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Aux Spotlight - Ellen Voorhees By Christopher Orlando , ADSO-PB
When oil discharges , hazardous substance releases , weapons of mass destruction events , require U . S . Coast Guard attention , the Atlantic Strike Team ( AST ) springs into action ! AST functions as a " special team " within the National Response System ( NRS ) and assist United States Coast Guard ( USCG ) and Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) Federal On Scene Coordinators and other federal officials while executing responsibilities under the National Contingency Plan ( NCP ) and the National Response Plan ( NRP ).
Among the “ special team ” of AST is Ellen Voorhees of Flotilla Lacey Township ( 07-09 ). Voorhees joined AST as an Auxiliary Incident Response Center Watchstander in August 2001 and became certified in December 2001 . In October 2006 , she was asked to serve as the Auxiliary Unit Liaison Officer for the AST .
Voorhees continues to serve in both roles . As Watchstander , she relieves the Command Duty Officer ( CDO ) and , under the direction of the CDO , act as a control point , register , grant or deny access to unit visitors , maintain the IRC phone watch , intercept and transmit phone calls and messages , monitor status boards and T-card racks , maintain and update the Unit ' s daily log , receive visitors and arrange for their escort to appropriate Unit site destinations , respond to external requests and perform other tasks as requested .
As Auxiliary Unit Coordinator , she works with the AST Command , the Auxiliary Liaison Officer ( AUXLO ) and other key members of the Unit to provide immediate input and response to requirements for Auxiliary support and facilitate Auxiliary service to the unit . Prepare and maintain an Auxiliary Watch Personnel Duty Roster containing contact information of Auxiliarists assigned to the AST . She also prepares a quarterly Watch Schedule and distributes copies of the same to the AST Command and the Auxiliary Watchstanders , maintains a spreadsheet of the watch hours accrued monthly and annually by each of the Watchstanders . She also schedules regular Quarterly meetings for the purpose of distributing information and the Watch Schedule for the upcoming quarter .
Voorhees said her most unique experience as a member of AST was that her fourth day training turned out to be September 11 , 2001 and she took the call alerting the Unit of planes crashing into the Twin Towers . “ I then was tasked to assist with the distribution of necessary response clothing and with loading PFDs into vans in preparation of deployment to New York City ,” said Voorhees . “ In the weeks following 9 / 11 , the AST ’ s resources and personnel were fully employed . The manning of the AST IRC by the Auxiliary helped free personnel desperately needed for critical response activities during this period – talk about on-the-job training !”
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