Coast Guard News

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: August 05, 2010
Contact: District 7 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Confidence to
hold change of command ceremony



PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence is scheduled to host a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral Friday at 10 a.m.

Cmdr. William J. Lawrence will be relieved by Cmdr. Matthew Meilstrup as the commanding officer of the Confidence, a 210-foot Reliance-class cutter, home ported in Port Canaveral.

Meilstrup graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Science.  Prior to his assignment as commanding officer aboard the Confidence, Meilstrup has served aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Gentian,  as Operations Officer in the U. S. Navy Exchange Program aboard the USS Sirocco, and as the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Point Huron. He then served as the Hotel Company Officer at the Coast Guard Academy and after several summers sailing aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, he served for one year as the operations officer of America’s Tall Ship. He was the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Sassafras in Guam and later commissioned the Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia.

Lawrence graduated in 1990 from the Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Science. He has previously served aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Chilula, the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, the Coast Guard Cutter Staten Island, and the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance.

The Confidence was commissioned Feb. 19, 1966 and is the fifth Reliance-class medium endurance cutter. Under Lawrence’s leadership as the commanding officer of the Confidence, the crew conducted law enforcement boardings, provided assistance to distressed mariners, and repatriated over 250 Cuban and Haitian migrants.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition preserved by the rich heritage of naval tradition. It is a formal and impressive custom, which strengthens the respect for authority. The culmination and heart of the ceremony is reached when both officers formally read their official orders, face one another, salute and transfer responsibility for the command. This tradition is wholly naval, without an equivalent in the Army or Air Force and descends from the early British Royal Navy.

Press Release

[GreenET1]

Looks like both these guys are participants Claude  .

OK, so I guess in this case I do not know what I talking about.

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: August 17, 2010
Contact: District 8 Public Affairs

Commandant Papp
attends CPOA Convention



NEW ORLEANS, LA. — Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, receives an honorary master chief award from Tim Trimble, a retired boatswain's mate master chief, at the Chief Petty Officer Association Convention at the Renaissance Pere Marquette in downtown, Aug. 16, 2010.

The commandant and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Leavitt, provided information and feedback concerning the modernization of the Coast Guard and the role of leadership chiefs fulfill toward the future of the organization. (U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Colclough.)

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Is Coast Guard sinking under its own weight?
By Joe Stephens and Mary Pat Flaherty | The Washington Post


An HH-65A Dolphin helicopter prepares to land Saturday on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Decisive, which is assisting in operations near the Deepwater Horizon oil wellhead on the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard in recent years has fought international terrorism, defended Iraqi pipelines and patrolled for pirates in the Arabian Sea.

Its work in such high-visibility missions accelerated after Sept. 11, 2001, when Congress swept the Coast Guard into the Homeland Security Department. More funding followed.

But the changes had the unintended consequence of lowering the profile of the Coast Guard's vital programs related to oil. "Priorities changed," a 2002 Coast Guard budget report said.

Internal and congressional studies highlighted the difficulty the agency faces in balancing its many added responsibilities. "Oil-spill issues were not at the top of the list," said retired Capt. Lawson Brigham, a former strategic planner for the Coast Guard.

When Coast Guard inspectors board offshore drilling rigs such as the Deepwater Horizon, which exploded and killed 11 workers in April, they rely on regulations put in place three decades ago, when offshore drilling operations were far less sophisticated, records show. The Coast Guard acknowledged 11 years ago in a little-noticed disclosure that its regulations had "not kept pace with the changing offshore technology or the safety problems it creates."

Since the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, investigations into oversight gaps have focused on systemic problems within the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, which in recent weeks has been renamed and revamped.

But the Coast Guard, which shared oversight with MMS, has largely escaped scrutiny. While the MMS inspected drilling equipment, the Coast Guard inspected rigs for worker safety. It also set standards for companies that clean up spills, and has coordinated the joint response to the spill in the gulf.

