Subject: JULY DIVISION CAPTAIN’S BRIEFING 1. Team Coordinated Training (TCT) will be the only course that will fulfill the requirement for all members involved in operations including radio watchstanding. The deadline for completion for this course is 1 June 2004. Division 18 will conduct our TCT class on Saturday, 4 October for all members that still need it and all new members involved in operations. Currently, we have 12 members that need to take TCT. This does not include those that will be qualified this year as Boat Crew or Radio Watchstander. 2. Our last workshop on Chart Updating was a success. Once again, Roy did an excellent job. 3. Alan Goodman will conduct a Port Security Workshop the date will be announced and will be held on the Mess Deck of Station Shinnecock. The uniform of the day will be Working Blue. This is an excellent opportunity to learn something new. 4. Still on our agenda are the Instructor workshop, Personal Service workshop, Sexual Harassment Prevention and a Air and Sea Team Coordination workshop. No date has been set yet. 5. It is my intention to offer a specialty course this fall. Possibly, the Communications Specialty Course, but we are open to suggestions. 6. Leadership Training will be held on 5, 6, & 7 December 2003 at the Mystic Marriott / Coast Guard Academy. As more details come down, I will let you know. 7. Each SO and FSO “CC” received a 51” x 51” TABLE COVER with the US Coast Guard Academy name on it. It can be used for PA missions. 8. Courtesy to all is paramount in our division. Please make every effort to be courteous to your fellow member. Treat members as you would like to be treated. I have attached a letter from an unknown director from the west. Please read it, it’s interesting and it explains a lot. 9. Remember the Chain of Communication. Flotilla Commanders are to be informed when a flotilla member is engaged in any Auxiliary activity, such as Marine Dealer Visits, Vessel Safety Checks, Public Affair Missions, etc. 10. The NCO Club at the Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach for our Division Change of Watch has been reserved. The date has been set for Sunday, 14 December. A list of items that are needed was sent to your FC. 11. This past District Meeting was CDR. Seebald’s last meeting before his retirement. CDR Seebald received some nice retirement gift, which included a model of the CGC Eagle. I’m assuming he likes golf, because as a going away gift received a number of golf balls. The new Director is CDR John Felker. Also at the meeting we had a formal retirement ceremony for CWO Tom Peck, OTO. 12. On 20 June I attended the Change of Command and retirement ceremony for CWO Tom Young, CO Station Shinnecock. Tom was presented with an engraved money clip. The engraving said, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Division 18, 2003. The new CO is CWO Dennis Casey. I meet with him briefly and will schedule a more detailed meeting later on. 13. Our next Division Meeting will be held on Thursday, 7 August @ 1930 on the Mess Deck at Station Shinnecock. The uniform of the day will be Tropical Blue Long or appropriate civilian attire. All members are invited and are encouraged to attend and get information first hand. 14. Due to the length of this so called BRIEFING, maybe I should rename it a report instead. HONOR ­ RESPECT ­ DEVOTION TO DUTY JAMES H. CORNELL JR. _________________________________________________________________ DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS Western Rivers October 2002 Personal Conflict, or How to Make the Lights Go Out Although the phrase is not original, at one of the Changes of Watch I attended last winter I referred to our members as some of the thousand points of light George Bush senior talked about when he was president. I meant, and mean this sincerely. When Auxiliary members are hard at work teaching boating safety classes, sweating away as they perform vessel safety checks at the marinas and launch ramps, or carrying out a harbor safety patrol or other Coast Guard mission, they shine much brighter (in my view) than their less involved fellow citizens. There is good reason to be proud if you are an active Coast Guard Auxiliarist. Unfortunately, these lights dim, or go out, when members turn away from our mission, or from the positive aspects of the fourth cornerstone, Fellowship, and fall into personal conflict. It is one of the most corrosive forces effecting our organization, and unfortunately, it arises throughout the region – no division is immune. The reasons are many, but based on what I have observed, I believe they can be summed up under two main headings – poor communications, and lack of respectful treatment of fellow members. I want to talk about each of these for a moment. Poor communications. We are an organization of volunteers. We don’t see one another in the workplace every day, and there may be quite a gap between contacts at meetings. For this reason, members are often uninformed about plans that are being made, or actions being taken in the flotilla or division. While it is easy to simply say the member should take the initiative to “find out what is going on,” most of us lead lives that are busy enough so that we can understand that sometimes a person loses track of all the pieces. And nothing frustrates committed members of an organization more than the feeling that they don’t have access to the processes of the group, especially when actions undertaken directly impact them. This can be completely unintentional, but it does damage nevertheless. This is why communicating openly with members (even when the news is not what the member might want to hear) is such a critical function of leadership. Too often, we hear of “cliques” within our flotillas and divisions. A “clique” is usually a group that holds on to information, and doesn’t share it. This is a destructive practice. Leaders, keep your members informed! One of the best ways to keep members informed is a flotilla or division newsletter, and that is why I am such a believer in them. They do not have to be flashy – the Western Rivers Rudder is definitely not flashy, but the information is useful. Again, leaders, if you do nothing else, communicate early and often with your members. And members, if you have a concern, let your leaders know. If we are communicating frequently about all our activities, and our feelings about how things are going, it will reduce the misunderstandings and the ruffled feathers. Lack of respectful treatment of fellow members. All of you have heard your Auxiliary leadership talk about RESPECT – more than once. It is critical in any organization, but also at greater risk in a volunteer organization. Why is that? Because unlike at our jobs, where there is a possible economic impact if we treat others with less than full respect, or our family, where we are bonded to people for many years, in the Auxiliary we can walk away at any time with very limited personal consequences, and so there is a great temptation to vent openly, and often inappropriately, when something frustrates us. It happens often, and people are often hurt and offended. The individual may feel better for having vented, but damage is done to the unit. And when a leader fails to maintain their professionalism vis a vis a member, the negative effect is greatly magnified. Members withdraw their cooperation, maybe even leave the organization. When this occurs, one of the thousand points of light goes out. The candlepower of our proud lighthouse is reduced. I urge all of you to consider this before speaking the unkind, or demeaning word to your fellow members. You have given a lot to the Coast Guard Auxiliary – please join with all of us to keep its light bright. If we offer our members full involvement through effective communication, and treat one another respectfully at all times, we can reduce the decay of personal conflict, magnify the powerful good the Auxiliary does our fellow citizens, and reap greater rewards from our membership. FIND THE GOOD, AND PRAISE IT. _________________________________________________________________