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Because of reductions in government and changes in the recreational boating world, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary—the 55-year-old civilian volunteer branch of the U.S. Coast Guard—is broadening its focus from its traditional role of promoting recreational boating safety to include a wide range of support activities for the regular Coast Guard. As the Chief Director of the Auxiliary, Captain A. A. Sarra, U.S. Coast Guard, said recently, “Auxiliary participation or Auxiliary support is appropriate in all Coast Guard missions with the exception of combat or direct law-enforcement activities, or perhaps polar ice breaking.”
This change is being driven by a number of factors—including the lack of growth in the Auxiliary’s ranks, the staggering increase of the recreational boating population, and the austere federal budgetary climate. The expansion of its role was recognized in proposed legislation, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Act—which is part of this year’s Coast Guard Authorization Act. According to the Auxiliary’s chief legal officer, Joseph A. Gordon, the law would “substantially enhance the ability of the Coast Guard to use the Auxiliary for a multitude of new missions.”
As the organization evolves, one of the greater concerns is the Auxiliary’s
future in its traditional field: boating safety. With membership remaining static at 35,000 for the past several years and the numbers of boaters expected to reach 20 million by 2000, does it make sense to keep boating safety—encompassed by the “Cornerstone” tasks of public education, operations, and vessel examination— as the Auxiliary’s sole mission?
Auxiliary National Commodore Peter Melera thinks the job now is to confront reality and say “we can’t expect to recruit another 30,000” volunteers, whose only interest is in meeting the mushrooming demands of the boating public. Moreover, he notes, there are as many as 35 other organizations involved in boating safety, from the Red Cross to the Army Corps of Engineers. The combined effort of these organizations has brought about a reduction in deaths among U.S. recreational boaters. Given the number of groups involved, Mr. Melera says the Auxiliary must decide whether to hang its hat solely on the safe-boating mission or to reach out.
According to Mr. Melera, in the next century, “the Auxiliary will evolve into a multi-mission organization” supporting all the civil functions of the Coast Guard. “In fact,” he says, “the statistics of the past five years show those changes have al-
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ready begun.” He sees three primary “drivers” behind this evolution:
► Federal budget restrictions and the overall restructuring of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is following a parallel course with the regular Coast Guard. “We’re doing that partly because they are doing that,” Melera said. “But also because it is long overdue.”
► Continuing expansion of the boating public and the static nature of Auxiliary membership, and the large number of other agencies involved in boating safety. The current Auxiliary strength is “saturated” with boating safety missions, Melera asserts.
► The loss of a vigorous operations program. The Auxiliary was removed from conducting non-emergency search-and-rescue operations, primarily because commercial towing companies objected strongly to what they perceived as unfair competition with their business.
Furthermore, an increasing number of states require boaters to take safety courses. Coupled with insurance discounts for safe-boating course graduates and the abundance of organizations involved in boating safety, this will foster a high level of public interest in boating education—as well as increased interest in the private sector in the business of boating safety. And, as noted, the numbers of boaters the Auxiliary will be able to instruct will represent an increasingly smaller fraction of the demand.
“Hence, a refocus and reorientation of the Auxiliary mission is in order,” Mr. Melera said. “Fortunately it comes at a time when the parent service can well utilize the Auxiliary force, in the commandant’s words as ‘a force multiplier’ in a variety of Coast Guard missions—all of which pertain to the Coast Guard’s civil functions.” In fact, in his 1 June 1994 change-of-com- mand address, Admiral Robert E. Kramek said his goals “will focus on maximizing all of our resources: active, reserve, civilian, Auxiliary, and retirees to preserve our multi-mission capabilities.”
The Auxiliary already has moved into a number of non-traditional activities and soon will expand into more. This evolution reflects the Coast Guard’s multimission nature and its increasing acceptance of the participation of the Auxiliary in its civil duties. Those activities include:
► Guarding the marine environment through air and surface patrols that search for oil spills and other environmental pollution.
> Enhancing marine safety by inspecting commercial fishing vessels, as well as checking on bridges, barges, and aids to navigation.
► Assisting Coast Guard recruiting through such programs as the Academy Introduction Mission, which seeks potential cadets for the Coast Guard Academy.
> Providing direct operational support to the Coast Guard with trained air observers, watchstanders at Coast Guard stations, crew for boats and cutters, and personnel for Auxiliary Search and Rescue Detachments.
The Auxiliary’s evolution is reflected in its numbers. In 1975, aux- iliarists carried out a combined 13,094 Coast Guard administrative and operational support missions. By 1993, that effort had grown to 39,645 support missions. In 1993, the Auxiliary saved 457 lives and assisted 25,183 individuals in need.
The support the Auxiliary provides to the Coast Guard shows up in the budget as well as in the field. A study estimated that, in 1993, the value of out-of-pocket expenditures by auxiliarists was between $75-$ 100 million. In the same year, the value of private vessels, aircraft, and radio facilities used in Auxiliary missions—all of which must meet more stringent standards than their normal recreational requirements—was estimated at more than $361 million. The cost to the Coast Guard of supporting this volunteer activity is estimated to be $9 million per year, making the Auxiliary one of the most economical resources associated with the federal government.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary has undergone many changes throughout its history. It now is experiencing another substantial transformation. In Commodore Melera’s words, it is “fast becoming a broad-based, multi- focused resource that provides a professional level of support to the Coast Guard’s many missions.”
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A journalist by trade. Mr. Pritchard is the Vice Flotilla Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Alexandria, Virginia-based Flotilla 14-2.