t opside V olume 114 , I s s u e 1 P a ge 3
From the Desk of the Commodore
Greetings and Happy New Year to all fellow Auxiliarists ! It is my esteemed honor and great privilege to represent all the outstanding men and women in the D5NR who graciously give of their time and talents to promote the goals of the organization for serving the boating public , the active duty Coast Guard , and our country overall .
If you read the Auxiliary manual , especially chapter one , it describes the founding of the Auxiliary over seventy-five years ago and provides the statutory basis for the existence of our branch of the Coast Guard . Along with a brief reference to the laws that created the Auxiliary , Chapter one also describes the duties and responsibilities of the members who comprise the Auxiliary itself .
At the very beginning of the manual is the policy statement from the Commandant of the Coast Guard wherein he also lists the three main missions of the Auxiliary , which are shown below :
Commodore Barry Kyper District Commodore
“ The Auxiliary missions are : 1 ) To promote and improve recreational boating safety
2 ) To provide a diverse array of specialized skills , trained crews and capable facilities to augment the Coast Guard and enhance safety of our ports , waterways , and coastal regions :
3 ) To support Coast Guard operational , administrative and logistical requirements .”
When members of the D5NR EXCOM attend National meetings such as N-Train and NACON we hear these same words repeated over and over by our National leaders . This focus forms the core of what we do as Auxiliarists . It is important that members continue to hear these words and be reminded of what we are about and why we do it . Recreational Boating safety is our number one mission !
How we approach these mission components through training and activities has become the priority for the new EXCOM . The focus is on the membership , our newly minted motto “ Our Members- Our Strength ” underscores this commitment to those who strive to meet the mission identified in the many Auxiliary publications . If you look at some of the activities that the leadership has initiated , you can witness this commitment in practice . Just to highlight a few , the “ Mobile Unit Training Team ” ( MUTT ) has visited many individual divisions to provide leadership training to current and prospective Division and Flotilla officers .
Three district level task forces have been established to support identified needs in the district . A recruiting and retention team will be identifying , cataloguing , and distributing best practices for recruiting that each division and flotilla can use as part of a coordinated effort to enroll prospective members who can contribute to the Auxiliary mission and relieve some of the strain on current membership .
Continued on the next page …