NAV EX Florence Edition NavEx 3rd Qtr 2018 - FINALa | Page 2

Ready, Responsive and Relevant
The Auxiliary Answers When Florence Comes to Call
Story by H William Smith and Jon Hunt
USCG Aux photo by Robert A. Fabich
The entire nation saw it coming, and when Hurricane
Florence bashed into the Carolinas, the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary stood ready to answer the call.
Florence was like that obnoxious relative that shows
up and stays too long – way too long for the folks
in North and South Carolina and beyond. As the
wind howled and massive rain totaled up Auxiliary
members throughout the nation showed their
willingness to lend a hand.
There are times when the call is to be ready and able
to respond and for many Auxiliary members, that
was the extent of their participation in the event.
While being ready to respond, and not getting
deployed can be frustrating, it is still a relevant part
of the total picture. Command has to know that it has
What follows is a sampling of the many ways the
Auxiliary takes U.S. Coast Guard Commandant,
Admiral Karl Schultz’s motto, “Ready, Responsive
and Relevant,” to heart. The Auxiliary’s support of
the U.S. Coast Guard and its efforts to lessen the
suffering experienced in the Carolinas shows it is
Semper Paratus when the call to duty comes.
ABOVE: David Desplaces, Walter Runck, and Michael Young (l to r),
members of the East Cooper, South Carolina Flotilla, on patrol in
Charleston Harbor, coordinating movements with the U.S. Coast
Guard Cutter Cormorant shortly after the passage of Hurricane
Florence. RIGHT: Viewing the devastation from above.
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USCG Aux Photo by Sherry Spillman
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