Coast Guard News

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: July 13, 2010
Contact: District 1 Public Affairs
Photos by CG Auxiliary except where noted

Coast Guard boat house
burns in Menemsha, Mass.



MENEMSHA, Mass. — The boathouse at Coast Guard Station Menemsha burns in Menemsha, Mass. July 12, 2010. The Coast Guard and local responders worked through out the afternoon to keep the fire from spreading in the harbor.



Above right, Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike Montross, a gunner's mate from the Coast Guard Cutter Sanibel, surveys the damage caused by the boathouse fire July 13, 2010. Montross and the Sanibel crew have been on scene over night providing support from the water. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class James Rhodes, U.S. Coast Guard.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 13, 2010
Contact: District 17 Public Affairs
Photos by PO3 Walter Shinn

Coast Guard remembers
crew of Jayhawk 6017


Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Robert J. Papp above left speaks to a crowd who attended the Memorial Service for the crew who were lost when Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter MH-60 6017 went down of La Push, Wash., Tuesday. July 13, 2010.  Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski above right hands a flag to one of the family members who lost a relative when the Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter MH-60 6017 crashed.

SITKA, Alaska — Coast Guard Air Station Sitka hosted a memorial service for the aircrew of Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter 6017 Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Robert J. Papp and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt, along with many members of the community attended the service to show their support for the three men who lost their lives.

The crew of the Sitka-based rescue helicopter was transiting from Air Station Astoria, Ore., to Sitka Wednesday morning when it went down in the waters of La Push, Wash.  One of the four crewmembers was taken to a Seattle hospital after the helicopter went down.

 
Left to right the portraits of Lt. Sean D. Krueger, Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett M. Banks and Petty Officer 1st Class Adam C. Hoke are displayed next to empty aviator helmets, flight suits and boots in front of the stage inside the hangar at Air Station Sitka Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

“Our service, Air Station Sitka, the family and friends are all shocked by these events,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp.  “Of all the events we face in life, the loss of a husband, brother, shipmate is the most difficult.  We all gather here today to morn together and help the families with their loss.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the families of the fallen Coast Guard aircrew can do so with the Coast Guard Foundation at Coastguardfoundation.org, or by calling 860-535-0786 or Lt. Brooks Crawford at 907-966-5405.

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Releases
Date: July 14, 2010

Civil Engineering Unit Miami to welcome new commanding officer

Coast Guard Cutter Pamlico to hold change-of-command ceremony

Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans to hold change-of-command

Air Station Atlantic City Change of Command Ceremony

Marine Safety Unit Duluth to hold change-of-command ceremony

Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team (PACTACLET) welcome new commander

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 15, 2010
Contact: District 7 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Thetis to
hold change-of-command ceremony



KEY WEST, Fla. — A change-of-command ceremony is scheduled for the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis Friday at 7 p.m. at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Pier D2 south.

Cmdr. Douglas M. Schofield will relieve Cmdr. Richard L. Mourey during a time-honored military tradition to formally transfer command.

Mourey’s next assignment will be at United States Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Mourey’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.

Mourey is a native of Escondido, Calif.  He graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., in 1989, and holds a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Schofield’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and several unit awards.

A native of Lancaster, Pa., Schofield graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1991 where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree with High Honors in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture.  He also holds Master of Science Degrees in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

Thetis is a multi-mission cutter responsible for conducting search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security missions throughout the Caribbean Sea.  Since 2008, the 100-member crew has transited the Panama Canal, seized more than 13,000 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $180 million, delivered more than 22,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to Haiti, and represented the United States during the multi-national naval exercise, UNITAS Gold.  The Thetis crew most recently returned from a two-month patrol during which they visited Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where they supported the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (DREAM) Project by refurbishing elementary schools.

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 15, 2010
Contact: District 1 Public Affairs

The Coast Guard Cutter Juniper
Skims oil in the Gulf of Mexico


Above left, Chief Petty Officer Frost, a boatswain's mate aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper supervises the recovery of containment boom in the Gulf of Mexico.  Above right, Petty Officer 3rd Class, William Allen, an Alabama native looks down towards oil being collected by the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper’s Shipboard Oil-Recovery System.  USCG Photos by PO3 Colin White.

THE GULF OF MEXICO — The Coast Guard Cutter Juniper, homeported in Newport, R.I., began oil-skimming operations off the Florida and Alabama coasts June 11, 2010, in support of the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The crew of the Juniper made the six-day, 1700-mile transit from Newport, R.I., to Pensacola, Fla., to utilize the cutters’ Spilled Oil Recovery System (SORS).  The SORS system, consisting of a 42-foot outrigger arm, fast sweep containment boom, oil skimming pump, and three 4,200-gallon oil tanks, is capable of skimming 440-gallons of oil per minute.

