TEAM 63

Commander: Jack Nickerson Vice Commander: Bruce Schoenbucher Communications FSO-CM Communications Services FSO-CS Finance FSO-FN Patty Nickerson Human Resources FSO-HR John Wright Information Systems FSO-IS Pat Muraglia Marine Safety FSO-MS Paul Shkedy Materials FSO-MA Dawn Alexander Member Training FSO-MT Harry Trainer Navigation Services FSO-NS George Ott Operations FSO-OP John Bishop Public Affairs FSO-PA Rich Arriens Publications FSO-PB Jack Nickerson Public Education FSO-PE Fred Steves Program Visitor FSO-PV Cindy Trainer Secretary/Records FSO-SR Gwen Moyle Vessel Examination FSO-VE Frank Muraglia

IPFC: Janet Lachman

JULY AGENDA

Flotilla 63 meets the third

Friday each month,

unless otherwise speci-

fied, at The Seabrook Fire

Station #1, 1850 E.

Meyer Rd, Seabrook,

Texas 77586. Uniform of

the day is Tropical Blue.

MEETING

LOCATION

FLOTILLA 63

SEABROOK,TX

JULY 2010

1900—1930 Fellowship

Welcome FC

Pledge of Allegiance FVC Introduce Guests FC

Special Occasions:

Anniversaries & Birthdays Awards and Presentations

Reading of Minutes FSO-SR

Finance Report FSO-FN Staff Reports VFC Committee Reports VFC

Old Business New Business

Awards and Presentations FC Door Prize Drawing FC Member Training Session FSO-MT

John Bishop distributes the Division OPS Schedule

to all members on a weekly basis. If you are not

receiving this, please contact John.

Volume 7 Issue 3

Page 2

MIDYEAR SILVER OAR CHECK-UP

Well Team 63, we are half way through the year and we are doing a great job overall toward our goal of completing 100% of all 9 of our Silver Oar goals. Five goals are already above 100%; three others are above 50% and should not be a problem reaching 100% in the remaining months of this year. Only “Operational Hours” are presently below 50%. There are only four really active boating months left in the year to perform the 136 operational hours it will take for us to reach our 100% mark for this goal. We currently have seven qualified coxswains and six qualified boat crew. I en-courage each of the 13 of us (I am one of the qualified boat crew) to do our best to perform or ex-ceed the 136 hours we need; that works out to about 19.5 operational hours per coxswain for the remainder of the year.

From the Bridge by: Bruce Schoenbucher FVC

Rick Cunningham Division DCDR 6 As of 06/20/10

Jack Nickerson Flotilla FC 3

Beginning BQ+IQ+ AX Mbrs on 1 Jan. 44

Avg hrs/mis 2010 % of Goal 100%

per mbr Goal YTD Goal or over

PE Class Hours 1.20 53 89 168.561% 1

Operation Hours 5.10 224 88 39.216% 0

Vessel Safety Checks 5.00 220 187 85.000% 0

Program Visitor Visits 4.00 176 147 83.523% 0

CG Support Hours 11.00 484 385 79.545% 0

Member Training Hours 40.00 40 132 330.000% 1

Public Affairs Missions 40.00 40 96 240.000% 1

Qualifications + SC 3.20 141 0 0.000% 0

Year End BQ+IQ+AX 2.00 46 47 102.174% 1

Silver Oar is earned if 4 or more Goals are 100% or more 4

John C Uzee Award Points 1128.018% 141.002%

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY DISTRICT 8 CR

SILVER OAR PROGRAM

2010

Page 3

MINUTES OF THE JUNE MEETING by: Gwen Moyle FSO-SR

Due to lack of a Quorum, there was no business meeting.

Page 4

From the Bridge by: Jack Nickerson FC

Please join me in welcoming our newest member Bill Schafer. Pretty soon we will be able to start

our own division. Our Membership has grown to 58 members and we still have some more pros-

pects working.

It is now time for our more experienced members to step up and help guide these new members.

Please make an effort to latch on to one at the next meeting and help show them the ropes. At the

next meeting don’t sit next to your same old friend, go sit with a new friend. Look for information

coming soon for the start of our Boat Crew Training Program. Harry has been getting the messages

out and getting them all lined up to begin in August. We need mentor help for these classes, ex-

perienced Crew and Coxswains. Please let Harry know if you can help him out.

From Bruce’s report it looks like we are going great guns for all of our Silver Oar goals except Op-

erations. Ok coxswains, let’s get those boats on the water and make up the hours. 100% of 100%

is our goal for 2010. Thanks to all of those that have put in the time thus far and are keeping us up

front in the Division.

