Coast Guard Auxiliary - Flotilla 9-10

So What is this Coast Guard Auxiliary, Anyway? The Auxiliary Through the Eyes of One Member Rick Dunlap, Boat Crewman U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Rick at the helm of a patrol boat between the lakes

What is the USCGA? This is a question I asked myself over ten years ago and the answer has changed over the years. Not so much because the USCGA has changed but because I have in large part through my relationship with the USCGA.

Like so many of my fellow Coast Guard Auxiliary members, I have had a love affair with boats and anything nautical for as long as I can remember. I purchased my first boat at the age of 16. I had to borrow my dad?s car to tow it to the lake. Most of my friends at that age were buying cars, but not me, I bought a 16?wooden runabout and put a great deal of sweat and blood in to it. I actually asked my then girl friend (now my wife of 31 years) to help me paint and varnish it on a Friday night. She still doesn?t think of this as one of our most romantic dates. Later in life I a got a job as Marketing Manager for a medium size boat builder, and have been in the marine industry in one capacity or another for the past 20+ years.

Shortly after college I took a boating safety class, put on by the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. This was my first encounter with this organization, and I can remember thinking that I would like to be able to teach one of these classes. This first class encouraged me to learn more about boating safety, navigation, rules of the road, and general seamanship. So I took classes through the local technical school to get my Captain?s license, documenting the needed hours and passing the somewhat grueling written test. I later updated my license to the 80 ton level. About this time, my daughter was getting old enough to want to drive our boat so I enrolled our whole family in the Coast Guard Auxiliary safe boating class. We all passed, and that is when I decided to join the Auxiliary. I wanted to spend time on the water, learn how to be a better boater, and help others.

I joined and quickly became qualified as an instructor and crew member. When fellow members gave up their personal time to help me, I started to really appreciate what it meant to be a member of the Auxiliary. Because of the knowledge and dedication of my fellow Flotilla members, I became a better person overall, as well as learning more about boats and the water. What a valuable lesson! Over the past ten years I have made some very strong and valued friendships, and learned that I can, quite literally, trust my life to my fellow members of the Auxiliary. When I transferred to a new Flotilla because of a job relocation, I was readily welcomed by the new Flotilla members, and quickly established a new foundation of friends.

So?what is the USCGA anyway? I am sure you could get several different answers to this question from every member you ask. But, for me it is a lot more than just learning about boating. I have learned about true friendship, and how to be prepared to help others in time of need, on the water or in life. My love for boating lives on and my thirst for boating knowledge continues. Through my membership in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, I?m able to satisfy that thirst. But my membership offers so much more.

If you are already a member you know what I am talking about. If you are not a member you don?t what you are missing!