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/386902
Station Washington Reservists Answered the Challenge and are Ready to Answer the Call In 2012 Sector Baltimore Reserve Command Master Chief Petty Officer William G. Gillis challenged each of the Senior Enlisted Reserve Advisors (SERAs) throughout the sector to come up with a strategic plan for each unit's members to attain their individual competencies and qualifications. Less than two years later, Station Washington reservists have surpassed Gillis' challenge after drafting and executing a detailed training plan to meet the call. Currently more than 80% of the station's 19 reservists have obtained both law enforcement and boatcrew qualifications. Chief Petty Officer James Krise, Station Washington's SERA, in conjunction with a team of lead and deputy petty officers, spent time focusing on outlining an achievable training plan for their members to meet and maintain their deployment and ready status. "Our guys are qualified and ready to go," said Krise, two years after being inspired by Gillis to take the necessary steps toward unit success. Krise and his team were compelled to stop and think about their plans moving forward to meet the objective in front of them. They started to write things down and brainstorm about how things had been going at the station and where they wanted things to go in the future. Krise was navigating through relatively uncharted territory since he had only reported to Station Washington as their SERA a few weeks before accepting Gillis' challenge. "When you put a plan down on paper and begin writing about it you really start to think through the whole process," said Krise confidently. "You see where problems lie and where you need to make changes and improvements. We have been following through with that plan ever since." Every six to nine months Krise and his team collect themselves to take stock in where they stand and what upcoming factors may impact the team. They revisit their training plans to allow flexibility for retiring or transferring members and large-scale operations such as presidential events that often employ the reservists to work alongside their active duty counterparts patrolling the waterways throughout the National Capital Region. The station is comprised of members from diverse civilian backgrounds who use their individual strengths to benefit the unit as a whole. Krise, a software test engineer, was sitting behind a computer desk with two monitors streaming through colorful well-organized spreadsheets as he effortlessly utilized dynamic metrics and graphs for tracking the status of the station's individual members. Krise's ability to produce reports within a minute's notice has been an instrumental tool in tracking the unit's progress and monitoring each individual's deployment and ready status at the station. In order to train more efficiently and effectively, Krise divided the training between three divisions including boatcrew, law enforcement and engineering. Each division has designated lead and deputy petty officers who are responsible for conducting and monitoring the development of the station's Reserve members. When Krise came aboard as Station Washington's SERA there wasn't a well- structured and comprehensive training plan in place. Many of the members couldn't complete the law enforcement competencies for a single reason — lack of range time. This kept the station's Reserve members from completing the weapons qualifications required to be boarding team members or boarding officers. Coast guard Station Washington Reserve crewmembers aboard a 29-foot Response Boat – Small patrol the waterways around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, d.C., July 20. Video and story of Station Washington by Pa2 Matt Masaschi. Read by Lt. Cmdr. John Codd. 12 RESERVIST � Issue 3 • 2014