operations

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District 01S Division 11 Flotilla 02

Operations
[a good site (including boat crew training) Here is a link to the Office of the Chief Director (G-PCX)Website with some wonderful links for Boat Crew Training. Of particular note is the new section with Study Questions for the new OPs Policy Exam.:
http://cgauxsurfaceops.us/BCProgram.htm ]

[see calendar too]

Some items not in chronological order!

see too ODU operational uniform page

Dec '07

Member Training Hours Reporting Update
The National Training Department has updated the value-added article Reporting MT Hours (PDF: 232 KB / 5 pages) to provide guidance on how and which form to use for the various member training activities. The article explains the correct use of the 7029 Member Activity Log, 7030 Activity Report-Mission, and 7039 Workshop Mission and Attendance Report for each type of member training activity. http://www.auxtdept.org/RecordMTHoursNov07Rev1.pdf

Nov '07
When wearing an MSD-900, MSD-901 or Mustang, the use of a PFD is optional; UNLESS the Order Issuing Authority orders the crew to wear the PFD over the 900,901 or Mustang. Dry Suits still require a PFD.

Auxiliary Boat Crew Training Manual, Chapter 5 A.6. Five Year Requirements * Coxswains and PWC operators must pass an open book Auxiliary Navigation Rules examination within five years from the date of successful completion of the previous exam. A passing score for this requirement is 90 percent or greater. Members failing to complete the open book exam within the five year period are considered lapsed and must retake the exam in order to regain certification and receive orders.
This change will take effect beginning January 1, 2008. AUXDATA will
be modified to track the date of exam vice the default of 31DEC and put a
member in REYR if the test has lapsed. Some regions will be impacted more
than others due to your varying active boating seasons but all regions will
have members due in Jan-Apr who will be thinking they have all year to take
the test.

click HYPOTHERMIA DEVICES, notice from CHIDRAUX NOV 07

April '07

Division OPS Report, April 4, 2007

Auxiliary vessels have been requested for the following events:

May 21 thru June 1, 2007 – Fleet Week
June 2, 2007 – Blessing of the Fleet Canarsie Pier, 11am to 2pm
June 30, 2007 – Liberty Outrigger Competition Brooklyn Bridge, up the Hudson to Lincoln Ventilator to Liberty Island around
to Buttermilk Channel to finish at Brooklyn Bridge, 7am to 7pm
July 1, 2007 – Statue of Liberty Marathon, Catamarans Sandy Hook Bay to the Statue, 1000 to 1500 hours.
July 4, 2007 – Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks
July 23, 2007 - Cibbow Swim Race - Brighton Beach & Coney Island, 8am to 1:30pm
July 28, 2007 – FISA Row Around Manhattan. Start time 0530hours at Pier 40 to finish @ 1700 hours at Pier 40

An email went out regarding a QE Workshop requesting 2 Mentors to attend. The date has been changed from May 12 & 13 to June 2 &3 at Ft Wadsworth.

Any Mentors interested in attending please contact me at parkwayequip@earthlink.net

REMINDER Changes to Boat Crew Program

Currency Maintenance will be every 3 years
12 hours underway per year
Coxswains can combine coxswain and crew hours for 12 hour currency
No tasks will be waived (PFD swim uniform will be chosen for geographical location. We will use Type III vest for swim test. Anti Exposure suit will have to be donned, on land, for sign off)

July 17,07

All,
Recently I learned of some misinformation being passed about the need for Auxiliary facilities to carry a copy of the Weekly Local Notice to Mariners. There is no requirement for Auxiliary facilities to carry the Local Notice to Mariners on board. A prudent coxswain, during the pre-underway briefing, should make his/her crew aware of any discrepancies or other information pertinent to their AOR (Area of responsibility) but not having the LNM on board is not a reason to abort an underway mission or QE evaluation.

Another issue that came to my attention was the request that QEs check pepirbs when doing any underway session. As long as there is one pepirb on board that is "proper" the mission will continue as planned. If you have been issued a pepirb you are supposed to have it on your person whenever you get underway, not only when you are the coxswain or pwo of record. Again, as long as there is one pepirb on board and attached to one member, the mission may continue. You should be sure that the registration label is attached and that the registration with NOAA is current. Additionally, everyone was issued a velcro strip that needs to be put on the pepirb. Trainee coxswains/pwos have not been issued pepirbs and they are not expected to have one until they are certified and one has been issued to them.
If you have any question about this, please contact me.
v/r // Paulette Nedrow, CQEC D1SR

Feb '07

Subject: Operations policy Exam

The Operations Policy Exam is now available and is required for all trainees working on their Coxswain or PWC Operator qualification. This exam must be successfully completed before the QE dockside oral exam and underway check ride can be performed.

The exam, a 30 question open book exam, covers surface operations policies located the Operations Policy Manual COMDTINST M16798.3 (series) and Chapter 4 of the Coast Guard Addendum to the United States National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS) COMDTINST M16130.2 (series). A score of 90% is required to pass the exam.

The exam is available through the Auxiliary National Testing Center at: http://cgexams.info/testing/

Upon completing the test, you will receive notice if you have either passed or not. If successful, your DIRAUX should get an electronic notification. Of course, it is always a good idea to print a copy of any electronic notice you receive in case the notice does not get to your DIRAUX for some reason and you will need that notice for your mentor to sign off on that task.

Note: The on-line exams require that you are running Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer, Netscape 6.1 or newer or an equivalent release of AOL's browser. It requires that you have JavaScript installed and enabled and that you have your cookies enabled.

This exam is also available in hard copy from the Operations Training Officer (OTO) in your district if you prefer.