As the publisher of this newsletter, I would like to thank each of the staff officers that have sent

their articles to me . To those of you that haven’t Booooooo ……. Hissssssss

SPECIAL EVENTS

6-Jul Jody Olson-Miller's Birthday DIRAUX's Birthday

13-Jul Len Jones & Bill Schafer's Birthday

19-Jul Anna Rice 39 years USCG Aux Dawn Alexander's Birthday

23-Jul Tony Kegress 13 years USCG Aux

30-Jul Betty & Len Jones 1 year USCG Aux

6-Aug Paul Shkedy 1 year USCG Aux

12-Aug Roger Adlemann 13 years Carol Cramer-Trepa 1 year USCG Aux

14-Aug John Wright's Birthday

16-Aug Rick Jones Birthday

22-Aug Chris Nixon's Birthday

Page 5

OFFICER’S CORNER

The Far West and Custer’s Last Stand

Built in 1870, the FAR WEST at 190 foot length and 33 foot beam drew only 20 inches light. She could carry 398 tons when loaded to her maximum draft of 4 feet 6 inches, 187 tons on only 3 feet of water, and 60 tons on 2 feet of water. This picture shows the configuration in the summer of 1876, when she was chartered from the Coulsen Packet Company to serve the Seventh Cavalry as supply boat, hospital ship, mobile command post and ferry. On October 30, 1883, she struck a snag and sank at Mulhanthy Island, 7 miles below St. Charles, Missouri.

George Armstrong Custer died June, 25, 1876 at the Little Bighorn in southeast Montana. On June 25, 2010 I attended a conference of the Custer Battlefield & Museum Historical Association in Hard-ing MT. One speaker, Nathaniel Philbrick noted author of Mayflower and a new book The Last Stand, commented on the Far West and its maritime contribution on the Great Plains.

(Continued on page 6)

Fred Steves FSO-PE

Page 6

OFFICER’S CORNER

The FAR WEST was captained by Grant Marsh, and its claim to fame was based primarily on her mi-nor involvement in "Custer's Last Stand" in 1876. She began the campaign as a supply vessel for the command of General Terry, of which Custer's cavalry was a part. Terry's troops had marched out from Fort Lincoln, at Bismarck, North Dakota, to rendezvous with General Gibbons' command on the Yellowstone at the mouth of the Powder River. As soon as the ice permitted, Marsh brought the FAR WEST up to Fort Lincoln, loaded her with 200 tons of supplies, and set out for the camp on the Yel-lowstone. When the FAR WEST reached the rendezvous point at the mouth of the Powder River, she found Gibbons' command on one side of the Yellowstone and Terry and Custer on the other. She unloaded her supplies, returned downstream for more, and then became Terry's headquarters. In her cabin, Terry, Gibbons and Custer planned the tactics for the Indian campaign. After Custer marched out with twelve troops of the Seventh Cavalry, the FAR WEST ferried Gibbons' troops across the river, then followed them upstream to the mouth of the Big Horn River, where eight days rations were issued from the supplies on the boat. Then Terry ordered the vessel to pro-ceed up the Big Horn, if possible to the mouth of the Little Big Horn, to establish a forward supply base.

This turned out to be a formidable task; in some areas the troops had to carry cables ashore on both banks, and both port and starboard capstans were used to pull the boat up the middle of the river. If they hit a sandbar, they turned about and dug their way through with the big wooden wheel, or “walked” over the bar – “grasshoppering” - with long heavy spars carried vertically on der-ricks near the bow. The ends of the spars were dropped to the bottom; tops slanted forward, and with block, tackle, cable and capstan, lifted and pushed the boat forward as if on crutches, while the paddle wheel thrashed furiously. After each splash down, the spars were reset for the next “hop”, until the boat was free.

While the men were sweating at this work they watched tall columns of smoke in the sky farther up the valley, caused, they believed, by the burning of Indian tepees by the victorious white troops. On the afternoon of the second day the FAR WEST reached the mouth of the Little Big Horn and was moored to an island in midstream to guard against attack, after which everyone began fishing. Suddenly a mounted Indian, who proved to be Custer's scout, Curly, broke through the willows on the bank. On the deck of the FAR WEST the Crow scout, who spoke no English, drew a diagram of a little circle full of dots that he indicated were white men, surrounded by a larger circle with many more dots to which he pointed and repeatedly said, "Sioux, Sioux." He then made signs for being hit by bullets and scalped, and crossed out the dots in the little circle. Thus, on the deck of the FAR WEST, was filed the first report of Custer's Last Stand.

