Coast Guard Auxiliary - Flotilla 9-10

"The Coast Guard?...in MADISON?" I Must Be SEAing Things... by Bob Story, Flotilla 9-10 U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Auxiliarists like Ed Moffat volunteer their own time to help you be a safe boater

A familiar refrain from boaters on the Madison Chain..."What in the world is the COAST GUARD doing in Madison?"

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Boater, the Coast Guard isn't really IN Madison, but it may appear so each time the local Coast Guard Auxiliary takes to the water. In fact, even though Station Milwaukee is the nearest Coast Guard facility to Madison, about 70 volunteer members in Madison and surrounding communities make up Division 9 of the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and conduct their business on Madison area and southern Wisconsin lakes and waterways.

"What business IS THAT?", you may ask. Well, in order to assist the Coast Guard with its recreational boater safety mission, Auxiliarists around the country carry out many safety-focused duties. In the Division surrounding Madison, for example, qualified volunteer Auxiliarists conduct boater safety classes for the public, perform vessel safety checks at the boat-owners' invitation, and take part in on-the-water safety patrols. The Auxiliary also assists local law enforcement and public safety agencies in search and rescue operations, water traffic management when large events take place, and transporting EMS and other personnel from place to place during an emergency.

Ed Moffat, Past Division Captain of Division 9 also reminds us that even though Coast Guard AUXILIARY boats are seen on the Madison Chain during all major events and busy weekends, "once or twice a year a boater may actually see a COAST GUARD vessel plying the waters of Lake Mendota or Monona". Coast Guard crews from Milwaukee occasionally come to Madison to take part in Auxiliary training exercises. "When those bright orange rigid hull inflatables make an appearance", Moffat says, "it really gets a boater's attention."

So if you're on the local waters, and you see some uniformed men and women in a vessel flying the Coast Guard Auxiliary patrol ensign, with a "PATROL" banner on the side of the boat, it will be the volunteers of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. They're out there to help you in times of trouble.

Nationally, there are over 35,000 men and women volunteer members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Each year, on average, the Coast Guard Auxiliary is credited with:

• Saving over 400 lives
  
• Assisting over 10,000 boaters in distress
  
• Flying 10,000 hours of air patrols
  
• Educating over 500,000 students in boater safety classes
  
• Operating over 2600 radio stations
  
• Performing over 100,000 vessel safety checks
  
• Training over 50,000 hours in member skills
  
• Providing over 2,000,000 hours a year for operations and missions on a voluntary basis for the safety of the American public.