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Sept. ' 07

The National Training Department is currently working on the update of AUXCOM, AUXSAR, AUXNAV and AUXSEA. The updates are targeted for release next year. Update releases of AUXCOM and AUXSAR are planned within the first quarter of 2008.

AUXSAR will continue to be the current course until early next year. The course will be replaced by Auxiliary Search Coordination and Execution (AUXSCE). This course is adapted from the course provided by the Coast Guard at the USCG National Search and Rescue School. We are now in the process of training instructors, developing exams, and guides.

The update of AUXNAV will adapted from the Weekend Navigator course currently under development by the Education Department for public education. This course is based on the McGraw-Hill book "The Weekend Navigator-Simple Boat Navigation with GPS and Electronics". Release of the updated AUXNAV course, which is more in-depth and scope, is planned in the second half of 2008.

Please be advised that all current courses will remain until the release of updates. Please encourage members who are interested in taking an AUXOP course to not delay until the updates are available. There is a great deal of effort required to develop updates including reviews, vetting, publication and inventory prior to release. Many of these efforts are difficult to plan as time is not always under the control of the Training Department. We try to do our best to meet our planned schedules, but it is not always possible. I hope this is helpful. Regards,

Ken Kendall
Deputy Department Chief - National Department of Training
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

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July 06
Here's an update on Hot Wx uniform. Use of the Hot Wx uniform and also optional polo shirt is authorized for auxiliarists operating under orders for SEC NY. Those operating under SEC LIS are not authorized to wear these uniforms, but on hot days may remove the blouse and operate in the dark blue t-shirt and full length trousers. Will draft an instruction to this effect, but this is the official policy and members are immediately authorized to wear the uniforms as outlined above. CDR Young

Uniforms: how they should look

As of May 2005

The new Operations Policy Manual changes crew requirements. The new rules call for:
   less than 26'           - Coxswain plus 1 Crew
   26' to less than 40' - Coxswain plus 2 Crew
   40' to less than 65' - Coxswain plus 3 Crew
   65' and above        - Coxswain plus 4 Crew

IMPORTANT NOTICE Patrols

It is the responsibility of the Coxswain to fill out all paperwork for patrols.
A debriefing should be conducted once patrols are secured.
This debriefing should consist of the events of the day and calculation of hours underway.
Coxswains are also responsible for making sure they have the proper number of Crew who are current prior to getting underway.
Insufficient Current Crew will cause patrol to be null and void.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me anytime. Stanley K

Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) Available at UDC

The U.S. Coast Guard Uniform Distribution Center (UDC) in Woodbine, NJ currently has a variety of sizes of the Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) available for order by members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. You may view the ODU uniform items available through UDC at www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wp/udc/ODU.pdf. To place orders, you may go to UDC's ordering information page that describes the various ordering procedures. Detailed information on the Operational Dress Uniform and ordering procedures is also available in the 2005 Uniform Procurement Guide published by the Department of Personnel.
UDC Ordering info: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wp/udc/UDC_orders.htm
Uniform Ordering Guide: http://www.cgaux.org/cgauxweb/personnel/UniformProcGuide2005FinalCopyFEB-10-2005.pdf

This instruction provides guidance for all U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary members within D1SR participating in boat crew operations when Cold Weather Operations parameters exist.
The Cold Weather Operations Instructions can be found here: http://diraux.cgaux1sr.org/boatforce/coldwxopsinst.pdf

VEs : some good points re PFDs may be found here - http://safetyseal.net/newsletters/ve-mdv/fss05-05.pdf

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Facility Owners / Coxswains: From Kaye, 5/06 re
LOG RECORDS

Every time an operational facility gets underway, an entry need to be made in the log book.
The OPFAC ID number needs to go on the top of each page (this is the 6 digit ID # on your offer for use letter from the DIRAUX and the one you use for Auxiliary business on the radio.
The log books must be filled out in pen, not with a pencil. Pencil entries can be erased and that is not acceptable for a log book.
The Date/Time Group needs to be filled out for both start and stop time (the normal format is day, time in 24 hours clock time, then month and finally year (081723Z MAY 06). If we get the date and time there in some readable manner, that will be fine.
Under the coxswain and crew ID, the EMPLID # needs to be entered for each member (it is the 7 digit member number). If there are non-members/guests, then they need to be listed as well. If a member is a trainee, then check the trainee box by the member's name.
The Description/Private or Aux needs to be noted as well as the type of mission and the patrol order # from POMS next to Order# block.
If there are any SAR Cases, the then the number and the unit case numbers form the Command Center. This is not where the Patrol order # goes.
Engine hours have a start and stop block and the hour meter reading should be recorded at start and stop. The total hour run can be recorded on the same line to the far right. If twin engines, there will be 2 entries. If you have a generator, then record those hours as well.
Below the hours blocks is a line for total hours for private use and Auxiliary use. Please mark this appropriately. How much time was for private use and how much was for Auxiliary use.
Fuel level should be recorded at start and finish as well as how many gallons taken on. If you added make-up oil (not an oil change) then enter the amount next to the oil used block.
In the Nav Data box at the bottom of the page, enter where you depart from , where you stopped, etc., and the time in 24 hour time.
On the back of the page for a particular day (not the page facing the log book page you are using) is a Log of Events. Please put down what you did, what happened, training performed, boat problems or just any amplifying information that is necessary.
If there are maintenance items that are done, routine of otherwise, they need to be recorded in the maintenance log section of the log book. This would include oil changes, filter changes (both oil and fuel, broken belts changes, light bulbs replaced, etc. If it was done, record it.