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New District 8WR Vessel Examiner/Program Visitor
Website Published - a Vessel Examiner/Program Visitor website has been
constructed and published for District 8WR. This website is designed
to assist members holding the VE and PV certifications as well as keeping
any interested members updated in the VE/PV program. A hyperlink to
the VE/PV website is located on the
District 8WR Staff webpage under the Vessel Examiner/Program Visitor
staff position plus in the left navigation column on this webpage
under the "Other Links" category. Click on the following hyperlink to
go directly to the
VE/PV website.
29jun09 |
 |
Congratulations from Commander of Eighth Coast Guard
District on CG Auxiliary 70th Anniversary - In her message regarding the
70th anniversary of the Coast Guard Auxiliary our new Commander of
the Eighth Coast Guard District, Admiral Mary E. Landry, expressed
her appreciation of the Auxiliary stating "Please accept my personal "Bravo
Zulu" for a job well done."
Read Admiral Landry's entire message. 26jun09 |
 |
Travel Voucher Form - The correct version of the
Travel Voucher Form, number DD-1351-2 is dated March 2008. All earlier
versions are obsolete. The PPC (Pay & Personnel Center) will no longer
accept versions of the form dated prior to March 2008. The
Forms webpage of the District 8WR website contains hyperlinks to the
correct version of the form. 25jun09 |
 |
ICS 210 Class - Division 33 has scheduled an ICS
210 class for October 17, 2009. The location is yet to be determined.
This event has also been published on the
District 8WR Calendar webpage. 25jun09 |
 |
Congratulations from President Obama on CG Auxiliary
70th Anniversary - The President of the United States, Barack H. Obama,
sends his "warmest regards to the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary in
celebration of your 70th anniversary of service to our Nation". The
President congratulates you "for your steadfast commitment to the highest
standards of citizenship, patriotism, and community service." Read the
entire letter from the President. 25jun09 |
 |
CG Auxiliary 70th Anniversary - June 23, 2009 was
the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Read ALCOAST 365/09 from Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant, in which he
addresses this historic event. In the 4th paragraph he states
"Auxiliary performance has been nothing short of stellar, and its greatest
impacts are readily reflected by Auxiliarists spirit of patriotism and
dedication to the Coast Guard men and women with whom they serve. I
therefore intend to duly recognize the Auxiliary with an award of the Coast
Guard Unit Commendation as part of its 70th anniversary celebration at Coast
Guard Headquarters on June 23." 25jun09 |
 |
From the OTO Desk -Quarterly news for .........
CWO Douglas Leavell has published his 3rd quarter 2009 news letter. Read the
newsletter in
Adobe Acrobat
25jun09 |
 |
National Marina Day - a great opportunity for Auxiliary flotillas to
engage in outreach of their own. Giving VSCs, advertising upcoming PE
programs, reminding boaters about America's Waterway Watch, recruiting new
members, or setting up displays featuring life jacket wear and other
elements of safe recreational boating are all ways that local flotillas can
capitalize on the opportunities presented by National Marina Day. Many
marinas nationwide have already received "resource kits" including
suggestions for partnering with the Auxiliary during this annual event.
Refer to the National Marina Day 2009 website for more details
https://www.marinaassociation.org/nmd/ 22jun09
|
 |
Service Dress Blue (Alpha) uniform discontinued
- The Service Dress Blue (Alpha) uniform was discontinued as a
Coast Guard uniform several years ago. In January 2009, the Auxiliary
National Board approved a recommendation to discontinue its use within the
Auxiliary, and the Chief Director has approved this National Board action.
Accordingly, the Service Dress Blue (Alpha) uniform is no longer
authorized as an Auxiliary uniform. This change will be included
in the next update to the Coast Guard Auxiliary Manual. 11jun09 |
 |
Pictures from DSAR 2009 - Pictures from DSAR 2009
have been published. Links to pictures of the teams, activities and
competition grounds are located on the
DSAR 2009 webpage. 08jun09 |
 |
DSAR 2009 - Congratulations to the DSAR 2009
Champion Team, Division 16, for their outstanding performance as well as the
Runner Up Team, Division 8. See complete
DSAR 2009 results for
all team events and individual awards. A
hearty "thank you" to all members who participated in DSAR 2009, in any
capacity, for helping DSAR 2009 to be a very successful event. Read
details about the event.
View
a
picture of the Champion team. Other pictures from the event will be published as soon as they are
available.
