Coast Guard Club Newsletter
April 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. A few of
the guys have sent pictures of when they were in the Guard & a current
picture. The book has become more interesting with these added pictures.
NEW CUTTER: Al Mans, KG9BI, advises the CG has accepted the HICKORY, a 245 ft. Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender for service. HICKORY will homeport out of Homer, AK.
STATISTICS (2Ø March): DRUGS SEIZED: Cocaine, 48,958 lbs, Marijuana Products, 9,757 lbs;
LIVES SAVED: 1,134; MIGRANTS INTERDICTED: 2,788.
Search
and Rescue SitReps
The CG, in partnership with the Alaska State Dept of
Transportation, is moving forward with a proposed project to build a
helicopter-landing pad at Wolff Point, on the North Tongass Highway in
Ketchikan. The pad is to be used by helicopters bringing rescued mariners &
medical patients to Ketchikan &, since it is on the Ketchikan side of the
Tongass Narrows, will give patients quicker transportation to the hospital. The
planning phase is in full swing, however construction of the pad is still about
a year away. Currently when a person is brought in to Ketchikan from a vessel at
sea, an outlying village or other remote area, the helicopter delivers the
patient to the Ketchikan airport on Gravina Island. There they have to wait for
either a ferry or some other waterborne transportation across the Tongass
Narrows. This delays the patient receiving medical attention by up to an hour or
2 & is especially problematic at night when ferry service between the
airport & downtown Ketchikan is closed. By building a helicopter pad at
Wolff Point an ambulance crew can pull directly alongside the helicopter, attend
the patient & transport the person immediately to the hospital saving
valuable time.
CG rescue crews airlifted 3 people from various
Alaska locations who required medical assistance during the weekend. The CG
received a request from an official at the Dutch Harbor Clinic to airlift a
57-yo man who suffered a broken neck. A Dolphin helicopter crew aboard the
Cutter ALEX
HALEY in Dutch Harbor loaded Ivan Olsen
aboard the aircraft while 6Ø knot gusting winds & whiteout conditions
blanketed Western Alaska. The aircrew also airlifted 5Ø-yo Michael Hazen for
medical transport after he experienced possible internal bleeding. The
helicopter crew transported the men to Cold Bay where a commercial air transport
team awaited. The team took the men to Anchorage for additional medical
assistance. Also, the CG received a request from Global Maritime Systems in
Seattle to airlift 41-yo Maria Zuno in Akutan. The non-English speaking Zuno
reportedly suffered possible appendicitis. The helicopter crew from the ALEX
HALEY stopped in Akutan after dropping
off Hazen & Olsen. In Akutan they took Zuno & her husband aboard &
transported them to Dutch Harbor in the inclement weather.
Aircrews from AS Cape Cod transported 3 people in
distress to area hospitals. The crew of an HU-25 transferred a 17-yo from
Nantucket to Providence Hospital in RI. The boy had injuries from a traffic
accident. Group Woods Hole received a call for help from an injured fisherman 8
miles E of Chatham. A rescue boat was despatched from Station Chatham. The crew
of the rescue boat arrived on scene & transferred the injured 5Ø-yo to the
deck of their boat. An HH-6Ø airlifted the man from the rescue boat & took
him to Cape Cod hospital for treatment. The CG received another call for help.
Boston Children's Hospital requested a flight for a 2-day old with pulmonary
distress. The crew of an HU-25 picked up a medical team at Boston's Logan
Airport to assist in transporting the infant from Albany back to Boston. In all
3 cases, commercial medical transport was not available due to weather
conditions.