Some analysts said the spill highlights the need to rethink Coast Guard priorities. In the past 35 years, Congress has handed the agency at least 27 new responsibilities, according to a tally by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"They just don't have enough personnel to carry out all those missions," said Oberstar, who favors severing the Coast Guard from the Homeland Security Department. "That's just not possible."

Coast Guard officials said they did not have budget figures to compare how much is spent on oil-related programs now and before Sept. 11, 2001. Even current budget numbers for these programs are unclear because spending falls into two categories that encompass many other activities, including fighting invasive species and oversight of recreational boating. Marine environmental protection was allotted 2 percent of this year's operating expenses, marine safety 8 percent.

The Coast Guard said that before 2001, the agency was organized differently. A private study in 2003 by one Coast Guard officer calculated that, before the attacks, marine environmental programs accounted for 11 percent of operating funds and marine safety accounted for 14 percent.

Congressional staffers said the lack of reliable figures has complicated their efforts to ensure that vital programs are not neglected.

Juggling diverse missions is far from the only challenge the Coast Guard faces. Its maritime fleet is aging, and a long-delayed fleet- modernization plan has suffered design flaws and cost overruns; it is now under Justice Department scrutiny. The White House has recommended budget cuts. And the Coast Guard's marine-safety programs have suffered a drain as personnel sought higher-profile assignments.

Senior Coast Guard officials said the agency's many missions make it stronger because ships patrolling for terrorists might happen across drug smugglers or an oil slick. They said that crews develop complementary skills and that combining missions saves money.

Coast Guard officials point out that until April, oil spills had decreased dramatically. They said mission statistics do not reflect the division of labor at sea, where crews are ready for whatever comes their way.

"The Coast Guard takes its role as an environmental-response agency seriously," said Capt. Anthony Lloyd, chief of the Office of Incident Management and Preparedness.

But even some defenders of the Coast Guard fear that it is edging toward crisis.

"It's basically at the breaking point," former commander Stephen Flynn said.

Federal regulation of offshore drilling grew over the years into a patchwork. The MMS leased offshore drilling rights to private companies, approved emergency response plans and inspected drilling equipment. The Coast Guard ensured the seaworthiness of mobile drilling units.

Today, Coast Guard inspectors examine navigational equipment, lifesaving apparatus and fire protection systems, and look after day-to-day worker safety. The agency also oversees containment of oil and major spill cleanup.

The most rigorous Coast Guard inspections occur on U.S.-flagged oil rigs; they last for days. Rigs registered in other countries, such as the Marshall Islands-flagged Deepwater Horizon, get a six-hour review. A three-person Coast Guard team last visited Deepwater Horizon in July 2009, found no major deficiencies and issued a two-year compliance certificate.

When inspectors show up, they often spot-check paperwork produced by private companies, which the Coast Guard refers to as "stakeholders."

"It's more of a community policing kind of approach: get to know the neighbors, help an old lady cross the street," said Flynn, the former Coast Guard commander, who heads the Center for National Policy, a Washington think tank. "You build a level of collaboration, rather than an `us-vs.-them' kind of approach."

Two months before the gulf blowout, the Obama administration proposed a 3 percent cut in Coast Guard funding and active-duty personnel. The plan would slash 1,100 military personnel and decommission the National Strike Force Coordination Center, which manages oil-spill response. "Not a good idea," Oberstar said.

Coast Guard officials have long acknowledged strained resources, especially with ships and aircraft.

In February, Adm. Thad Allen, then Coast Guard commandant, said in a speech that the Coast Guard operates one of the world's oldest fleets, with high-endurance cutters averaging 41 years of age, compared to 14 for the U.S. Navy.

"No amount of maintenance can outpace the ravages of age," Allen said, describing the sputtering performance of cutters assigned to Haiti relief work. "The condition of our fleet continues to deteriorate, putting our crews at risk, jeopardizing our ability to do the job."

