Public Affairs Opportunity: September 10 - Genetech Emergency Preparedness Fair

Shipmates,

We have been invited to participate in the Genetech Emergency Preparedness Fair September 10, 2010 1100-1500 hrs at 4625 NW Brookwood Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124. 

Richard Rivera, FSO-PA 7-12 is leading this effort. Please contact him if you are interested in participating. His Contact details are available in the District Directory or in the online directory: https://auxofficer.cgaux.org

 

Daren

Marine Safety Unit Portland Change of Command

Shipmates,
On Monday Sector Columbia River was established at a ceremony in Warrenton. Yesterday (Tuesday) Captain Daniel LeBlanc assumed command of the new Marine Safety Unit Portland.

Coast Guard Sector Portland and Coast Guard Group/Airsta Astoria combined and was renamed Coast Guard Sector Columbia River at 1100 PST on 23 August 2010. At this time Sector Columbia River is fully operational. Command of all Coast Guard resources under the Captain of the Port Columbia River responsibility will be executed from Warrenton, OR. All VHF, FM and HF radio frequencies will be monitored 24 hours a day by Sector Columbia River.

Here are a few photos from the ceremony at MSU Portland.



We welcome Captain LeBlanc and his family to Portland and look forward to a long and productive partnership with our shipmates of Sector Columbia River and MSU Portland.

OpEd by the National Incident Commander Thad Allen in the Washington Post

Shipmates,

Gary Bell, FL76, pointed me towards an opinion piece in the Washington Post by our shipmate ADM Allen (retired) who is currently serving as the National Incident Commander. ADM Allen is one of the most eloquent and persuasive communicators I have ever met and this particular piece is no exception. I invite you to read the piece for an update on the situation in the Gulf. More importantly, I recommend you read it as an example of how to communicate in a challenging situation. You may never find yourself communicating to a national audience but you will likely find yourself communicating on a topic that is very important to a few people. Communicating well in these situations is something we should all seek -- look for opportunities to read and listen to those who do it artfully, with compassion and with passion. This is just such an instance:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202271.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Daren

Lock closures on the Columbia River this Winter (2010-11)

Shipmates,
Our partners at the Army Corps of Engineers are doing outreach to inform users of the Columbia River locks in the Portland and Walla Walla Districts that there will be an extended 14-week Columbia/Snake River system navigation lock outage this winter. The current schedule is as follows:

More information: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/navigation/lockoutage.asp 

ICS Class Updates

Incident Command System (ICS) is considered one of the course for members to become prepared for disasters, events, and every day operation. As members of team coast guard, we are first responders to many incidents and as result we are expected to know ICS. In addition to the first call response incidents, we may be asked to deploy to major disasters like Deepwater Horizon or Hurricane Katrina. If this is the case we will need not only the following courses but maybe some extra and the time to learn the basics of ICS is not during an incident when the skill are already in demand but before so when a skill set is in demand you are ready to go, like the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus "Always Ready".

Basic/Standard ICS Course Names

• ICS-100: Introduction to ICS
• ICS-200: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• ICS-300: Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents
• ICS-400: Advanced ICS Command and General Staff—Complex Incidents
• ICS-700: Introduction to the National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• ICS-800: Introduction to National Response Framework (NRF)

Other ICS Course of Recommendation

• ICS-320 Intermediate Team Training- ICS training course for Sectors/MSUS
• ICS-339 Division/Group Supervisor
• ICS-341 Incident Response Planning Course
• ICS-351 Logistics Finance Course
• ICS-346/347/348 Advanced Situation, Demobilization, and Resource Unit Leader (Requested in the Gulf for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill)
• ICS-430/440 Advanced Operations and Planning Section Chief
• ICS-410 Advanced Incident Commander

Note: ICS-320/339/341/351/346/347/348/400 require ICS-300 as prerequisite, ICS-210 will not be accepted in most cases. ICS-410/430/440 require 400 as prerequisites

Please read the ALCOAST put out a few years ago about the auxiliary recommend ICS course completion personnel designated for staff an incident command post.