Team member information is included on the DSAR webpage. Updated 28may09
|
 |
Assist the CG by volunteering your cooking skills -
For members who like to cook the "Chefs of the Future" (AuxCHEF) program
has been designed to prepare members to assist in food preparation in Coast
Guard stations, Sectors, cutters and anywhere else that the Coast Guard has
personnel. Learn more about the program and how to enroll from the
AuxCHEF webpage. 25may09 |
 |
USCG Publication 1 - first revision to capstone
doctrine - Secretary Napolitano officially announced the first revision
of the Coast Guard's capstone doctrine. The announcement was made at
the Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony. She stressed its
importance to the Coast Guard and its applicability for the entire
Department of Homeland Security. Everyone is encouraged to read the
publication.
Download the publication. 21may09 |
 |
Western Rivers Publication - 2nd Edition 2009
published - The second edition for 2009 of the Western Rivers has been
published. A link to this edition plus prior editions from 2008 are
available on the Western
Rivers webpage. 06may09 |
 |
Update on COMO Jeff Langley recovery - The
Commodore had two strokes, February 18 & 19, 2009. He spent 9 days in
ICU and 2 more days waiting to go home during which he had two cranial
surgeries. He returned home March 3, 2009. He has no paralysis
or speech trouble. Has some dizziness which is expected to leave,
taste buds are working and his vision is about 95% but should get better.
He has completely quit smoking, lost 35 lbs and would like to loose another
20 lbs. He is still on disability from work for another 60 days.
05may09 |
 |
Request for articles and pictures for the Navigator
Publication - Navigator Editor Judy Darby is looking for articles and
pictures of national interest about the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Articles and pictures from District 8WR may be sent directly to the
Navigator, without clearance. For Navigator guidelines go to
http://auxadept.org/navigator.
3may09 |
 |
Title Change of the CG Auxiliarist - Auxiliarists
title of "America's Volunteer Lifesavers" has now been changed to "America's
Volunteer Guardians". This change is effective immediately.
2may09 |
 |
H1N1 Flu Outbreak (Swine Flu) - Coast Guard
Headquarters has set up an Internet page at
http://www.uscg.mil/h1n1/ to post
Coast Guard specific H1N1 Flu Outbreak information so that it can be
accessed by Reservists, Auxiliary and families. 2may09 |
 |
Swine Influenza Virus (SIV) update by Director of the
Auxiliary - The Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety has
published a bulletin providing an update on the Swine Influenza Virus. The
bulletin includes "What you can do" to avoid contracting the disease and
gives several hyperlinks to internet sources for more information.
30apr09 |
 |
Grants Handbook for 2009 - The 2009
Grants Handbook is now available. Consult this document for
sources of 2009 awards and grants. It was prepared by the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary Department of Boating.
http://auxbdept.org/pdf/GrantsHandbook2009.pdf
24apr09 |
 |
OPEX on Lake Texoma - Flotilla 16-07 is having an
OPEX Sept. 18, 19 & 20th on Lake Texoma. The OPEX
will be held at Little Glasses Resort, located between Madill and Kingston,
Oklahoma. Little Glasses Resort, has camping, RV spaces and cabins
available. Call Little Glasses Resort to reserve your accommodations today
at 580-795-2068. They have a store, gas dock and boat ramp. A
buffet dinner will also be available Saturday night. Make plans to attend
this fun on the water experience. Need more information please call Flotilla
Commander, Helen Arnold, 580-366-4677 or 580-565-9263.
23apr09 |
 |
Pictures from Spring Conference 2009 in Peoria, IL -
Pictures from District 8WR Spring Conference that was held in Peoria, IL
have been published to the District website for your viewing. There
are 4 pages of pictures which are categorized by Opening Ceremony, Meeting,
Commodore's Banquet and Fun Night. There are links in the upper right
corner of each page so that you can browse each category. 07apr09 |
 |
ICS 210 or 300 Compliance Deadline Date Extension -
The Coast Guard Office of Incident Management & Preparedness has just
granted an extension of the deadline date for completing the ICS 210 course.
The new date of compliance is 01 April 2010. This course or the
full ICS 300 course is required for Auxiliary Single Unit Resource Leaders
such as coxswains, PWC operators, pilots (Aircraft Commander, First Pilot
and Co-Pilot), certain members in the Trident Program or any other team/task
force leader determined by a Coast Guard Unit Commander to have a need.
