Coast Guard Responding to Influx of Storms

By Navy Seaman William Selby

WASHINGTON – In the wake of Hurricane Gustav, the Coast Guard is making preparations for a possible wave of tropical storms and hurricanes, a senior Coast Guard officer said Sept. 5.

“We don’t have a lot of bench strength, but we’re moving forces around in preparation for each one of these operations to position them so that we can respond,” Coast Guard Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, told bloggers during a teleconference to address the current storm systems in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

To be ready for the storms, Papp said, his top concern is to make sure the Coast Guard people are able and primed to do their jobs.

“Just by virtue of where we are located, along the coast, and the fact that one of our most important resources — aircraft that we use for conducting rescue and recovery operations — are extremely vulnerable, we spend a lot of time looking where that storm might land,” Papp said.

Another concern, Papp said, is making sure all the families of Coast Guard members are safe.

“If [the families] are in danger, then you’ve got Coast Guardsmen who have to worry about families as well as worry about doing their jobs,” he added. “For instance, as Gustav approached the coast in the Gulf, one of the first things we focused on was evacuating the families, making sure they were taken care of.”

With their families safe, Coast Guard members can then be positioned to follow the storm as well as to conduct post-storm surveys and rescue and recovery operations.

Papp also addressed some of the training that the Coast Guard does in preparation for this weather.

“We actually do dress rehearsals throughout the year,” Papp said. “In fact, Atlantic area staff, back a couple of months ago, did what we call a continuity of operation plan, movement out to St. Louis.”

In addition to Coast Guard training and preparation, Papp said one of the things the service stresses the most is public preparation.

“I think the worst thing people can do is perhaps get apathetic because storms turn out to be not as severe as they thought they might be, or they did an awful lot of preparation and then the storm veers elsewhere,” he said. “Preparations made for a storm are never wasted, because it gets you in a frame of mind.”

Although most of the news has been pleasant and positive in relation to the storms, Papp mentioned that the Coast Guard lost a four-man crew Sept. 4 while doing an exercise with a small boat about five miles south of Honolulu.

“We just ask that everybody keep our Coast Guard shipmates in their thoughts and prayers, and it’s a stark reminder that the things we do are done in dangerous environments,” he said.

Above all, Papp explained that it’s constant training and planning that keeps the Coast Guard sharp.

“Hopefully, regardless of the severity of the storm, we’ve done enough preparation and training and drills to be prepared for it,” Papp said.

Coast Guard establishes ship channel information webpage

HOUSTON - The Coast Guard has established a ship channel information Web page for the ports affected in the Gulf after Hurricane Gustav made landfall.

The Web page includeds the Ports of:

* Gulfport, Miss.
* Mobile, Ala.
* New Orleans
* Pascagoula, Miss.
* Texas City, Texas
* Galveston, Texas
* The Houston Ship Channel
* Freeport, Texas
* Sabine Pass, Texas
* Aransas, Texas
* Corpus Christi, Texas
* Lake Charles, La.

Information will be updated on the Web page as it becomes available.

Please use the following link to find the latest ship channel information:

* USCG Stormwatch

Coast Guard establishes hotline for families of Hurricane Gustav responders

HOUSTON - The Coast Guard Incident Management Team in St. Louis has established a hotline for families of Coast Guard personnel responding to Hurricane Gustav.

The phone number is intended for those who have family members in the Coast Guard who are involved in Hurricane Gustav response. The IMT has received calls from moms, dads and grandparents requesting information about their loved ones, who they have been unable to contact. A top priority of the Coast Guard is to ensure the safety of our personnel and families, and to account for their location during such an incident.

The Coast Guard encourages family members to call: 1-800-USCG-WLS ext: 302

Mississippi River Patrol After Hurricane Gustav Left New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS- Boat crews from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans conduct the first waterway patrols after Hurricane Gustav on the Mississippi River near downtown, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. The crews assessed damage from Gustav by looking for pollution, sunken vessels, any hazards to navigation and verifying the location of navigational markers and buoys. The teams reported their findings to the sector to help evaluate when the river could be re-opened to vessel traffic.

U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Etta Smith

Coast Guard overflight of Southeastern Texas and Southwestern Louisiana

Houston - An Air Station Houston HH-65C helicopter rescue crew conducts an overflight of the Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, Texas, and Cameron, La., areas post Hurricane Gustav. The purpose of the flight is to scan portions of southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana for damage or pollution as a result of the hurricane.

US Coast Guard Video by Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello

Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater Winds Down From Busy Weekend, Gears Up For Busy Month

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Helicopter and search-plane crews from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater are winding down from a busy weekend along America’s Gulf Coast and gearing up for a stormy September.

A rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater rescued two kayakers, Chris Copenhaver, 19, of Clearwater, and Andrew Kolonick, 19, of St. Petersburg, Fla., from Egmont Key, Fla., Sunday after a Good Samaritan called the Coast Guard and reported them in distress. An HH-60 rescue helicopter arrived on scene at 4:25 p.m. and located the kayakers paddling in the 10-foot surf and 30-knot winds. The helicopter landed, brought the teenaged kayakers aboard and transferred them to Air Station Clearwater at 5:10 p.m. Sunday where they were picked up by a family member. Neither reported any injuries or medical concerns.

Air Station Clearwater pre-deployed one of their rescue helicopters, along with two helicopter crews, to Coast Guard Air Station Mobile, Ala., Friday, in preparation to aid in the response to Hurricane Gustav. After Gustav struck Monday, the crews conducted an aids-to-navigation assessment of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region and logged numerous navigation aids off-station and minor flooding in some coastal areas.

Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater also relocated several of its deployed assets to improve its search and rescue capabilities in preparation for Tropical Storm Hanna, which is currently impacting the Bahamas. Tropical Storms Ike and Josephine are right on Hanna’s tail, and weather experts are predicting a stormy month for Floridians.

“As we reach the peak of hurricane season, Air Station Clearwater’s operational tempo is rapidly increasing as well,” said Lt. Cdr. John Mixson, Air Station Clearwater Public Affairs Officer. “This means that we are using multiple duty crews to increase our search-and-rescue capabilities throughout the Bahamas and Florida’s Gulf Coast region.”

Mississippi Overflight Video after Hurricane Gustav

The Coast Guard conducts an overflight assessment of Biloxi, Miss. after Hurricane Gustav passed through on Monday, Sept. 1, 2008.

Unified Command established in Mobile, Ala.

MOBILE, Ala. - A Unified Command was established in Mobile, Ala., Monday to respond to damage from Hurricane Gustav in Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.

The Unified Command comprises representatives from the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association.

The Coast Guard will continue to survey affected areas to assess the storm’s impact on local waterways and the coastal environment.

A civil engineering unit is en route to Mississippi to assess damage to Coast Guard units there.

All Coast Guard units are resuming operations as conditions permit.

Coast Guard helicopters were launched from Mobile as soon as Hurricane Gustav passed in case they were needed for search and rescue.