as an email
attachment (JPEG format, please) or by mail to me. The book has become more
interesting with these added pictures.
STATISTICS (13 May): DRUGS SEIZED: Cocaine,
73,323 lbs, Marijuana Products, 11,577 lbs; LIVES SAVED: 1,701; MIGRANTS
INTERDICTED: 3,589.)
Search and
Rescue SitReps
JACKSONVILLE, FL – VADM James
Hull, Commander of CG Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, VA, will formally
commissioned HITRON Jacksonville at the Cecil Commerce Centre (the former Cecil
Field) in Jacksonville. The HITRON is America’s first, & only, airborne
law enforcement unit trained & authorised to employ Airborne Use of Force.
Recently, Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge approved the use of
armed HITRON Jacksonville helicopters for specialised security missions in the
nation’s ports & waterways. HITRON was initially given the mission of
interdicting & stopping drug-laden, high-speed vessels known as
“go-fasts” in the Caribbean, & more recently the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The MH-68A are the newest helicopters in the CG inventory & are capable of
cruise speeds of up to 14Ø kts. The actions of the men & women of HITRON
have been instrumental in stopping over 25 tons of illegal drugs, worth over
$1.5 billion dollars, from reaching America’s neighbourhoods. Due to
HITRON’s unique capabilities & training, the unit was additionally tasked
to develop Airborne Use of Force tactics to counter possible terrorist threats
to the US.
SOUTHPORT, NC – A boat
crew from CG Station Oak Island on a routine patrol in the area of the Old Yacht
Basin rescued a woman from her submerged car. The boat crew of a 25-ft CG boat
was on a routine patrol when they received a call over their radio that a car
had just driven into the water, striking a boat moored to the pier when it fell.
Bystanders at the scene told the boat crew that there was a woman trapped in the
car. Immediately PO1 Jacob Carawan & PO2 Class Rusty Sink took off their gun
belts & boots & jumped in the water & swam 8-ft down to the car. The
doors of the car were locked, so Carawan & Sink attempted to break the
windows with one of their retractable batons. After several tries, the Coasties
reached the woman, but couldn’t get her out because her seat belt. Carawan
came to the surface & asked the bystanders for a knife; Carawan & Sink
took turns diving & cutting the belt. After she was freed, PO2 Michael
Freeman, who was waiting at a nearby floating dock, began first aid on the woman
until local EMS arrived. The woman was not breathing when brought to the surface
& did not have a pulse. After a few minutes of first aid she regained
consciousness. Meanwhile, the Hunter
Lynn, the pleasure craft that was struck by the car, was taking on water
fast & the 3 people on board were yelling for help. An off–duty Coastie,
PO2 “Ed” Martin, had been the area & heard the commotion. He jumped on
board the moored CG boat with Freeman & Sink to save the crew of the
foundering Hunter
Lynn. Carawan could not drive the boat due to gashes on
his arm & finger he sustained from the broken glass of the car. Tow Boat U.S. ran the Hunter Lynn aground so it couldn’t sink in the waterway &
is in charge of salvage of the boat. The woman is in stable condition at Dosher
Medical Centre. Carawan is at home & is in good condition.
NEW ORLEANS – A CG
helicopter crew from Aviation Training Centre Mobile, AL rescued 3 boaters from
the water 1 mile S of Cape San Blas, FL. The sailing vessel Southern
Breeze reported they were taking on water & had to
abandon ship before CG crews could arrive on scene. All of the boaters were
wearing life jackets & they hung on to the boat’s emergency position
indicating radio beacon after the vessel went down. Due to 1-mile visibility,
the pilots had to use night-vision goggles to find the boaters.
ARABIAN GULF – CGCs
BOUTWELL & WALNUT have begun heading home after completing their missions in
support of Operations Enduring Freedom & Iraqi Freedom. Both Cutters
conducted a wide range of missions while serving in the Gulf, including maritime
force protection, coastal & terminal security, & maritime interception
& marine environmental response. The Cutters also assisted in the
post-Saddam economic recovery by securing vital oil infrastructure &
improving the safety of the navigational approach to its only international
seaport. The CG’s role in Operation Iraqi Freedom represents its largest
overseas deployment in support of military operations since the Vietnam War.
Cutter BOUTWELL at one point in the deployment spent 7Ø days at
sea without a port call. The WALNUT was originally
deployed to the North Arabian Gulf with an oil spill recovery system in the
event the regime of Saddam Hussein committed any acts of environmental
terrorism. When those threats did not materialise the Cutter conducted maritime
interdiction operations enforcing UN Security Council resolutions, participated
in the search for 2 downed UK helicopters, & patrolled & provided
assistance to captured Iraqi offshore oil terminals being secured by CG port
security personnel. When the coalition's efforts shifted to humanitarian
assistance & economic recovery, the WALNUT was ideally suited to provide a valuable service through her aids to
navigation capability. The Cutter’s crew completely replaced 3Ø buoys &
repaired an additional 5 along the 41-mile Khawr Abd Allah Waterway. This 2Ø-day
mission vastly improved the navigational safety of the waterway for humanitarian
aid, commercial, & military vessels sailing to the port & was a critical
step to economic recovery for the people of Iraq. CG Port Security Units from
San Pedro, CA, Port Clinton, OH, & Tacoma, WA., along with 4 East
Coast-based 11Ø-ft patrol boats, remain in the region to provide maritime
security in the Northern Arabian Gulf.