Though the compliance date has been extended, all members in need of
completing the course are encouraged to complete the course as soon as
possible. 26mar09 |
 |
DSAR 2009 District 8WR - District 8WR is scheduled to
host DSAR 2009 at Lake Dardanelle, AR on May 22 and 23, 2009. For
complete information browse the Event Schedule
MS Word -
Adobe Acrobat and Competition Specifics
MS Word -
Adobe Acrobat. 26mar09 |
 |
Boy Scouts of America Memorandum of Agreement -
On 23 February 2009, the USCG Auxiliary signed
a Memorandum of Agreement to begin partner liaison with Boy Scouts of
America. The Boating Department is developing an implementation strategy to
make this a meaningful agreement between our two organizations. The MOA can
be downloaded in the Boating Department Document Library under Partners, or
downloaded directly (as a PDF) here:
http://auxbdept.org/
http://auxbdept.org/documents.php
http://auxbdept.org/pdf/BSAUSCGAuxMOA23Feb09.pdf 24mar09 |
 |
Respect and Professionalism -
Read the message from
VADM R. J. Papp, Jr., Commander,
Coast Guard Atlantic Area reinforcing the need for "respect and
professionalism". 17mar09 |
 |
State of the Coast Guard 2009 Address - Admiral Thad W.
Allen delivered his third State of the Coast Guard address at the National
Press Club in Washington, D.C. on March 3, 2009.
Read the complete transcript or
view a video. 6mar09 |
 |
Results of Coast Guard Uniform Board
43 - The results of Coast Guard Uniform Board 43 are summarized in
ALCOAST 074/09 which can be viewed at the Coast Guard General Message web
site: http://www.uscg.mil/announcements/. 04feb09
|
 |
Western Rivers Publication - The
first issue of the year,
2009-1, of the Western Rivers publication has been published to the District
website. The link to the publication is on the
Western
Rivers Publication webpage. 02feb09 |
 |
District 8WR 8 Hour TCT 2009
Schedule - the Team Coordination Training (TCT) 8 hour class schedule is
available on the TCT Schedule webpage which
includes dates, location, contact information and facilitator. The
link to the TCT Schedule webpage is available in the Navigation column on
the left side of this webpage under the category "District Services".
22jan09 |
 |
2009 Instructor Workshop - the
hyperlink to the mandatory Instructors Workshop is located on the
E-training - E-testing
webpage. 04jan09 |
 |
2009 Operations and 1 Hour TCT
Workshops - the hyperlinks to the 2009 Operations and 1 Hour TCT
workshops are located
on the E-training - E-testing
webpage. 29dec08 |
 |
Vessel Examiner & Program Visitor
2009 Workshops - the hyperlink to the 2009 VE & PV workshops is located
on the E-training - E-testing
webpage. These workshops are not mandatory; they are intended
to be used to train new, and to refresh existing, program visitors and
vessel examiners. 27dec08 |
 |
PFD Panda Suit being made available
by DirAux through ANSC - DirAux has made available to the Divisions of
District 8WR a PFD Panda suit through ANSC. ANSC will issue the suit
upon request of the Division Commander in support of any specific events.
Once the event is complete, the suit must be returned so that it will be
available to the next division who may have requested it. The suit may
be checked out a total of ten days. If the division fails to return
the suit within this time frame they will forfeit future use of the suit.
The suit is the property of the Director's Office who will enforce the rules
for its use. If there are circumstances beyond the members control
that keep them from returning the suit on time, or the division wishes to
keep it for another event and there is no one on the waiting list, the
request will be referred to Mr. Leavell for consideration. Requests
should be made with enough time for a decision, no last minute requests.
22dec08 |
 |
Personnel Security Form SF-86 for
Direct Operational (DO) Revised - Forms SF-86 and SF-86A were revised
July 2008. Effective 01 January 2009 only the July 2008 forms will be
accepted when application is made for a Personnel Security Direct
Operational (DO) determination. Links to the revised forms are
available on the District 8WR
Securities Issues/Forms webpage under the Direct Operational (DO)
section. 20dec08 |
 |
New flotilla chartered in Division
33,
District 8WR - A new Flotilla, 33-6, was chartered in Division 33
on November 22, 2008 in Des Moines Iowa. Jim Berry was elected the
Flotilla Commander and Pat Jesse the Vice Flotilla Commander for 2009. The
ceremony was attended by CMDR Campbell, COMO Gumb, COMO elect Dan Maresh, Ron Longnecker RCO-W,
Steve Bernstein D-CAPT N elect, Katey Bernstein DCMDR-9 elect, Robert Smetka
D-COS elect, and Emily Coffin, Army Corps of Engineers. Members of
33-6 were joined by members of Division 33 from Lincoln and Omaha Nebraska.
