Como. Ted Neale, Jr. DC-A ----- Vol 97. April 1997 No. 4 ----- Otis W. Littleton, BC-ANN
Como. Ted Neale, Jr. DC-A ----- Vol 97. April 1997 No. 4 ----- Otis W. Littleton, BC-ANN
The Auxiliary Public Affairs Department made a valuable contribution towards the completion of their mission to tell the Coast Guard Auxiliary Story. A special insert of the January 1997 edition of Coast Guard magazine, published by the Coast Guard, achieved hat objective. The work was well done, informative, and depicted just how the Auxiliary nterfaces with the regular Coast Guard. There is now no doubt that we are an important part of "TEAM COAST GUARD".
Copies of the insert should be available to every Auxiliarist through their DSO-PA. It would be great to have the insert reproduced and submitted for inclusion in every major boating magazine circulated among recreational boaters through out the country. Any help anyone can give would be appreciated.
One of the items worth repeating here is a compilation of an average Coast Guard Auxiliary Day.
Not a bad days work! Congratulations.
Some of us have heard it before. We don't agree that the Coast Guard Auxiliary is a bunch of old grey haired men who want to play sailor. While we don't believe it, its sometime hard to disprove it based upon the average age of our membership.
As a Public Affairs officer you have available to you a very important tool to help in recruiting young high school juniors into the Auxiliary. That tool is the United States Coast Guard. Members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary who otherwise meet all requirements for enlistment into the Coast Guard, may join the Coast Guard under an advanced pay program.
Under present Coast Guard Recruiting requirements, Coast Guard Auxiliarists Applicants who are active and currently qualified as boat crew in the Auxiliary may be enlisted in pay grade E-2 (SA/FA) and Applicants who are active and currently qualified as vessel operators or coxswains in the Coast Guard Auxiliary may be enlisted in pay grade E-3 (SN). How is this going to help the Coast Guard or the Auxiliary?
The program is ideally suited to use in the RAP/AIM program. Many Auxiliarists concentrate on the AIM program and do little or nothing to promote an interest by the young men and women who may not qualify in the AIM program for regular enlistment.
With this tool we can easily promote and retain the interest of qualified potential recruits by telling them about this great program. By joining the Auxiliary at ge 17, and by actively participating in our boat crew and coxswain programs, the youthful person is eligible to enlist in the Coast Guard at an advanced rate, which in layman's terms means a higher rate of pay.
What a great opportunity to work with your Career Counselors and Member Retention Officers, your local schools and the local news media to promote an increased awareness of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the opportunities they provide to our young people.
What a great opportunity to expose one of the Coast Guard's and the Auxiliary's best kept secrets. A young person, while still attending school, can take important steps to advance or learn a career in the Coast Guard, have fun doing it, and advance his monthly pay by as much as $130.00 per month upon completing boot camp.
My old friend, Ted Caldwell, DSO-PA 5SR, recently told me how, when he first joined the Auxiliary, he was told that there was nothing to do in the PA job and to help out by "filling the slot"!
Back in the days when Ted and I became active with the Auxiliary there was indeed a perception that the Public Affairs Office was not important. After all, it was not one of the so-called cornerstone programs. How important could it be?
Today, unfortunately, there are still some members who still share that perception... They get someone to "fill the slot" syndrom so there won't be any vacancies showing up in the District Directory.
Ted and I and quite a few others do not share that old perception. In fact, there are some who believe they can trace some of our current difficulties in meeting Public Education, The CME program and Membership Growth and Retention goals to the perception that PA was unimportant and there was nothing to do!
Unfortunately, there are still some out there in LA LA land who are just filling slots and who fail to take seriously the importance of the duties and responsibilities of the Public Affairs Officer. It is the work of the PA officer, done property and in cooperation with the other staff officers that brings it all together and makes it work.
The PA Officer is one of the most important staff positions we have, starting at the Flotilla Level. It is difficult to understand how anyone believes they can make this organization a success if we don't let the public know about it.
So, you have just been asked to fill the slot in your Flotilla. If you have the time and the belief that you can make a difference, give the assignment a chance. There are a great number of Ted Caldwells out there whom you can go to to get some advice. There is also the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs Officers Guide, COMDTINST M5728.3A and other publications you can also read to learn on the job.
If you have no interest in doing a great job, don't take it just to "fill a slot". You are not helping anyone by doing that.
There is not an elected officer in the Auxiliary who is serious about his responsibilities and oath of office who is interested in or is appointing people just to fill the slots. They want people who want to do a great job! If you do well, you make them look good.