PORTSMOUTH, VA – The CG
saved 3 people from a distressed sailing vessel in 8- to12-ft seas 16Ø NM E of
Cape Henry. A CG C-13Ø an HH-6Ø from CGAS Elizabeth City combined rescue
efforts with a 67Ø-ft container vessel, the Horizon
Hawaii, to bring 3 people to safe ground. The CG received
a call that the deck of the 44-ft sailing vessel Gina was awash. The boat had lost its sails and steering, and its fuel
system had been contaminated. The Horizon Hawaii was on the scene, but couldn’t bring the sailors safely aboard the
container ship. The ship immediately called the CG for assistance. A rescue
swimmer from the HH-6Ø assisted the 3 sailors, 1 by 1, into a rescue basket
& hoisted into the hovering helicopter and then flown to the CGAS and
released. Life jackets save lives. All 3 people onboard Gina were wearing their lifejackets, and illustrates the
importance of wearing your life jacket while on the water.
WASHINGTON, — The CG
has awarded a contract totaling approx $13Ø million to Integrated CG Systems
for the design & delivery of 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The aircraft would
be the first of a multi-year, multi-aircraft acquisition in the Integrated
Deepwater System’s modernisation programme. Also announced was the purchase of
3 Response Boat—Medium test boats. These boats are the first of a class that
will replace the ageing fleet of 41-ft Utility Boats, which have been the
workhorse of the coastal stations for the past 25 plus years. The 41-ft Utility
Boats are in operation throughout the United States.
COAST GUARD CLUB CALL BOOK (Sold to CGC members only.)
is bound in a 1-1/2” spiral binder & will include a Certificate of
Membership in the Coast Guard Club
suitable for framing. If you want a copy, send a cheque for $15.ØØ,
which includes postage, payable to Don Gardner.
CG NETS: The CG Radio Amateur SSB Net is on the air
each Saturday from 12-13ØØ ET on 143ØØ (14313 alternate). At 13ØØ ET the
Net shifts to 14327 & continues, usually for about 3Ø minutes. Dick
Anderson, KE7A, in the Dallas-Ft Worth area, is the NCS. A CW Net with Fred
Goodwin, K7LF, as NCS, is on 14Ø52/7Ø52 & runs simultaneously.
CGC CASCO: Any former crewmembers who would like to be
placed on a mailing list of shipmates & activities that includes a reunion
every several years, contact: Gordon C Kelly, P O BOX 141, Lyon, WI 53148.
CG CW OPERATORS: 29 October-2 November 2ØØ3 at
Honeysuckle Inn, Branson, MO. Contact Paula Lee 1-8ØØ 942 3553 for
reservations, email marlee@iland.net for
details.
CGC DUANE: 12th annual reunion in Baltimore,
MD 25-27 September 2ØØ3. More details & free newsletter contact Paul
Turner, 11Ø3 Wharton Hollow RD, Summit, NY 12175 or paultrnr@midtel.net.
CGC KUKUI: 9-14 October 2ØØ3 at Alexandria, VA.
Contact CAPT Jim Donahue, retired, 3Ø8Ø N Oakland ST, Arlington, VA 222Ø7,
Fone 7Ø3 522 217Ø.
LIGHTSHIP SAILORS ASSN: Reunion 2-4 October 2ØØ3 at
Lewes, DE. Any questions contact Lou Toobert, 111 Sonant Drive, Newark, DE
19713, Fone 3Ø2 738 9Ø2Ø, e-mail: jtruffles@aol.com
CGC MACKINAW: The ‘Once In Every Five Years Mackinaw
Reunion’ is planned for the 2nd week of August 2ØØ4 in Cheboygan, Michigan.
The once ‘Great White Mother of the Great Lakes’, now sporting a red coat of
paint, will be 55 years old. More info about the gathering will be posted as
received.
CGC MORGANTHAU: 18-2Ø July 2ØØ3 Durham, NH. Contact bourree@aol.com.
CGC ROCKAWAY: 2-5 October 2ØØ3 Cape May, NJ. Contact Rockaway311@earthlink.net
or tomwoloski@aol.com.
83 FOOTERS: 16 August Port Townsend, WA;
further info contact Dick Craig email Richard_23623@msn.com, fax 2Ø6
546 7Ø28, mail 1255 NW Richmond Beach RD #1Ø2, Shoreline, WA 98177-2784.