ALCOAST
ALL MEMBERS OF THE AUXILIARY ARE RECOMMENDED TO COMPLETE ICS- 100 AND IS-700, AND THOSE AT THE DIVISION CAPTAIN LEVEL OR HIGHER ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO ALSO COMPLETE ICS-200 AND IS-800.

ALL OFFICERS, OPS CENTER/COMMAND CENTER PERSONNEL, AND ALL CG PERSONNEL WHO HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED TO STAFF AN INCIDENT COMMAND POST (ICP) MUST COMPLETE ICS-300.

Classes in our area

ICS 300 - Portland OR

• September 7 & 8 Full
• September 27 & 28 (Oregon City) Full

ICS 400 - Portland OR

• September 14 & 15 Full
• September 29 & 30 (Oregon City) Full

ICS 300 - Vancouver WA

• Oct. 21 & 22, 2010
• Jan. 20 & 21, 2011
• April 21 & 22, 2011
• July 21 & 22, 2011
• Sept. 22 & 23, 2011

ICS 400 - Vancouver WA

• Feb. 24 & 25, 2011
• May 19 & 20, 2011
• Aug. 25 & 26, 2011

If you would like to sign-up for a class that is listed above please email SO-MT-Jonathan Polimeni

Degraded Communication Exercise

Division 7's contingency plans for degraded communications of Station Portland's AOR, has been developed and approved by USCG Station Portland. The contingency plan could be activated for many reason such as: system repairs, disasters, terrorism, storms, and much more. This plan uses Auxiliary Communication Units (ACU), both fixed land and land mobile. The plan allows the auxiliary to cover Station Portland's Area of Responsibility (AOR) until an active duty relief unit take over or Rescue 21 is operational. If or when the plan is activated the auxiliary would be the eyes, ears and the voice of the Coast Guard. Some things the auxiliary might do are, provide radio guards for Coast Guard resources, transmit notice to mariners and maintain a channel 16 watch for vessels in distress.

A pre-brief of the plan, followed by a Q&A session, will be held on 13 October 2010 from 1900 to 2200 on MSU Portland (the former Sector Portland) Training Deck. The plan's presentation will cover the basic operations as an ACU and a short refresher of ICS. It is requested that all qualified (AUXCOM and TCO) members who are interested in participating in the call out exercise with their ACU be at the presentation. In addition, members who are not qualified as TCO but would like to join in the exercise are encouraged to attend.

The exercise will take place on Saturday 16 October 2010. This exercise is a full scale exercise of the contingency plan. This means the call out will occur at a random time Saturday morning. The exercise could last the better part of the day and will be followed with a hot wash at MSU Portland's training deck. Therefore, your ACU should be prepared for a full day event with food, water and any other needs.

The presentation will cover all information regarding job duties, expectations and responsibilities. All ACU and AUXCOM/TC qualified members are requested to participate in the exercise, since the division has not held an exercise of this type for an extended time and many of us are dusty when it comes to using our ACU's.

If you have any questions about the prebrief or the exercise, send me an email.

Jonathan James, SO-CM

Division 7 leads the Navigator

Shipmates,
The Summer 2010 issue of the Auxiliary national magazine The Navigator features Flotilla 76 member Chris Roosevelt on the front cover and Flotilla 73 member Ken Babick on the back cover. The photos show Ken and Chris performing their duties during the 2010 Rose Festival.

Check out the entire issue online http://auxpa.org/navigator/ and in your mailboxes soon. When you are done with your print copy I'd be very appreciative if a few members pass their issues my way.

Thank you for your service,
Daren

Establishment of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River

Shipmates,
Here is the official information on the boundaries and subordinate units of USCG Sector Columbia River as of 23AUG2010.

Establishment of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River

On 23 August 2010 USCG Group/Air Station Astoria and USCG Sector Portland will be combined and renamed USCG Sector Columbia River. Sector Columbia River will be in Warrenton, OR while a Marine Safety Unit will remain in Portland. The purpose of this merger is to bring the operational control of all Coast Guard resources located in Northern Oregon under one command for the execution of all Coast Guard missions.

