Rear Admiral D. Sirois

Saturday morning’s session was convened promptly at 0800. National Commodore Bill Edgerton introduced Rear Admiral Dennis Sirois, Assistant Commandant – Operations, to address those in attendance. Rear Admiral Sirois stated, “the Auxiliary was part of the ‘Tier 1’ players in the defense against terrorism.”

Admiral Sirois began with a quote from the late President John F. Kennedy. “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining,” he stated, meaning that the Coast Guard is working feverishly to upgrade its assets through the “Deep Water” program, and is expecting to pour billions of dollars into that program through fiscal year 2006.

Moreover, Admiral Sirois stated that the Coast Guard is working on obtaining a maintenance reimbursement program for surface operations facilities. He added, “The Commandant would be addressing that issue in his keynote address at the Saturday night banquet.”

Admiral Sirois also addressed specific activities in which the Auxiliary can play a role to become a true force multiplier. “You can further increase your recreational boating safety outreach efforts, in order to prevent SAR cases from happening. You can further increase your surface and air presence on our local waterways, and you can assist our (station) teams by imparting your local area knowledge.”

Admiral Sirois continued, “And of course, you can use the ‘Waterway Watch’ program to harness the eyes and ears of the nation’s 70 million plus boaters,” adding that this program would be a huge asset to keeping the nation safer.

The Admiral next addressed the power of volunteerism. He began with a quote from the late President Ronald Reagan, which said,” no matter how big and powerful that a government gets, or how many services it provides, it cannot take the place of volunteerism.”

Admiral Sirois went on to further compliment the Auxiliary by saying, “you have saved over 23,000 lives since your inception. Moreover, with your assistance, recent maritime area events, including the G-8 Summit, and both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, took place without a hitch.”

“We will surely need the Auxiliary’s help in the impending aftermath of Hurricane Frances,” he continued. He complimented the work of District 7 Auxiliarists in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley for their computer support and humanitarian efforts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Rear Admiral Sirois concluded his remarks by challenging Auxiliarists to answer the call of duty, and quoted the late actor Cary Grant by saying “Destiny is not necessarily what we get out of life, but what we give.”

Several other speakers addressed the membership, including Mr. Jim Ellis from BoatUS who offered a resounding “THANK YOU” on behalf of the nation’s 70 million plus recreational boaters.

Mr. Ed Martin, representing NOAA, stated, “Thanks for all your help with the NOAA Cooperative Chart Updating Program.”

Lt. Commander Necia Chambliss, USCG, who was representing the Coast Guard’s Compass Diversity Program, stated, “Believe it or not, some people have still never heard of the Coast Guard or the Coast Guard Auxiliary.” She specifically asked the membership for some “sea-stories,” and is looking for members who enjoy public speaking, and are dedicated to increasing the diversity of the Coast Guard. (Visit www.uscg.mil/diversity/compass for more details and an application to get involved in the program).

Mr. Virgil Chambers, Executive Director of the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC), commented, “The many recreational boating safety (RBS) programs discussed this weekend, and in which we (NSBC) participate, work because of you the Auxiliary.” He urged Auxiliary members to take advantage of the web-based tools found on the NSBC web site (http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/) as well as their RBS grant program. “It’s only a one page application,” stated Mr. Chambers, “which can be used to get up to $1,000 to fund local RBS projects.”

Ms. Margot Brown, Executive Director of the National Boating Federation, showed a video entitled “Sharing the Bay.” The Federation filmed this video in the San Francisco Bay area. It deals with Rule 9 violations and using common sense when operating around large commercial vessels.

Ms. Pam Dillon, Executive Director of the American Canoe Association also addressed the membership. “We estimate that somewhere between 30 and 50 million people participate in paddle sport activities each year. They represent 11 percent of the total boating fatalities, and typically are found without PFDs.” Dillon stated “there is still much work to do in this area, and I thank you for all your efforts thus far.”

Like the Friday National Board sessions, there were numerous awards presented, which are reported in a separate article here on SITREP.