NEW YORK – Coast Guard Lt. Thomas Stokes was relieved for cause as the commanding officer of Coast Guard Station New London, Conn., Nov. 18, 2010, after an administrative review based on a loss of confidence in his ability to command the unit.

The relief for cause is a non-punitive, internal personnel management decision.

“Commanding a Coast Guard unit is one of the most vital assignments in our service,” said Capt. Joseph Vojvodich, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, Conn.  “It is essential that I have complete trust and confidence in all the commanding officers of my field units.”

This administrative process was initiated by the Sector Commander in October 2010, at which time a temporary commanding officer was assigned to the station.  During the review process, Lt. Stokes was afforded the opportunity to provide input to both the Coast Guard District Commander, in Boston, where a temporary relief was ordered, and to Coast Guard Headquarters, where the final determination for permanent relief was made.

The station has remained fully operational in all mission areas. 

DETROIT—The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to formally recognize two employees of a St. Clair Shores marine towing company Wednesday for saving nine people when they responded to a mayday call after two boats collided and sank in Lake St. Clair July 2, 2010.

During the ceremony, Capt. Jeff Ogden, commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, will present Daniel McAndrew and Terry McGregor, of Marine One Towing, with the Captain David P. Dobbins Award for excellence in search and rescue.

Who: U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jeff Ogden and St. Clair Shores employees Daniel McAndrew and Terry McGregor

What: Presentation of the Captain David P. Dobbins Award

When: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010, at 1:30 p.m.

Where: Coast Guard Station St. Clair Shores, 24802 Jefferson Avenue, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080

Editor’s Note: Media interested in attending should contact Lt. Justin Westmiller, Sector Detroit public affairs officer at (313) 568-9587. The ceremony is open to the public.

The Captain David P. Dobbins Award is presented in recognition of outstanding actions accomplished while prosecuting search and rescue missions on the Great Lakes. It links the outstanding performance of today to the heritage of Dobbins, the first superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service’s Great Lakes Ninth District in 1876. Dobbins, a native of Erie, Pa., and a schooner master, distinguished himself by performing and organizing heroic rescue efforts for the schooner Oneida in 1853, the schooner Comet in 1860, and many others even before the Lifesaving Service was officially established.

Interested in improving early rescue craft and solving the problems stemming from arduous rescue duties, Dobbins developed an innovative lifeboat that was self-righting, self-bailing, and less than half the weight of earlier designs. The Dobbins lifeboat was quicker, more maneuverable, and cost less than half of other rescue craft at the time, and elements of his design remain incorporated into today’s rescue craft.

Story and photos by Seaman Adam Stanton

In 2009, the Coast Guard counted 4,730 accidents that involved 736 deaths and 3,358 injuries from recreational boating accidents. With these statistics, the Coast Guard relies on developed programs such as the cutter surface swimmer program, which offers another way for the Coast Guard to help rescue people in distress.

The cutter surface swimmer program is a Coast Guard cutter standard, and a ship-board priority. It is needed for the safety of the general public when in distress and Coast Guard crew members when there is a shipmate overboard.The program is designed to have a permanent set of trained swimmers at the ship's disposal underway. Cutter operations such as search and rescue or man-overboard recovery may require the use of a surface swimmer. 

While personnel recovery via small boat is the preferred search and rescue tactic for persons in the water, occasionally it may be necessary to deploy a swimmer to assist survivors who are fatigued, entangled or injured.

The surface swimmer program takes volunteer crew members with strong swimming skills and maritime knowledge, and trains them in basic life saving skills and recovery situations. The selected swimmers go through a physical and written qualification process, where only the best qualified members are selected.

"As far as the qualifications go, I thought they would be harder. But, when we actually swam in the ocean, it was a whole different challenge altogether," said Coast Guard Seaman Joshua Angelica, a cutter surface swimmer stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, homeported in Alameda, Calif. "The training builds you up to get in the ocean. You learn in a controlled environment, and then, apply the training to a real life situation," he said.

The qualification process consists of a 500-meter swim test that needs to be completed in less than 12 minutes, a de-tangling test, a one and a half mile run, and the Coast Guard's criteria for pushups and sit-ups.

