Break the Ice Continued from page 11
USCG Aux Photo
ABOVE : Aerial view of the Hudson River in Upstate New York , AUXAIR Ice Patrols often look for “ choke ” points on the river that might impede commercial traffic .
and then ask the Operations Duty Officer to forward them to the cutter ’ s crew . Cutter commanders appreciate the information .
Crews do contact the cutter commanders and ask if there is any tasking they would likeAUXAIR missions to address . This AUXAIR facility is capable of flying at 200 knots per hour and can see far up and down the river . Occasionally crews are requested to look for traffic at specific points on the river and report back .
Crews do take photographs of vessel traffic on the river . Though the Coast Guard knows the position of these vessels via transponder , AUXAIR supplies visual confirmation of their position . Positions of vessels that are or will be passing one another are also reported . Positions are reported by both landmarks and latitude and longitude .
At the completion of the mission the crew conducts a de-brief session . Both the good and could-beimproved-upon activities are discussed in an effort to improve performance .
The photographs that were taken are reviewed and the best example for each reporting point is selected , labeled and forwarded ( along with a post-mission report ) to Sector New York . The report must be submitted within 4 hours of the mission completion . Ice Patrol missions take place on a daily basis .
The AUXAIR flights provide valuable information and a set of eyes in the sky that assist the Coast Guard in keeping the river safe and the flow of heating oil coming to Albany and points north .
12 NAVIGATO