topside
Volume 114, Issue 4
Page 12
Division 21
When it comes to telling the story of the Auxiliary, few personify it better than Division 21. The Auxiliary specializes in rolling with the
punches, stepping up to any task and completing the mission to the best of our ability; that is the story of Division 21. A series of
restructures on the Division level, including the combination of Divisions 10 and 11 to create Division 21, coupled with a few on the
Flotilla level would send most groups into a tailspin but not the men and women of Division 21.
Over the summers on any given weekend the men and women of Division 21 will be out on patrol of Blue Marsh Lake and doing vessel
safety checks at the docks while on the other extreme of our border our people are patrolling Lake Nockamixon. Our Public Affairs team
is out working events like the National Night Out and the World War Two Weekend Airshow telling the story of the Auxiliary and
spreading the message of safety and security.
Division 21 has another mission though, maintaining and updating the Reading Flotilla Training Base. The Training Base has been in our
Division for decades and continues to be our Division Headquarters, its classroom and boardroom set up perfectly for meetings and
boating safety courses and its main floor perfect for fellowship. Walking through the building you can feel the history that surrounds you
and we know we have a duty to those that came before us to continue their legacy and tell their story.
The Division is on track to hit most, if not all of our member created goals for this year. We currently sit at 151 patrol hours, 248 vessel
safety checks, 325 public affairs hours, and 211 marine dealer visits. This is spread out over just 122 active members. We pride ourselves
on our work ethic and our ability to step up to the plate when our communities call on us to do so.
However there is something we pride ourselves on more than public affairs hours, vessel safety checks, or patrol hours and that is our
fellowship. Division 21 is a family to each and every one of it’s members, our Esprit de Corps is high and this allows us to overcome any
challenges that stand in our way. We may be a smaller division but we are mighty and are willing to give everything we have to the cause
of public safety.
The motto of the United States Army 1st Infantry Division has a motto that I think fits our Division, “ No Mission Too Difficult. No
Sacrifice Too Great.” It is an honor and a privilege to work alongside the men and women of Division 21 and I am looking forward to a
bright future of more success.
Jacob T. Trombley
Division Staff Officer of Publications, Division 21.