The Juniper also works in conjunction with commercial vessels to pump directly into oil barges for increased skimming capability.  While the Juniper has deployed the SORS system during annual training evolutions, it has never been used for a spill of this magnitude.

The Juniper, one of six 225-foot sea going buoy tenders temporarily assigned to the region for the spill, has recovered approximately 80,000 gallons of oil from the waters surrounding the gulf shoreline.  Additional Coast Guard assets, including 175-foot coastal buoy tenders, patrol boats, and various Coast Guard aircraft are also working throughout the region to reduce the amount of oil reaching the beaches.  Coast Guard cutters and aircraft assigned to the response hail from Newport to Hawaii.


Above left, crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper inflate boom for the Shipboard Oil-Recovery System (SORS) on the buoy deck.  Above right, Petty Officer 1st Class Paul Grundwalt, of Anchorage, Alaska, controls the crane onboard the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper during deployment of the Shipboard Oil-Recovery System.  USCG Photos by PO3 Colin White.

The recovery efforts in and around the Gulf of Mexico can be broken down into four lines of defense.  The larger offshore recovery vessels provide the first line of defense from the spill by recovering or completing controlled burns at the source of the spill.  Larger oil slicks not collected at the source of the spill are then recovered by Coast Guard vessels, like the Juniper,

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 15, 2010
Contact: District 7 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Oak to hold
change-of-command ceremony



CHARLESTON, S.C. — A change-of-command ceremony is scheduled for the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Oak at 10 a.m. Friday located at 1050 Register Street in North Charleston, S.C.

Commander Michael Glander will relinquish command to Lt. Cmdr. Peter Niles, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., during the time-honored military tradition.

A military unit's change of command is a transfer of total responsibility, authority and accountability from one individual to another

Niles’ military service began in the Army from 1984 until 1986 when he enlisted in the Coast Guard.  Niles began his Coast Guard career as a seaman and advanced to the rank of petty officer first class before attending Officer Candidate School in 1996. Niles has served aboard eight cutters and accrued more than 13 years of sea service.

Glander, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., has served as Oak’s commanding officer since 2007. He is scheduled to report to Coast Guard Headquarters where he will serve as chief of the performance integration division.

"I couldn't be more proud to have worked with such a great crew these past three years.  The last six months have been especially opportunity-filled, since the Oak crew played a role in two of the Coast Guard's major responses this year.  I'm confident the crew will continue to excel in its ongoing oil cleanup mission in the Gulf of Mexico - the ship couldn't be in better hands with Lieutenant Commander Niles at the helm," said Glander. 

Oak’s 50-member crew works primarily throughout the southeast United States and Caribbean region where they maintain more than 250 federal aids-to-navigation. In addition, Oak’s missions include maritime law enforcement, alien migrant interdiction, search-and-rescue and marine environment protection.

The crew recently returned from a two-month patrol in the Gulf of Mexico in support of the BP Horizon oil spill response where they conducted oil-skimming operations off the Alabama and Florida coasts. Oak also played a significant role in helping to restore port operations, deliver humanitarian relief and provide medical care to earthquake victims in Haiti.

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 15, 2010
Contact: District 11 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau to hold
change-of-command ceremony



ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m., Friday held in its homeport of Alameda.  Rear Adm. Timothy S. Sullivan, Coast Guard Pacific Area Deputy Commander will serve as the presiding official for the ceremony.
 
Capt. Anthony R. Gentilella will be relinquishing command to Capt. Douglas J. Smith as Commanding Officer of Morgenthau during a time-honored military tradition, which transfers total responsibility, authority and accountability of the unit from one individual to another. 
 
Capt. Smith became the Commanding Officer of Morgenthau in July 2008 during a Change of Command ceremony that took place in the Republic of Singapore.
 
Capt. Gentilella is reporting from the Naval War College in Washington D.C., where he attended the Coast Guard Senior Service School.
 
Morgenthau is a 378- foot high-endurance cutter that routinely deploys for patrols in the Bering Sea and as far south as Central and South America.  In the Bering Sea, Morgenthau performs search and rescue operations, as well as fisheries boarding’s to protect the abundance of fish in U.S. waters.  In the Southern Pacific, Morgenthau’s mission primarily focuses on preventing illegal immigration into the U.S. and supporting the Coast Guard’s counter-narcotics mission.  Patrolling the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean, Morgenthau has traveled more than 47,000 nautical miles throughout Capt. Smith’s tenure.   
 