The USCG Sector Columbia River COTP area of responsibility will be as follows:

The USCG Sector Columbia River boundary starts at 47°32' N. latitude and proceeds along this latitude easterly to a point 47°32' N. latitude, 123°18' W. longitude; thence southerly to 46°55' N. latitude; thence easterly along this latitude to the eastern Idaho State line; thence southeasterly along the Idaho State line to the intersection of the Idaho- Wyoming boundary; thence southerly along the Idaho-Wyoming boundary to the intersection of the Idaho-Utah-Wyoming boundaries; thence westerly along the 42°00' N. latitude to the sea. The offshore boundary is bounded on the south by the southern boundary of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District which is described in §3.65–10, to the outermost extent of the EEZ; thence northerly along the outermost extent of the EEZ to 47°32' N. latitude; thence easterly along 47°32' N. latitude to the coast.

USCG Sector Columbia River offices will be located at 2185 SE 12th Place, Warrenton, OR and will include the following subordinate units:

Unit

• USCG MSU Portland
• USCGC BLUEBELL (WLI 313)
• USCG Station Portland
• USCG Station Tillamook Bay
• USCG Station Cape Disappointment
• USCG Station Grays Harbor
• USCG Aids to Navigation Team Astoria
• USCG Aids to Navigation Team Kennewick

All VHF-FM and HF radio frequencies formerly guarded 24 hours a day by USCG Group

Astoria and USCG Sector Portland will now be monitored by USCG Sector Columbia River.

Please note that all prior information on the 0700-2200 radio watch for surface operations being maintained by STATION PORTLAND remains in effect. See: http://www.division7.org/2010/08/surface-operations-radio-communications.html

Member Training - New Member Orientation

Member Training - New Member Orientation


Start Time: Aug. 14 @ 08:30

Location: Sector Portland Training Deck

The division will be hosting a new member orientation workshop on August 14. This is designed to help the newer members (anyone who did not attend last year’s orientation) learn about the aux, what missions are in our AOR, what is expect a member, dos and don’ts as a member. The instructor (Ken Babick) would also like to invite members who have been in for just over a year to present some of their trials and tribulations to help improve the process of becoming a member. I as the SO-MT would also like mentors and Human Resource staff to attend since this is could be valuable information to perform your duties.

Uniform is ODU

If you do not have ODU because you are a new member that is fine, just be in civilian clothes. If you do not have an Aux ID Card but paperwork has been submitted, you will have to be make arrangements with your flotilla to provide an escort for you to get on the base or have them inform SO-MT Jonathan Polimeni to add to list at the gate.

SO-MT Jonathan Polimeni

Surface Operations Radio Communications Change - Station Radio Guard

Shipmates,
As part of the transition from Sector Portland to the new Sector Columbia River Station Portland is now maintaining a radio watch.

Effective immediately all surface assets will maintain radio guard with STATION PORTLAND while operating within the Station Area of Responsibility (e.g. the region bounded by Puget Island, Bonneville and the Oregon City Falls) between 0700 and 2200 hours.

Guard will be maintained with SECTOR (or other guard as per policy) outside of the STATION AOR as well as overnight between the hours of 2200 and 0700.

All AUXAIR communications will remain with SECTOR or as otherwise detailed by the District AUXAIR and the responsible AIRSTA.

Bottom line: This means most communications and radio guard work done by Division 7 surface operators will be conducted with STATION.

Coxswains are directed to assure all crew are briefed on the change during pre-underway briefings. Please be cognizant that the habit of calling SECTOR may be difficult to break and that particular care should be taken before keying the microphone. Please remind each other of the changes as part of your TCT until we've established the new behavior across the surface operations community.

Best Daren and Jon James SO-CM

RBS Ready: Carbon Monoxide sticker requirement in Washington

Shipmates,
The State of Washington requires that all power driven vessels except PWCs display a Carbon Monoxide sticker. When doing vessel examinations of Washington vessels please assure compliance before issuing a Auxiliary Vessel Examination sticker. If you find this a common issue your FSO-VE can assist with procuring free CO stickers from the Washington Department of Licensing.

