Team D5 ,
As the year draws to a close , CMC DeMello and I want to wish you and your families a joyful , relaxing holiday season .
This has been another dynamic year across our country , the Coast Guard , and certainly our District . Through all of the uncertainty and challenges , Team D5 has continued to rise to the occasion and provide outstanding service to our nation and our maritime stakeholders . In addition to performing our normal missions , it ’ s been a year filled with unique operations and successes , including :
• Security operations in support of the Presidential inauguration and other National Special Security Events .
• MAPLE ’ s trip to Greenland to operate with international partners as part of Exercise ARGUS .
• RICHARD SNYDER ’ s deployment as part of Op NANOOK , making it the first FRC to cross the Arctic Circle .
• Flawless Rotary Wing Air Intercept support in the National Capital Region in addition to a dramatic increase in deployable RWAI missions .
• The stand up and operation of new POTUS waterborne security support efforts in the Delaware AOR .
• Safeguarding the Marine Transportation System from cyber incidents / threats .
• Ensuring navigation safety / bridge permitting in support of major , multi-billion dollar bridge tunnel expansion projects .
• Conducting complex SAR cases to include long range oxygen bottle drops to a merchant ship 700 nm East of Bermuda to save the life of a master suffering from COVID , and multi-day searches for distressed boaters / persons in the water ( to include finding and saving a person several miles offshore and more than 20 nm away from where their canoe capsized ) - just two of the more than 1,500 SAR cases performed across D5 this year .
• Innovative intel support to fisheries enforcement , to include developing
topside Volume 119 , Issue 1 situational awareness of Illegal , Unreported , and Unregulated fisheries activity by foreign fleets between our EEZ and Bermuda .
• Maintaining greater than 90 % availability of our Aids to Navigation to ensure waterway safety .
• Significant port state control operations and detentions due to outstanding inspection and investigative work , some of which resulted in criminal referrals to the DOJ .
• Cutter and air support to D1 , D7 , JIATF-S , and to the DOD .
• Pollution prevention and response , to include monitoring grounded vessels and lightering ops .
• Deployment of Reservists in support of DHS missions along the Southwest Border and as part of FEMA vaccination sites , in addition to contingency operations in D8 and elsewhere .
• Integration of our Auxiliarists across the District in the performance or support of our missions , to include air ops training , safe boating education , safety exams , clergy and culinary support to units and personnel , and many other activities .
• Preparing and publishing Port Access Route Studies to ensure the future navigation safety of our offshore waters .
• Exercises , engagement , and outreach to our port partners across the Mid-Atlantic region to ensure preparedness for emergencies and facilitate commerce .
None of these could have happened without the support and dedicated efforts of our maintenance engineers , culinary teams , legal advisors , health services technicians , chaplains , financial experts , administrative specialists , and ombudsmen . Our external and public affairs teams extensively highlighted your great work to the public and Congress . All of this happened despite budget uncertainties , the biggest financial and travel system overhaul in our Service ’ s history , and the continuing stress of the COVID pandemic .
Simply put , whatever your role , YOU played an integral part in our success and we are grateful for your efforts and your service . One of the best parts of our job has been traveling across the District and