JOHNSTON ATOLL, Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument -- The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kukui spent a good portion of May removing buoys and dayboards at remote Johnston Atoll, closing an important chapter in the history of the 14th Coast Guard District's aids to navigation (or ATON) mission.

Additionally, the trip provided the Coast Guard's Command and Control Engineering Center ("C2CEN"), headquartered in Virginia,  an opportunity to test the new GPS Autonomous Point Positioning System (GAPPS) unit alongside a prototype Automated Aid Positioning System (APPS) system; version 5.5.

Although one of the most isolated atolls in the world, Johnston Atoll served a vital role in U.S. history in the Pacific. The four small islands at the atoll were declared a federal bird refuge by President Coolidge in 1926.

In 1934, President Roosevelt transferred control of Johnston Atoll to the U.S. Navy and an airplane runway, seaplane base, and refueling station were constructed. It was later designated as a Naval Defensive Sea Area and Airspace Reservation and served as a nuclear weapons test site, missile launch site for spy satellites, chemical munitions storage facility and the site of the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS).

Jurisdiction of Johnston Atoll was transferred from the U.S. military to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2003 and the atoll was declared part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in early 2009.

The Coast Guard’s association with Johnston began in the early 1940s, when the first aids to navigation were established there. A Coast Guard Long Range Aid to Navigation (LORAN) station was established on the atoll in 1957 and successfully operated until 1992 when the precision of Global Positioning System (GPS) made the station no longer necessary and too expensive to maintain.

The station, in its 35-year existence, assisted in the navigation of numerous Coast Guard cutters and aircraft, enabling the safe execution of countless missions and operations. Additionally, the atoll was a frequent port call for Coast Guard cutters and an emergency landing airstrip for Coast Guard aircraft.

After the jurisdictional transfer and a waterway analysis and management survey of the atoll, the Coast Guard concluded there was no longer a need for the aids to navigation in the harbor. It took the Kukui's crew three days to discontinue the eighteen aids to navigation, concluding almost 70 years of Coast Guard service for Johnston Atoll harbor.

The Kukui's crew effectively utilized several methods to complete the disestablishment: five buoys were recovered with the ship, four buoys by a dive team, and nine dayboards were removed by the Kukui's ATON technicians. In addition, two ranges were removed. All that remains of the harbor now are a few concrete pylons and range towers.

Due to the Kukui crew's experience with "GAPPS," Coast Guard Command and Control ("C2CEN") identified this ATON patrol as an ideal opportunity to test the prototype version of the GAPPS/APPS system.

Version 5.5 no longer requires a correction sheet to account for the 109.36 yard error associated with a GPS fix. Instead, the error calculation is hardwired into the system avoiding the opportunity for human error. The new version is more portable, user-friendly, and compact and requires significantly less time for setup and execution. Having this system in a small boat allows the positioning of any aid regardless of its geographical location or proximity to a DGPS site. 

While Kukui's patrol marked the end of an era for the 14th Coast Guard District's support of aids to navigation at Johnston Atoll, it did provide a new beginning for the future of the Coast Guard’s ATON method of operation with the new GAPPS/APPS interface.

NOTE: Imagery of the Kukui's patrol is available at www.uscghawaii.com. For more information about the technical aspects of the Kukui crew's ATON work at Johnson Atoll, contact Ensign Matthew Romano at matthew.a.romano@uscg.milor at 808-842-2860. For more information about this news release, contact the Coast Guard's public affairs team in Honolulu at 808-535-3230.

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