During the initial gulf response, Coast Guard logs show that three aircraft and one cutter suffered mechanical problems that delayed or scuttled their missions, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity.

In 2007, at Allen's request, Vice Admiral James Card interviewed 170 civilian mariners and Coast Guard personnel about marine safety operations. He found consensus that programs were deteriorating.

The biggest concern, Card wrote in his report, "was that the Coast Guard no longer considered Marine Safety an important mission."

The Coast Guard had become a "fundamentally different" organization, Card was told. New editions of the official "U.S. Coast Guard Strategy," a 54-page manual, contained a single page discussing marine safety, agency personnel said.

Many experienced inspectors have left the service or have transferred to more "career-enhancing" assignments, leaving behind a significant number who are seen as unqualified, the report said. In one service division, marine inspectors spent only about 40 percent of their time on inspections.

"Every Marine Safety professional I talked to in the Coast Guard, both at Headquarters and in the field, said they didn't have enough people to do the job," Card wrote. "Some stories were alarming."

Officers feared that choosing to work in marine safety for the long term could damage their careers because senior officials were unsupportive. The report did not address environmental-response programs, but said many people interviewed expressed similar concerns about those programs losing "experience, resources, knowledge and focus."

The report's findings were underscored this year at a hearing on the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Lt. Commander Michael Odom, head of the team that inspected the rig in July 2009, testified that Coast Guard regulations are outdated.

"The pace of the technology has definitely outrun the current regulations," Odom testified.

In fact, qualifications for inspectors assigned to mobile offshore drilling units, such as Deepwater, have not been updated since 2007. Although offshore inspectors are supposed to receive annual specialized training, that has occurred sporadically, officers testified in May. Even with training, they said, it takes a year for an inspector to comprehend the technologically complex rigs.

Others in the field fear that an overemphasis on homeland security could actually make the United States less safe, by drawing funding and attention away from other programs

"Spending so little on this just makes no sense," Flynn said. "I can't come up with any terrorism scenario, short of perhaps a nuclear weapon launched near a city, that could produce nearly as much destruction as we're seeing with this man-made disaster in the Gulf of Mexico."

Original Article

[BuoyJumper]

The BP oil spill:
An unprecedented response
By Thad Allen
Monday, August 23, 2010



WASHINGTON — When I was a junior officer fresh out of the Coast Guard Academy in 1971, a crusty old warrant officer told me that an idea of mine was in the "too hard to" do locker. The implication was that some problems are unsolvable and thus get banished to innovation purgatory. I invoked that line last May at the memorial services for retired Chief Warrant Officer Bernie Webber, who almost five decades ago accomplished what is regarded as the greatest small-boat rescue in Coast Guard history. In February 1952 Webber and his three crewmen maneuvered a surf rescue boat over the Chatham Bar on Cape Cod in gale-force winds. They rescued 33 crew members from the stern of a tanker that had broken in half in a storm. Bernie taught us all that day how to create the art of the possible where none appears to exist, and gave 33 people back their lives. He had opened the "too hard to" locker.

Our country encountered this sort of seemingly impossible-to-open locker on April 20. The explosion, subsequent fire and ultimate sinking of the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. Eleven lives were lost. This summer, we watched the uncontrolled discharge of tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day. The disaster caused economic deprivation and put at risk an entire way of life.

A "fail-safe" system had failed; there was no human access to the source of the oil. Despite the mobilization of countless resources from the start, the response was criticized by some as inadequate and feeble. Much as Tip O'Neill told us about politics, it turns out that all oil spills are local.

Yet four months later, the landscape and seascape have changed. We now know that 53,000 barrels were likely escaping each day from the well, but the well was capped on July 15. And while nearly 5 million barrels were released into the gulf, we are beginning to understand what happened to it.

