ASTORIA, Ore. — Crewmembers at Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay, Ore., will be honored with the prestigious Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award at 8:15 a.m. Friday.
The award will be presented by Capt. Scott Kitchen, Group North Bend, Ore., commander, at Station Yaquina Bay.
Station Yaquina Bay undergoes intense evaluation periods once every two years to measure the unit’s ability to carry out its multiple missions. Units that not only meet, but far exceed all requirements for readiness, receive the Kimball Award.
The Sumner I. Kimball Award recognizes the achievement of high readiness of shore unit boats and personnel through an inspection of vessel conditions and survival systems, performance of underway drills and examination of unit training programs. While the Coast Guard maintains a high readiness posture, only 10 percent of shore-based boat force units earn the Kimball Award each year.
Kimball was the General Superintendent of the Revenue Marine Bureau from 1871 to 1878, which evolved into the U.S. Life Saving Service, a predecessor to the modern day Coast Guard. Kimball is credited for putting the service on the road to professionalism by defining and heavily enforcing the fundamentals of training and equipment.
The 55 crewmembers of station Yaquina Bay have an area of responsibility extending from Cape Perpetua, Ore., to Spencer Creek, Ore., totaling 27 miles of coast. With the primary mission of search and rescue, the station responds to as many as 590 cases per year. In addition to search and rescue, another primary mission at Yaquina Bay is law enforcement, of which the station conducts about 200 cases every year. Their supporting vessels include one of the Coast Guard’s four virtually unsinkable 52-foot vessels which can tow vessels as large as 750 gross tons, take 30-foot seas, travel 150 nautical miles off shore and right itself after a rollover. The station also assists the local and state police departments, local fire departments, county search and rescue, and county marine patrol with emergency flood response.