This program makes the Coast Guard well rounded with more options and knowledge. "When the sea state is over 6-feet high, a surface swimmer is the safest deployable asset," said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Forest Reimann, a boatswains mate stationed aboard Waesche, and the cutter's surface swimmer program organizer for the cutter.

The Coast Guard's standard operating procedure for cutter surface swimmers states all cutters with flight decks will, at a minimum, have two outfitted and certified cutter surface swimmers aboard when the cutter is underway, and non-flight deck equipped cutters have one outfitted and certified cutter surface swimmer. 

 A certified line tender also must be assigned to each deployed cutter swimmer. The line tender is responsible for the swimmers tending line and maintaining communication, through a series of hand signals, with the swimmer. 

 "I'm am actually waiting to go to Aviation Survival Technician A-school, and this was a fun, great way to prepare for that," said Angelica.

The cutter swimmers on the Waesche train for two swim days a week and conduct two man overboard drills twice a week to keep their skills sharp.

The training surface swimmers uphold is not only preparing them for "real-life" situations, but enhancing the safety of the ship and may possibly save more life at sea. 

ALAMEDA, Calif.-- Coast Guard Seaman Joshua Angelica, a cutter surface swimmer stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, attaches himself to the j-bar davit for man overboard training November 17, 2010 on Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Angelica is one of two cutter surface swimmers aboard the Waesche. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Adam Stanton.

ALAMEDA, Calif.-- Coast Guard Seaman Joshua Angelica, a cutter surface swimmer stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, leans back on the j-bar davit demonstrating how to deploy a swimmer for man overboard training November 17, 2010 on Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Angelica is one of two cutter surface swimmers aboard the Waesche. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Adam Stanton.

 

ALAMEDA, Calif.-- Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Forest Reimann, a boatswains mate stationed aboard Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, and the cutter's surface swimmer program organizer, dresses out for man overboard training November 17, 2010 on Coast Guard Island in Alameda. The crew hoisted the swimmer to the water using the j-bar davit to retrieve the person overboard. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Adam Stanton.

Coast Guard Cutter Kodiak Island conducts a training exercise Friday with Dominican Navy Midshipmen off the coast of Catuano Dominican Repbulic.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Coast Guard Cutter Kodiak Island and three Dominican Navy vessels conducted a training exercise Friday off the coast of Catuano, Dominican Republic.

The Kodiak Island rendezvoused with the Dominican Republic Navy vessels GC-109 Orion, PA-301 Almirante Didiez Burgos and PM-204 Capotillo as part of their Autumn Cruise to train second and third-year midshipmen from the Dominican Republic Naval Academy.

“This U.S. Coast Guard and Dominican Republic Navy training engagement allowed us to share best practices between our services, said Lt. Cmdr. Rodrigo Rojas, Sector San Juan chief of law enforcement.  “The Caribbean is the Coast Guard’s busiest operating area. It is important to work collectively with our international partners, as they often may be our first responders to search and rescue cases or in countering illicit drug and migrant trafficking events.” 

During the training evolution, the Kodiak Island hosted 71 Dominican Republic Naval Academy midshipmen onboard and provided them with overviews on existing U.S. and Dominican Bilateral agreements to include shiprider, maritime law enforcement, counter-drug and search and rescue operations in the Mona Passage and the Caribbean.  The discussions were followed by the practical application of fire fighting techniques and equipment aboard a patrol boat, and the use of biometrics technology during migrant interdictions. 

“The Kodiak Island is honored to have been invited to Dominican territorial waters to host, train and interact with the countries naval midshipmen,” said Lt. Matthew Rooney, Kodiak Island commanding officer.   “We look forward to future training events that will further strengthen the existing strong ties and joint interoperability efforts between our services.”

The crew of a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter also took part in this international engagement by providing the Dominican midshipmen and Dominican naval crews with two live search and rescue demonstrations consisting of the deployment of a rescue swimmer and hoist operations with a rescue basket.

Coast Guard and Dominican Republic authorities regularly share information and respond jointly to Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement cases off Dominican Republic shores.

Kodiak Island is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Key West, Fla.