In 2008, Morgenthau traveled to Southeast Asia to assist, train, and teach law enforcement techniques to naval forces in the East Asian littoral.  During a drug interdiction patrol off the Coast of Mexico in early 2009, Morgenthau seized $32 million worth of cocaine.  Over the last year, Morgenthau deployed on two Alaska patrols encompassing 148 days away from homeport. Morgenthau conducted search and rescue cases and fishery enforcement boardings in some of the most challenging environmental conditions during these two patrols. Today, Morgenthau continues to set the standard in accomplishment of the Coast Guard’s traditional missions as well as those that have gained significance in the wake of the September 11th attacks and the emergence of the Department of Homeland Security.

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: July 15, 2010
Contact: District 17 Public Affairs

Funeral for petty officer killed in Sitka
helicopter crash held in Anchorage



ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Coast Guard and family members carry the flag draped casket of Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett Banks who was laid to rest in the National Cemetery on Fort Richardson July 15, 2010. Banks was killed when the Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, 6017, transiting from Air Station Astoria, Ore., to Sitka went down in the waters off La Push, Wash., July 7, 2010.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class David Simonds above right holds tight as Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Lefaiver folds the American Flag that was draped over the casket of Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett Banks who was laid to rest in the National Cemetery on Fort Richardson.



Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Troy Brevick above left presents the American Flag to Tiffiny Banks wife of Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett Banks who was laid to rest in the National Cemetery on Fort Richardson.

Coast Guard and family members above right carry the casket of Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett Banks who was laid to rest in the National Cemetery on Fort Richardson July 15, 2010.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 16, 2010
Contact: District 8 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Pamlico
receives new commanding officer



NEW ORLEANS — Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer H. Vance Caskey (left, left above) relieved Chief Warrant Officer J. Eric Foster in a formal change-of-command ceremony, July 16, 2010. The change-of-command ceremony is a time honored tradition where one commanding officer relieves another and assumes the duties and responsibilities of the unit.

Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer J. Eric Foster above middle was relieved of his duty as commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Pamlico, during a formal change-of-command ceremony, July 16, 2010. During his career, Foster has traveled over 218,648 miles and covered 90 percent of the U.S. coastline aboard Coast Guard cutters and small boats.

Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer H. Vance Caskey above right relieved Chief Warrant Officer J. Eric Foster in a formal change-of-command ceremony, July 16, 2010. Caskey entered the Coast Guard in March 1991 and has served at numerous Coast Guard units. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel.

Press Release

[BuoyJumper]

Coast Guard officer pulls
motorist from burning car
Rhoda A. Pickett, Press-Register
Saturday, July 17, 2010

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Kenneth Wayne Miller said Friday that he grew frustrated watching a car on the Dauphin Island bridge burn, its driver trapped inside.

"I realized that this guy was alive and we were sitting there watching the flames getting higher, that we were going to sit here and watch this guy die," Miller said. "We just kicked it into high gear."

It was at that point that Miller, aided by other motorists, went into action and rescued the driver. Within seconds, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames.

Dauphin Island police have not identified the driver of a maroon Chevrolet Cavalier who was traveling southbound when his vehicle veered into the other lane, hit the concrete wall and caught on fire.

The driver was taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center. His condition was not available Friday.


Coast Guard Lt. Wayne Miller, an operations branch director of
Incident Command Post (ICP), Mobile and Alabama Deputy State
Fire Marshall Michael K. Talley helped in the rescue of a man caught
in a car fire on highway 193 near the Dauphin Island Bridge, where
a waiting ambulance brought him to the USA Medical Burn Center here,
July 16, 2010. Miller arrived on scene about 11 a.m. and with the help
of bystanders pulled the man out of the car about 30 seconds before
it became engulfed in flames. Talley is helping to investigate the cause
of the accident.


Miller, 45, a reservist called up to active duty for the oil spill, is branch director of Mobile operations. He had left a site in Theodore and was on his way to a meeting on Dauphin Island when he came upon the accident.

A couple of other motorists had stopped to help also, he said. Miller said they wondered where the driver was.

Through the heavy smoke coming from the vehicle, Miller said he could make out the driver still sitting behind the steering wheel. The doors were locked and the windows were up.

"We couldn't get inside," Miller said.

They looked around for a crowbar, something to break the windows and found a pipe from a nearby truck. He broke all the windows.

"From the way he looked I didn't expect him to be alive," Miller said.

Then he saw the driver take a breath.

"The flames were so hot and he was hot," Miller said. "We had a hard time reaching in to unlock the doors."

Someone threw Miller a pair of leather work gloves, and he freed the driver from the seatbelt. Then, helped by other motorists, Miller dragged the victim about 20 feet from the car. Seconds later, the car was engulfed in flames. Other drivers used fire extinguishers on the car.

