RADM Kunkel flanked by AUXAIR aviators.

When Rear Admiral David Kunkel, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard District Seven needed to be at an awards ceremony in Savannah, GA, at noon and entertaining Nicaraguan dignitaries in Miami that same evening; he turned to a valuable Coast Guard Force Multiplier – “Auxiliary Air (AUXAIR).”

RADM Kunkel, an aviator himself, could find no commercial air transportation that would allow him to fulfill his meeting obligations.

USCG Air Station Savannah had a solution to the scheduling problem, and on February 26, the day before the Admiral’s scheduled meetings, they contacted Auxiliary Pilot Roy Savoca, owner of a twin-engine Cessna 141 air facility, Auxiliary Aircraft Commander Joe Friend, Auxiliary Air Coordinator for Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, and Auxiliary Aircraft Commander Mike Renuart, District Seven Staff Officer – Aviation. The three Auxiliary aviators were more than happy to transport their District Commanding Officer.

Auxiliarists Savoca, Friend and Renuart are all residents of the Spruce Creek “Fly-In” Community, a Florida residential enclave near Daytona Beach that features its own 4,000 foot lighted runway, 14 miles of paved taxiways, and is home to several hundred aviators. These folks like having their planes close to (or even hangared at) their homes.

NASCAR driver Mark Martin is a neighbor of the trio of Auxiliarists in a community that also used to be home for aviation enthusiast actor John Travolta.

Auxiliarist Savoca’s Cessna is an ideal aircraft for such missions. Configured to seat either six or eight passengers, the 421 is both fast and comfortable. It is roomy inside, it is quieter than many jets and turboprops, and has many cabin amenities in its pressurized cabin.

After prepping the aircraft the morning of the mission, the three Auxiliarist aviators flew literally from their backyards in Spruce Creek to Air Station Savannah, a flight of about an hour and a quarter’s duration. By noon, Admiral Kunkel and his aide, Lieutenant Theresa Sandoval, were ready for their flight back to Miami.

For Lieutenant Sandoval, USCG, this was her first flight in a small aircraft. For Admiral Kunkel, a veteran pilot of many helicopters models and the HU-25 Falcon jet, it was a time to swap flying stories with the Auxiliary aviators and gain first-hand perspective on the capabilities of the Auxiliary air wing.

By late afternoon, after a brief stop in Palm Springs to add fuel and allow a small storm front to pass by, it was time for a routine landing at Air Station Miami in Opa Locka, and for Admiral Kunkel to meet with the visiting Nicaraguan dignitaries.

AUXAIR participates in many Coast Guard missions including search and rescue, ports, waterways and coastal security, marine safety, pollution response, aids to navigation (ATON) and ice reconnaissance. It also conducts logistic transport missions.

AUXAIR is an integral part of the Coast Guard search and rescue team and its homeland security forces.

AUXAIR aviators have varied aviation backgrounds and many have prior military experience. AUXAIR aviators volunteer their aircraft for use as facilities, just as surface operators volunteer their boats.

All Auxiliary aircraft meet strict U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration requirements. These aircraft are inspected annually per the Commandant’s instruction.