We also know we mobilized the largest public- and private-sector disaster response in this nation's history. This summer we did things that have never been done before: We employed 7,000 vessels of opportunity, a waterborne militia that has no precedent. We took control of the air space in the Gulf of Mexico to improve flight safety and more effectively employ air surveillance from the same base that defends North America from air attack. We mobilized the largest number of oil skimmers and deployed more containment boom than ever before in our country. In the process, emergency regulations authorizing the relocation of response equipment from across the country were issued in a matter of days.

It was more than just marshaling forces on the water and on the shore. Nearly every agency of the government was involved, and not only the ones you would expect, such as the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but also the Defense Department, the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and others.

We stood up a special science team, led by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who oversaw every technical aspect of the well-kill efforts. The science team also got us a precise flow rate and an oil budget that estimates where the oil went.

Led by the president, the first lady and the vice president, administration officials have made more than 75 trips to the region; all had responsibility for some portion of our response.

We responded with government effort at all levels that moved beyond the tactical issue of oil on the water to address socioeconomic effects, public health, long-term environmental impact, and responsive near-term emergency services and support. Again, we have done things on a scale with no precedent. Did we learn things along the way? Absolutely. We should have done some things sooner, like taking control of the airspace and transitioning from boom to skimmers.

Is there more work to do? Certainly. Our estimates suggest a quarter of the oil that leaked could still be in the water. What's left is breaking down, but that doesn't mean it isn't a threat, and we won't stop going after it until it's gone. Do laws and regulations need to be revised? Of course. Do we have all the answers to long-term effects to the environment from the oil spilled or dispersants used? Not yet, and we should not add to the cost of this spill by failing to learn these things.

It hasn't always been pretty, but we have opened the "too hard to" locker. We are poised to finish this response and move to long-term recovery. It has been one of the more consequential exercises in adapting the elements of national power together with local government and the private sector to deal with problems of unprecedented complexity. No one is claiming victory or "mission accomplished" at this point, nor should we. We should, however, recognize what has been done.

The writer, a retired Coast Guard admiral, is the national incident commander of the BP oil spill.

Original Article

[BuoyJumper]

Press Release
Date: August 23, 2010
Contact: District 13 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Mellon returns to homeport
after 5-month international deployment


Family members of the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon await the cutter’s arrival back to homeport here, Aug. 23, 2010. The crew concluded a five-month deployment to Southeast Asia in support of the international Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises. USCG photos by PO3 Colin White. 

SEATTLE — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon returned to homeport here, Monday, concluding a five-month deployment to Southeast Asia in support of the international Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises.  USCG VIDEO of homecoming.

Since departing March 31, 2010 Mellon has been an active partner throughout the success of the exercises. Under the command of Navy Destroyer Squadron 31, Mellon engaged in five training phases focused on strengthening relations and interoperability with the maritime services of Southeast Asia. The multi-national exercises consisted of training scenarios both on land and at sea, which took place in Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Throughout the CARAT deployment Mellon partnered with maritime law enforcement counterparts in law enforcement procedures and simulated boardings, small-boat operations, air-defenses exercises and tactical ship maneuvering.


Ens. Taylor Gruver greets her mother following the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon’s arrival back to her
homeport here, Aug. 23, 2010.  Cmdr. Jadon Klopson, executive officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon,
receives a warm welcome home from family (USCG photos by PO3 Colin White)

The crew of the Mellon also participated in community service projects to improve local conditions and establish a personal connection with residents. Combined service projects included mentoring children, rebuilding schools, and planting trees.

Mellon is commanded by Capt. David S. Klipp and has a crew of 170 officers and enlisted personnel. A 378-foot, high-endurance cutter, Mellon typically performs lengthy patrols enforcing fishery laws in Alaskan waters and counter-narcotics operations off the coast of Central America.

Press Release

[EX-CG-GM]

Thought the CG was going to minimal manning on these ships.  We had about 160 for our Nam deployment on the Mellon.  Now it has 170?

[BuoyJumper]

Thought the CG was going to minimal manning on these ships.  We had about 160 for our Nam deployment on the Mellon.  Now it has 170?