"We were very lucky with our timing," he said.

Dauphin Island officials said that the driver -- a white male -- was burned on his upper body.

Miller said that driver was able to talk and answer questions before the ambulance arrived.

The Coast Guardsman said his actions reflect his training.

"I was trying to help and do the right thing," Miller said. "Any Coasty would have probably done the same thing.

"They (other motorists) were all helping. Everyone was trying to help this guy out. It wasn't just me."

Traffic on the bridge was stopped until about 12:30 p.m., Dauphin Island officials said. Police and Fire Department officials, as well as the state fire marshal, continue to investigate, officials said.

Original Article

[BuoyJumper]

Coast Guard retiree group
works to restore city park
BY ALEX DOTY
July 19, 2010

GRAND HAVEN, MI. — A local group of current and former U.S. Coast Guard service members are giving Grand Haven's Escanaba Park some much-needed care in the weeks leading up to the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival.


City crews and volunteers from the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association above left work to restore the buoy area at Escanaba Park in Grand Haven on Wednesday morning.  In the photo above right, Tony Fiore, president of the Grand Haven Chapter of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association, repairs one of the wooden stanchions surrounding the mast at Escanaba Park in Grand Haven on Wednesday morning.  (Tribune photos/Alex Doty)

"About three months ago, we reinstated the Grand Haven chapter of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association, and our community service project is the caretaker status of the Escanaba memorial," said Tony Fiore, president of the local chapter. "We started it back in '95 and did it for 2-3 years, (and) kind of lost membership."

Work at the Grand Haven waterfront park isn't just a coat of paint. It includes the replacement of all of the lifelines and stanchions, and the mast and large buoys are being repainted.

Assisting the Coast Guard group on Wednesday was a city crew that was replacing all of the bricks in the park.

Over the winter, work will be done to refurbish the Escanaba lifeboat that is propped next to the Escanaba mast.

"It's a good community service project," said Dave Karpin, a retired USCG chief petty officer who lives in Grand Haven. "As a member of the local Chief Petty Officers Association, we needed a good community project to do, and we chose Escanaba Park because of its ties to the Coast Guard and the festival."

Karpin said the park definitely needed to be spruced up, and the foundation has been set for future work to take place there if it is needed.

"Maybe in a couple more years, we'll come back and do it again," he said.

According to the Grand Haven chapter's mission statement, the group is committed to building strength and value to the chief petty officers' service to the Coast Guard by providing opportunities to work together and learn from each other.

While they plan to focus on the Escanaba Park and its restoration, the Grand Haven group also plans on taking on other community service projects — such as an Adopt-a-Highway program in the area.

"We draw membership on the whole coast — from Manistee down to Michigan City (Ind.) — so we're going to take on some projects north and south, because we're drawing everybody in," said Fiore, who lives in Grand Haven Township.

VIDEO:  Escanaba Park in GH get makeover
(5th one down on the left side column)
Original Article

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: July 21, 2010
Contact: CGHQ Public Affairs

Commandant Papp addresses a U.S. Senate
Committee about port security issues.


 
WASHINGTON — Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard above left, arrives at the Russell Senate Office Building, July 21, 2010, to testify about port security issues at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. U.S.

Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard prepares to testify about port security issues at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, July 21, 2010.

 

Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, testifies about port security issues at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, July 21, 2010. Seated next to Papp, the Honorable Alan Bersin, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Mr. Stephen L. Caldwell, U.S. Government and Accountability Office director of homeland security and justice issues, also testified. U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 1st Class Luke Pinneo

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: July 21, 2010
Contact: District 11 Public Affairs

USCGC WAESCHE returns
to Alameda from patrol.


 
ALAMEDA — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, the second National Security Cutter, passes the Coast Guard Cutters Morgenthau, Sherman and Boutwell, all 378-foot cutters, while preparing to moor at Coast Guard Island, July 22, 2010. The National Security Cutters will replace the aging 378-foot high endurance cutters that have been in service since the 1960s.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Morgenthau, Sherman and Boutwell are moored to the pier at Coast Guard Island, July 22, 2010. The three, 378-foot cutters have collectively served for 127 years and are homeported in Alameda. U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Melissa Leake.

Photo Release

[EX-CG-GM]

Nice picture!  The 378's may be old but three of them together, plus the Waesche, makes a pretty sight.   

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: July 24, 2010
Contact: CGHQ Public Affairs

Deepwater Horizon conference
call with ADM. Thad Allen.


Click on the photo to hear the conference call

Conf. Call Release