Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Quarterly issues include news and feature articles about the men and women who comprise America's premier national maritime safety and security
Issue link: https://uscgreservist.epubxp.com/i/436616
as the students worked their way through the underway curriculum in and around the Galveston and Houston Ship Channels. Between morning classroom training, the trailering and launching of boats at the Galveston yacht club coupled eight hours underway. Most training days lasted up to 12 hours. The students remained enthusiastic as they were there to absorb and learn the skills necessary to become qualified Coast Guard coxswains. The instructors skillfully led their students through all PQS topics including piloting, navigation, boat handling, mooring, trailering, search patterns, towing, rescue, and much more. Student progress was rapid, quickly advancing from short navigation runs and boat handling in the ship channel to more advanced maneuvers, to include search patterns and towing. When the class was in the early stages of planning the Contingency Coxswain qualification was the goal. But with the advent of the Reserve Coxswain designation in January of 2014, search and rescue had to be added to the curriculum. This was a critical focal point of learning because most of the class had no previous exposure to these search patterns during their time as Contingency Crewmen. By the first weekend of the school the students felt like pros, running Victor Sierras and Expanding Squares at night without missing a beat. A strong camaraderie was built between all. The students worked in the same small groups while the instructors rotated through each boat on a daily basis to ensure maximum diversity of learning. Before long each instructor had earned a nick-name, or call sign, most notably, Lead Instructor BMCS Greg Robertson, "The Star," an endearing reference to the Senior Chief 's rank insignia. The academic portion of the class covered the entirety of the Small Boat Coxswain PQS with over 33 classroom hours and nightly homework. This included policy, procedures, navigation, chart work and more. Station Galveston was undergoing an extensive rebuilt and dock space was not available for the class. The Galveston Yacht Club generously donated two spaces and the students became adept at trailering and launching the other two RB-Ss. Almost 50 hours was spent underway training, totaling over 900 individual hours without a single mishap. The instructors and staff closely evaluated the students for progress in learning both academically and within their boat handling skills and they voted on a few notable achievements: Top Student went to BM3 Jennifer Barrington from Station Houston, and Most Improved was BM3 Cody Steel from Station Galveston. Both were presented with a handsome, bamboo-handled marlinspike in recognition of their achievements. We would like to thank all of the support elements that helped put this course together and made it possible to conduct this training. There's not enough space to properly thank everyone in this forum, but most notably: BMCS Mark Spillane, Office-In- Charge, Station Galveston, for the use of facilities and personnel to keep the boats maintained; BOSN3 Jay Greiner, Sector Houston Boat Forces, working so hard to acquire platforms for training and the entire D8-DXR staff for diligently working to make sure orders were cut and funds were in place to keep things running smoothly. Moving forward, several new Reserve RB-S Coxswains are expected in the coming months. There were several interested candidates who were turned away due to limited space this year… but we hope to repeat this successful course next year, allowing others to take part in the excellent training environment Texas has to offer. — Story and photos by Lt. Michael Starnes, Sector Houston-Galveston Willingness Makes Way for Readiness All around the Coast Guard, reservists struggle to maintain their certifications in accordance with policy. This is even more challenging in the 9th District, where most boat operations are suspended from October through March. Station Buffalo is a prime example of this reality. BMCS Craig Allain took command of Station Buffalo in the summer of 2013 and my assignment as Senior Enlisted Reserve Advisor followed in October. Senior Chief Allain and I sat down and identified some shortfalls in the Reserve program. Through transfers, attrition, and several changes in policy and boat platforms, much of the Reserve crew had either fallen behind or not appropriately trained in their competencies. While mobilization and medical readiness had not suffered, operational readiness had. We worked with each member of the crew to better align their skills with their billets. Active duty and Reserve members continue to work together to bring the reservists up to speed and help them regain their competencies. Over the course of the year, we went from a crew with only 20% of the members certified to a crew with over 80% of the members holding their required certifications. Through the hard work and determination of every member involved, we transformed the Reserve component of Station Buffalo from a willing crew to a ready crew. The Coast Guard Reserve is a program that needs constant and active attention from senior enlisted leaders to ensure efficient operation. Reservists from Station Buffalo pause for a "selfe" while on patrol in the Buffalo Outer Harbor. In the past year, Buffalo's reservists have drastically increased their operational readiness through an intense training and qualifcation program. Pictured clockwise from bottom left: BMC Greg Rogers, BM3 Justin Mejia, MK2 Joe Gioele, BM2 Josh Jekielek, & Me1 Heather Knolhoff. Photo courtesy of Me1 Heather Knolhoff Issue 1 • 2015 � RESERVIST 15