Welcome and Congratulations to all members of 33-6. 25nov08
View pictures of the chartering event - added 26nov08
|
 |
Consolidation of DSO-PV & DSO-VE
positions in District 8WR -
With Jim Bertram’s desire not to
continue as the DSO-PV, the timing was right to make the move. Eighth
Western will now closely parallel the National “V” department structure
with one DSO overseeing program visitation and vessel examinations areas.
I have accepted the challenge from COMO-Elect Maresh to work through this
consolidation and will begin the new duties effective January 1.
I have begun to develop preliminary plans for next year and my first task
is to review the staff assistant positions and make recommendations to
COS-Elect Smekta and COMO-Elect Maresh by the end of November. Jim
previously had four ADSO’s in the PV department while I had two
responsible for specific division geographic areas. Presently, I am
planning to combine these six positions and will recommend two ADSO
positions for what I will call the RBS area – one ADSO-VE and one ADSO-
PV. These two positions will be tasked with more duties and
responsibilities making the positions more meaningful and effective for
our district members.
If you are interested in applying for
either ADSO position or wish to refer a qualified individual, please send
your auxiliary resume’ and forward to me at your earliest convenience.
Neil D. McMillin, DSO-VE 24nov08 |
 |
New flotilla chartered in Division 1,
District 8WR - Flotilla 1-11 was chartered in Ogallala, NE on
November 15, 2008. The new Flotilla Commander is Roger Rankin and
the Flotilla Vice Commander is Les Foran. The ceremony was attended by
CDR Campbell, COMO Gumb and Ron Longnecker, RCO-W. In addition, Herb
Angell, BLA for the State of Nebraska, Buck Bassett, Mayor of the City of
Ogallala and Scott Eveland, Boating Safety Officer for the State of Nebraska
attended the celebration. They were joined by members of Division 1
from as far away as Colorado Springs, CO, Grand Junction, CO and Casper, WY.
Welcome and congratulations to all members of Flotilla 1-11. 16nov08
View pictures from the chartering event - added 24nov08 |
 |
Western Rivers Publication - Issue
2008-4 of the Western Rivers publication has been published to the District
website. The link to the publication is on the
Western
Rivers Publication webpage. 31oct08 |
 |
Female Overblouse Dress Shirt available
- The Female Overblouse Dress Shirt is available for ordering through
the Coast Guard Uniform Distribution Center (UDC). It is authorized as optional
wear for Auxiliary females as an alternative to the light blue dress shirt
worn with the Tropical Blue uniform only. Further information, particularly concerning the placement of accoutrements on the shirt, can be found in
ALCOAST 531/08 at the Coast Guard general message web site:
http://www.uscg.mil/announcements/ 31oct08 |
 |
Academy for Division Commander and
Flotilla Commander 2009 officers - The Division Commander (DCDR)
Academy is scheduled for 7-9 November 2008 and the Flotilla
Commander Academy 5-7 December 2008 both at the Drury Inn (Union
Station), St. Louis, MO. Invitational letters from CDR Campbell
containing full details regarding location, travel, timetables, who may
attend under reimbursable vs. non-reimbursable orders, uniform of the day,
etc. have been published and are available for download
DCDR letter or
FC letter Members who receive approval to attend the academy under
reimbursable orders must complete the
Travel Request Worksheet. 15oct08
|
 |
District 8WR Sew-on Patch - District 8WR has designed a promotional sew-on patch that may be purchased
for $5.00 from the District 8WR Materials Store. The patch is 4.75
inches in diameter. It is listed on the District Materials Store
Promotional webpage. View a
picture of the patch.
3oct08 |
 |
Flotilla 3-13 50th Anniversary
Celebration Invitation - You are cordially invited to attend Flotilla
3-13's 50th Anniversary celebration on Saturday, November 8, 2008.
View the complete details via
MS Word or
Adobe Acrobat. 1oct08 |
 |
Opportunities for Auxiliarists to
support Sector Upper Mississippi River (UMR) - learn more about the many
opportunities just established for Auxiliarists to support Sector UMR -
establishment of State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) teams at each of
the SEOC's in Sector Upper Mississippi River's Area of Responsibility (MS
Word or
Adobe Acrobat PDF) and members to volunteer to participate in Local
Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) meetings along the Upper Mississippi,
Illinois and Missouri rivers (MS
Word or
Adobe Acrobat PDF). These documents provide opportunity details
and qualification requirements. 29sep08
 |