CG aircrews were kept busy performing a series of
medical evacuations in the Caribbean. An AS Clearwater, FL HH-6Ø was despatched
to the cruise ship Sovereign of the Seas to airlift a
59-yo woman. The U.S. citizen was suffering from possible internal bleeding. The
duty flight surgeon recommended an immediate medevac, & she was safely
transferred to local emergency medical services in Nassau, Bahamas, for further
transfer to Doctor's Hospital. Later, an AS Miami HH-65 was despatched to the
cruise ship Volendam 15Ø miles SE of Islamorada, FL, to airlift a 42-yo
male suffering from stomach problems. After the flight surgeon's recommendation,
the U.S. citizen was safely transferred to local EMS at Marathon Intl Airport,
FL for further transport to Fisherman's Hospital. Later that afternoon, an AS
Clearwater HH-6Ø was again despatched to the Sovereign
of the Seas to airlift a female suffering from possible
appendicitis. The duty flight surgeon recommended an immediate medevac, &
the 25-yo was transferred to local EMS at Executive Airport Nassau for further
transfer to Doctor's Hospital. An AS Miami HH-65 was launched to the cruise ship
Enchantment
of the Seas to provide a medevac for a male
suffering from diving injuries. An HH-2Ø Falcon jet was also launched to
provide overhead cover during the hoisting evolution. The patient was safely
transported to Key West Intl Airport where he was transferred to awaiting EMS.
The CG is committed to providing a wide range of services ranging from law
enforcement to search & rescue, including medevacs.
The CG has rescued at least 4 people & more than
14 others are safe, after a sudden squall pushed through Galveston Bay with 4Ø-65-knot
winds. The Group Operations Centre in Galveston was notified that 9 sailboats
had capsized & at least 14 people were in the water when the squall pushed
through a sailing class in Offut’s Bayou. A 25-ft rescue boat from Station
Galveston arrived on scene to discover that everyone had either righted their
boats, had been picked up by their classmates, or assisted by Galveston County
Sheriff’s officials. About the same time, another distress call was received
from a 21-ft pleasure boat with 4 people aboard reporting that they were
disabled, adrift, & were being pushed into the Galveston jetties by heavy
seas & wind. The 4 people abandoned ship & swam to the rocks where a
helicopter from AS Houston picked them up with a rescue basket, took them to
Group Galveston, & turned them over to awaiting local EMS personnel.
CG explosion-detection canine units are conducting
shipboard search & helicopter deployment training here this week as part of
the CG’s role in homeland security. The 6 bomb-dog units will be able to
detect explosives, for example those that are found in dirty bombs, & will
be a force multiplier in the CG’s effort to safeguard the nation. These canine
detection units will deploy with quick reaction forces, known as Maritime Safety
& Security Teams & Tactical Law Enforcement Teams, stationed in
Chesapeake, VA., Seattle, Miami, & Los Angeles/Long Beach, where they will
incorporate the canine programme into CG missions, like port security, drug
interdiction & illegal migrant interdiction. The explosive dogs, as well as
2 narcotics dog units, have been undergoing a rigorous 8-week training course in
techniques for searching ships, vehicles & buildings, as well as deploying
from boats & helicopters. Personnel from Auburn University’s Canine
Training Centre near Anniston, AL are conducting the initial training for the 8
CG canine units.
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/USS BURTON ISLAND: 9-13 June 2ØØ3,
Reno, NV. Contact gnbreel@kc.rr.com.
CGC CAMPBELLL: 13-16 May 2ØØ3.
Hamtpon, VA. Contact jkelly3@earthlink.net
or mrtruex@att.net.
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 EASTWIND: Memorial Day
weekend 2ØØ3 at Boston, MA. Contact USCGDIVER@WEBTV.NET.
CGC JARVIS: 15-17 May 2ØØ3
Ft Lauderdale, FL. Contact stanczyk179Ø@juno.com.
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.
ULITHI ATOLL: 21-24 May 2ØØ3.
Further info call Deborah M Arnold 52Ø 747 3727.
255 FT CUTTERS: 4-8 May 2ØØ3
Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. Contact Doak Walker fone: 9Ø7 789 2579, FAX 9Ø7 789
278Ø, e-mail: DOAK17@GCI.NET, web HTTP://255WPG.11NET.COM, snail mail: P O Box
33523, Juneau, AK 998Ø3.
MEMBERSHIP: There are 531 members in our club as of 27 March. DE AD4PT 73 &
Semper Paratus.