(Continued from page 5)

(Continued on page 7)

Fred Steves FSO-PE

Page 7

OFFICER’S CORNER

The next day an exhausted white courier arrived with the news from the infantry column that reached the battlefield to find the scalped and mutilated bodies of Custer and five troops of the Sev-enth Cavalry; Major Reno, Custer's subordinate, and the remaining seven troops had fought another action a few miles from the massacre site and held the Indians off for two days until relieved by the infantry. The FAR WEST was to prepare to receive Reno's wounded and take dispatches back to civi-lization. About two o'clock in the morning the sad column stumbled through the flickering firelight to lay 52 groaning wounded on the open deck aft of the boilers. As the FAR WEST was preparing to pull out a lieutenant of the Seventh Cavalry who had been de-tached with Terry appeared on the bank with the sole survivor of the Custer massacre, the wounded horse Comanche, mount of Captain Keogh. A grass-carpeted stall was hastily constructed at the stern of the vessel and the wounded animal was tenderly led aboard. The horse paraded riderless with the 7th until he died at 28 years.

Captain Grant Marsh made the last 700 miles in 54 hours, nonstop at full steam. No boat had gone that fast since Nicholas Roosevelt had first steamed to New Orleans on a tidal wave in 1811. The dispatches that the FAR WEST brought out from the mouth of the Little Big Horn to Bismarck, North Dakota, were the world's first news of the Custer massacre. The vessel then traversed the river to Fort Lincoln to carry the tragic news to the twenty-eight newly bereaved widows at that out-post. From: Riverboats of America by Frank Donovan, www.steamboats.com/museum/models8.html

and a short paragraph on “grasshoppering” from John Legry Productions

www.johnlegry.com/mod_riverboat.htm

(Continued from page 6)

Fred Steves FSO-PE

SECRET WORD CONTEST

Somewhere in the newsletter is a secret word or phrase. It is marine or Auxiliary in nature. It will

have nothing to do with the story and will be out of place. The first person to send an e-mail to me

each month with the secret word or phrase will be eligible for a gift at the next meeting.

Here are the rules:

The FC, VFC, FSO-CS, FSO-FN and FSO-PB are not eligible to win, they get to preview the newsletter

and we don’t want them to get a head start.

The word or phrase must be included in your e-mail correctly, spelling counts.

You must be present at the following monthly meeting in which you correctly identify the Secret Word. If

the first person to identify the word or phase is not present then the first person to identify the Secret

Word that is present will win. You must be a member of Flotilla 63. Happy Hunting!

Page 8

OFFICER’S CORNER

Listed below is the link to the Administrative Procedures Course (APC)

http://www.cgaux.org/training/PDF/APCStudentStudyGuideUpdatedMar07.pdf This is a very informative course for the new member and veteran alike. The course presents how

the administrative side works. Even if you have no desire to run for elected office, it would be in

your best interest to take this course so you understand all the things your elected leaders experi-

ence. However, if you feel the need to run for elected office, this course is one of the pre-requisites.

All members should be thinking about the next few months and the currency requirements for the

qualifications you now hold. Be sure to meet all of the requirements before the end of the year or in

the case of NAV RULES before the five year anniversary date. Doing this will prevent you from going

into REYR (Reyear)

Also, be alert for training opportunities that are coming paton during the year. Although no dates

have been announced, I think we will have another eight hour TCT (Team Coordination Training)

class and another AUXOP (Auxiliary Operations) class or two. There are six AUXOP courses and a

member who passes all six will receive the coveted AUXOP pin.

Now is the time to look at your skills and talents, evaluate what you want to put into the flotilla, and

begin working with an FSO in an area you are interested in. Our flotilla has grown greatly over the

past year and the current staff could use help in their respective areas.

HARRY TRAINER FSO-MT

District Capt. Dave Cooley administers Pledge of Membership to Bill Schafer and Rick

Jones

Page 9

OFFICER’S CORNER

GEORGE OTT FSO-NS

George reports annual PATON Inspections have been completed. Have fun with the puzzle below.

Page 10

AT THE MEETING

Rich Arriens Certificate of Training AUXPAT

Eric Schmid Certificate of

Membership

Gwen Moyle >>>>>

5 Years Service USCGA

Congratulations Gwen

Page 11

Editor Jack Nickerson, 2404 Sunfire Ln Pearland Texas 77584 jacknickerson@sbcglobal.net

AT THE MEETING

District Captain Dave

Cooley presented the

Member Training Session

for our June Meeting.