Full information on the requirement can be found here: http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/costicker.html

August 2010 Commander's Comments

"The success of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will depend upon the extent of your participation and upon the quality of the Auxiliary leaders that you, the member, select." - Prologue to the Coast Guard Auxiliary new member pledge

Shipmates,

We are completing another outstanding summer of boating safety and operations activity -- thank you for your service across our mission areas and a special thank you to everyone who works in the background to make our activities successful. The prologue to our new member pledge correctly notes that our success is directly tied to the leaders we select for the Auxiliary. As we move towards fall it is time to consider participating in the elected and staff leadership of your Flotilla or the Division in 2011. We elect our Flotilla Commanders and Vice Commanders directly and these elected members select the staff for our programs. Before this can happen we, as members, must self select -- we must be willing to take up the leadership roles in our units and make this willingness known. I encourage each of you to consider taking up the challenge of leadership and, if you have already done so, consider continuing your current role or seeking a new position. While many of us hope to continue in our current roles we are a better organization when the next cycle of leaders are making themselves known. Those of us in elected positions serve a maximum of two, one year terms. In many cases transitions happen more often than every two years due to choices of the leader or circumstances beyond the leader's control.

Members seeking elected office must pass the Administrative Procedures Course (APC). This course is highly recommended for all staff officers as well and serves as a good introduction to the operation of the Auxiliary for all members. The APC is generally a self study course and the Auxiliary Manual is the primary text. There are student and instructor guides available from the National Training Department: http://www.cgaux.org/training/LeadershipTrainingCourses.html. The student guide includes a series of example test questions.

The APC test is taken online from the National Testing Center (http://ntc.cgaux.org/) which is accessed using your eDirectory/AuxOfficerDirectory/ShopAuxiliary password. The test has 40 questions, is not proctored and can be taken while referencing the Auxiliary Manual in an "open book" manner.

I also encourage you to discuss you interest with your elected and appointed leadership. These members can give you a sense of what the job entails.

Thank you for your service,
Daren

August 2010 Commanders Comments

"The success of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will depend upon the extent of your participation and upon the quality of the Auxiliary leaders that you, the member, select." - Prologue to the Coast Guard Auxiliary new member pledge


Shipmates,
We are completing another outstanding summer of boating safety and operations activity -- thank you for your service across our mission areas and a special thank you to everyone who works in the background to make our activities successful. The prologue to our new member pledge correctly notes that our success is directly tied to the leaders we select for the Auxiliary. As we move towards fall it is time to consider participating in the elected and staff leadership of your Flotilla or the Division in 2011. We elect our Flotilla Commanders and Vice Commanders directly and these elected members select the staff for our programs. Before this can happen we, as members, must self select -- we must be willing to take up the leadership roles in our units and make this willingness known. I encourage each of you to consider taking up the challenge of leadership and, if you have already done so, consider continuing your current role or seeking a new position. While many of us hope to continue in our current roles we are a better organization when the next cycle of leaders are making themselves known. Those of us in elected positions serve a maximum of two, one year terms. In many cases transitions happen more often than every two years due to choices of the leader or circumstances beyond the leader's control.


Members seeking elected office must pass the Administrative Procedures Course (APC). This course is highly recommended for all staff officers as well and serves as a good introduction to the operation of the Auxiliary for all members. The APC is generally a self study course and the Auxiliary Manual is the primary text. There are student and instructor guides available from the National Training Department: http://www.cgaux.org/training/LeadershipTrainingCourses.html. The student guide includes a series of example test questions.


The APC test is taken online from the National Testing Center (http://ntc.cgaux.org/) which is accessed using your eDirectory/AuxOfficerDirectory/ShopAuxiliary password. The test has 40 questions, is not proctored and can be taken while referencing the Auxiliary Manual in an "open book" manner.


I also encourage you to discuss you interest with your elected and appointed leadership. These members can give you a sense of what the job entails.


Thank you for your service,
Daren

Updated Division presentation on Sitrep

Shipmates,
At our FC/VFC meeting in July we discussed the need for an updated introduction to the Auxiliary and Division 7. I have combined a number of existing presentations and updated the information through 01 August. You may find this useful when talking to potential members or helping your family and friends understand what we do. You can download the presentation from the SlideShare link.

Thank you for your service,
Daren

2010.08 Division7 Intro and Aug 2010 Sitrep

View more presentations from Daren Lewis.