Stan ... According to the spec sheet for the  378-foot Hamilton Class  cutters they normally have a crew compliment of 19 officers and 148 enlisted.  About the same number aboard for your Viet Nam deployment.  I would have thought that with the CARAT deployment they might even have more personnel aboard than normal for training crews from participant CARAT countries but apparently they don't.  Just the normal crew compliment for these deployments.

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: August 24, 2010
Contact: District 13 Public Affairs
USCG photos PO Shawn Eggert

Coast Guard Maritime Safety Unit Portland
established, command changes hands


Above left, Captain Douglas Kaup presents Chief Andrew Dryer with a Meritorious Unit Commendation in recognition of the work done by the crew of Coast Guard Sector Portland leading up the the establishment of Coast Guard Maritime Safety Unit (MSU) Portland, August 24, 2010. Many of the crew from Sector Portland will stay on with MSU Portland while others will begin work at the newly-established Coast Guard Sector Columba River in Astoria, Oregon.  Above right, Captain Daniel LeBlanc shakes the hand of Captain Leonard Tumbarello after relieving Tumbarello of command of the newly-established Coast Guard Maritime Safety Unit Portland, August 24, 2010. Tumbarello will report to Coast Guard Sector Columbia River in Astoria, Ore., to serve as Deputy Commanding Officer.

PORTLAND, Ore., — Capt. Daniel L. LeBlanc took charge of Marine Safety Unit Portland during a ceremony Tuesday.

LeBlanc relieved Captain Leonard Tumbarello who will assume the duties of Deputy Commander of Sector Columbia River in Astoria, Ore., which was formed along with Marine Safety Unit Portland by combining Sector Portland with Group/Air Station Astoria.

Both newly formed units are aimed at increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Coast Guard personnel and assets.

"As Commanding Officer of the newly commissioned Marine Safety Unit Portland, my primary focus will be to maintain, and in many cases exceed, the traditional high level of customer service provided to the maritime industry stakeholders in the Portland area," said LeBlanc.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: August 25, 2010
Contact: District 9 Public Affairs
USCG photos PO2 Lauren Jorgensen

Coast Guard assists during
Chicago Tall Ships Festival



CHICAGO, IL. — The 99-year-old "Europa" above left heads to Chicago's Navy Pier.  A U.S. Coast Guard 25-foot Response Boat-Small enforces a safety zone around the tall ship Royaliste as it heads toward Navy Pier for the Tall Ships Festival in Chicago Aug. 24, 2010. Coast Guard boat crews from Stations Wilmette Harbor, Ill., Calumet Harbor, Ill., and Calumet Harbor's seasonal sub-unit, Station (Small) Chicago, enforced safety zones around the tall ships during the parade of sail.



LEFT:  Aboard the tall ship Europa, (left to right) U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Jack Hambidge of Marine Safety Unit Chicago talks with the Europa's Captain, Klass Gaastra, about safety equipment on board the Europa during the Tall Ships Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago Aug. 24, 2010. Coast Guard marine inspectors boarded all the tall ships before visitors were allowed on to ensure the ships met all the safety requirements. 

RIGHT:  Aboard the tall ship Royaliste, Wayne "Lord Pirate Captain Marcato" Marquardt listens as U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Jack Hambidge of Marine Safety Unit Chicago explains the safety requirements the Royaliste must meet before people may board the vessel for tours during the Tall Ships Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago Aug. 24, 2010. Coast Guard marine inspectors boarded every tall ship before visitors were allowed on to ensure the ships met all the safety requirements.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Feature Story Release
Date: August 26, 2010
Contact: District 7 Public Affairs

A guardian Coastie is never "off-duty"


Petty Officer 1st Class David Alred, 30, a machinery technician with
Coast Guard Security Detachment Mayport, Fla., rescued two injured
boaters while off-duty Aug. 21, 2010. Alred, a native of Middleburg,
Fla., is a 9-year CG veteran.  (USCG photo by PO1 Christopher Evanson)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was supposed to be a quiet morning. For Petty Officer 1st Class David Alred, an active duty Coast Guardsman and a father of a one-year-old child, it was a rare break to go fishing.

Alred, 30, a native of Middleburg, Fla., loaded up his 17-foot fishing boat and departed the Mayport Boat Ramp Saturday about 6 a.m. He was fishing on the banks of on the St. John's River adjacent to Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, the sun yet to rise, when the search and rescue alarm sounded.

"I always keep my VHF radio on channel 16," said Alred referring to the preferred radio frequency for reporting emergencies on the water. "The Coast Guard station was warning all vessels to be on the lookout for two boaters clinging to a navigational aid."

So instinctively the fishing poles were stored and Alred changed course.

Alred followed the 25-foot Coast Guard rescue boat crew that launched to Pablo Creek, a small marshy area that feeds off the St. John's River. He spoke with the coxswain of the boat crew, the term used to refer to Coast Guard small boat drivers, and suddenly found himself part of the rescue evolution.

"The Coxswain asked me if I could make it to the light range where the two boaters we were looking for were stuck and get them off the range," said Alred. The boat crew could not reach the boaters due to shallow water depth and muddy conditions.

"The sun was starting to come up, and I made my way to the range," he said. He tied up his boat to the light range where the boaters had been waiting throughout the night.

"The boaters had climbed up the ladder and attempted to notify passerby's with a light they had," said Alred. "They said they had been there since 2 a.m."

Muddy, cold and bruised up, they were now safe. The evening before a leisure after dinner boat ride turned chaotic when the recreational boat struck an unknown object, totaling the boat and leaving the two boaters stranded. Lucky for them the water was shallow enough for them to make their way to the light range in an attempt to locate help. Approximately five hours later, Alred saved the day.

Alred transferred the boaters to the Coast Guard rescue boat crew who delivered them to awaiting EMS personnel ashore

"In my career, I have been a part of rescues," said Alred. "But I had never physically been the rescuer. It feels good to be a part of something positive."

This Saturday, Alred plans to be back on the water fishing and to the other boaters out there, rest assured, you have a guardian on the watch.

Feature Story Release

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: August 28, 2010
Contact: District 7 Public Affairs

Fort Walton Beach, Florida
holds Military Appreciation Day



FT. WALTON BEACH, Fla. — Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District, stands next to Walter Richardson, one of the last living members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, at a military appreciation day in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., Aug. 28, 2010. Landry and Richardson participated in the ceremony commemorating the passing of Petty Officer 3rd Class Lonnie Jones, who died in the execution of a search and rescue case in 1981.

Above right:  The family of Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Lonnie Jones takes part in a military appreciation day in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., Aug. 28, 2010. The ceremony commemorated the passing of Jones, who died in the execution of a search and rescue case in 1981. U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann.



Above left:  Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District, leads the proceedings at a military appreciation day in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., Aug. 28, 2010. Landry and other Coast Guard representatives participated in the ceremony commemorating the passing of Petty Officer 3rd Class Lonnie Jones, who died in the execution of a search and rescue case in 1981.

Above right:  Coast Guard members from Coast Guard Station Destin, Fla., won first place in a pizza-eating contest at the military appreciation day in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., Aug. 28, 2010. The prize was an $895 check that was awarded to the Lonnie Jones Foundation. Jones died in the execution of a search and rescue case in 1981. U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Decorated hero leaves Coast Guard
Wednesday, September 01, 2010



A Springfield native, twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for service in sea rescues, recently retired from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Capt. Paul S. Ratte, a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, retired following a change-of-command ceremony at his most recent post, the Coast Guard's air station in Atlantic City, N.J.

Ratte had served as the commanding officer of the air station since Aug. 17, 2007.

After graduation from the academy, Ratte served as a deck watch officer tour aboard the Coast Guard cutter Alert, attended naval flight training and was designated a Coast Guard aviator in 1987.

He flew the HH-3F Pelican helicopter at air stations on Cape Cod and in Kodiak, Alaska, before transitioning to fly the HH-60J Jayhawk. Following a tour as a Jayhawk instructor pilot at Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., he returned to Kodiak.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for night rescues in severe weather that saved seven lives.

He served as operations officer at the Coast Guard's largest air station in Clearwater, Fla., where he directed the use of 18 aircraft throughout the southeast United States and the Caribbean basin.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he helped develop new tactics to aerially deliver Coast Guard security boarding teams to under way ships by helicopter hoist. He commanded the air station in Traverse City, Mich., from 2003 to 2005, where he oversaw Coast Guard helicopter operations in the northern Midwest including lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron. While serving there, he also qualified as aircraft commander in his third type of helicopter, the Dolphin.

During his next tour, as chief of Pacific area operational plans and force readiness, he helped shape maritime homeland security policies and increased the Coast Guard partnership with the maritime services of other Pacific rim nations.

Ratte holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Coast Guard Academy and a master's degree in business administration from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

In addition to his Distinguished Flying Crosses, his military awards include three Meritorious Service Medals, the Air Medal, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, and several other personal and unit awards.

Ratte is married to Barbara Jo, and they are the parents of four children, Ali, 19, Lynn, 17, and Mitch and Steve, 14. He is a 1980 graduate of Technical High School and is the son of Lawrence and Beverly Ratte, of Monson.

Original Article

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: September 01, 2010
Contact: District 5 Public Affairs

AirSta Elizabeth City conducts
hurricane warning flights



ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane is shown in preparation for a search and rescue patrol at Air Station Elizabeth City, Aug. 31, 2010. The crew of the C-130 broadcasted a warning message to boating and shipping traffic from the northern tip of New Jersey to the southern border of North Carolina.

Above right:  Lt. Jeremy Davis, Air Station Elizabeth City public affairs officer, speaks to the media about the dangers of approaching Hurricane Earl and the Coast Guard's preventive safety measures at Air Station Elizabeth City, Aug. 31, 2010. The media was invited to a C-130 Hercules aircrew as they performed a search and rescue patrol.  U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert.

Photo Release

[BuoyJumper]

Gulf oil platform explodes,
burning off La. coast
Date: September 02, 2010

VIDEO



NEW ORLEANS, LA. — An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion.

The Coast Guard said no one was killed in the explosion, which was spotted by a commercial helicopter flying over the site Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known.

They were rescued from the water by an offshore service vessel, the Crystal Clear, said Coast Guard Cmdr. She said they were taken to a nearby platform. All were being flown to the Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma to be checked over.

"Thirteen people were seen huddled together in the water wearing gumby suits or immersion suits, water protection suits, so we were able to confirm that all people were accounted for," Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.

Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala., Ben-Iesau said. She said authorities do not know whether oil was leaking from the site.

The platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston, according to a homeland security operations update obtained by The Associated Press. The platform was not producing oil and gas, according to the operations report.

Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for Bureau of Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, said the platform was authorized to produce oil and gas at this water depth but had not been recently in active production.

"There were ongoing maintenance activities underway," she said, adding it was in approximately 340 feet of water.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting and did not know whether Obama had been informed of the explosion.

"We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water," Gibbs said.

A call to the company seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Mariner Energy focuses on oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico. In April, Apache Corp., another independent petroleum company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner's debt. That deal is pending.

Apache spokesman Bob Dye said the platform is in shallow water. A company report said the well was drilled in the third quarter of 2008 in 340 feet of water.

Responding to an oil spill in shallow water is much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles access equipment on the sea floor.

The platform is about 200 miles west of BP's blown out Macondo well. On Friday, BP was expected to begin the process of removing the cap and failed blowout preventer, another step toward completion of a relief well that would complete the choke of the well. The BP-leased rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 people and setting off a massive oil spill.

Original Article