Editor's note: For high resolution version, click the image above.

LIHU’E, Kauai – Coast Guardsmen from Station Kauai, along with members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, joined Bernard J. Carvalho, Jr., mayor of the County of Kauai, in signing a proclamation declaring May 19-25 National Safe Boating Week on Kauai, Tuesday.

National Safe Boating Week is an annual Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary supported initiative with the goal of encouraging safe boating practices by mariners throughout the country. The week highlights the importance of safety equipment aboard vessels such as life jackets, proper communication equipment, and the benefits of owning an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. The hope is to encourage people to carry appropriate safety equipment which could save their life.

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary photo by Jim Jung.

Editor's note: For high resolution photos and video, click the thumbnails above.

HONOLULU – Coast Guardsmen from Air Station Barbers Point, working closely with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helped make a young man’s wish to fly aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter come true, Thursday.

Trey Erwin, a 15-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee, and his family were given a tour of the air station. During the visit, the family met with Coast Guard pilots and rescue swimmers. Trey, his mother and younger brother were given flight suits, boots and pilot’s helmets to wear during their flight.

After getting suited up, they were taken to the airfield where the Dolphin helicopter awaited. The family met with their pilot, Lt. Jason Gross, and their flight mechanic, Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Lilkendey, an avionics electrical technician. The Erwin family was given a safety brief before climbing aboard. The family was then taken on a flight around Oahu.

After the flight, crewmembers from the air station presented the family with mementos such as T-shirts and challenge coins. The family concluded their visit by having lunch with the air station’s commanding officer.

“The crew here at the air station was very honored to meet this wonderful young man and his family,” said Capt. Anthony Vogt, commanding officer of Air Station Barbers Point. “Everyone here was pleased to have the opportunity to grant Trey’s wish and provide him and his family an exciting day with the Coast Guard.”

For more information contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230.

Editor's note: For a higher resolution version, click the image above.

HONOLULU - Coast Guard Cmdr. Bob Little, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Kukui, was relieved by Lt. Cmdr. Steven Ramassini during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu Friday. 

Ramassini was previously the design and development chief at Force Readiness Command’s Performance Technology Center at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, Va. Ramassini previously served as the executive officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Alder, executive officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay and operations officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Sundew. 

In addition to his afloat assignments, Ramassini served as a nautical science instructor at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. and as the section chief, ship control and navigation training simulator, also at the academy. 

Little took command of Kukui in April of 2009, and led the ship through the maintenance of more than 100 aids to navigation throughout 10 waterways in the main Hawaiian Islands. He also led the cutter during two extended out-of-hemisphere law enforcement deployments that amassed over 50 boarding’s and 30 violations of laws and regulations. 

Little will continue his Coast Guard career as special assistant to the vice commandant at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. 

Capt. Timothy M. Close, 14th Coast Guard District chief of staff, was the presiding official for the ceremony. 

For more information contact Ensign John Jaskot at 808-842-2860.

Editors note: To view high resolution photos click on the images above. 

APRA HARBOR, Guam – In 2009 the Port of Guam was designated a strategic port. The new designation brings additional benefits to the port, which will expand its capabilities as well as the Coast Guard’s involvement with naval vessel protection and maritime security.

The designation of strategic port brings with it many challenges not only for the Coast Guard, but also for all those with a stake in port operations.  For this reason each strategic port is mandated to form a Port Readiness Committee which brings together representatives of the 10 federal agencies and local port stakeholders.  The PRC was established formally this past January when stakeholders met for the first time to begin dialogue on strategic concerns associated with facilitate both defense and commercial supplies through the same port.  The committee is chaired by the captain of the port and includes more than 40 local, federal, and Department of Defense agencies.

Due to the designation, the Port of Guam will have access to additional funding for federal security and port infrastructure projects. Cargo volumes will also increase during periods of military deployment. Perhaps most valuable will be the interaction between the Coast Guard, the Port of Guam, DOD and other partners.  The first meeting of the port readiness committee took place Jan. 25, 2012 in Guam with representatives from the Coast Guard, DOD, Government of Guam, and multiple federal agencies and port stakeholders. During the daylong meeting, committee members discussed the effects of the new designation to include renovations to the port, types of outload activities, maritime security response capabilities, tactics, and other government agency support.

The protection of U.S. strategic seaports is nothing new for the Coast Guard. The service was given authority to regulate the anchorage and movement of ships in 1917 following the devastating explosion of munitions at Black Tom Island in New Jersey, which all but destroyed the port. Since then the Coast Guard has been given authority under multiple acts of Congress, most recently the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, to protect the safety and security of ports and waterways. Most notable are the 16 seaports that have been designated strategic, meaning they are of critical value to the nation. Most recently the Port of Guam joined that list. To meet the requirement of the new designation Coast Guard Sector Guam is taking necessary steps with federal, state and local partners to usher in a new era of safety and security for the Port of Guam.

“Our goal is to work with our port partners to help prepare the Port of Guam to absorb increased cargo flow during a military outload operation,” explained Lt. Charlie Epperson, Sector Guam military outload liaison. “It is in everyone’s best interest to address these concerns well in advance of actual outload operations.”

For more information contact the Coast Guard Sector Guam public affairs officer Lt. j.g. Richard Russell at (671) 688-3917.

 Editor's note: For a high resolution version, click the image above.

HONOLULU – Representatives from Honolulu City and County, the 14th Coast Guard District, Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Hawaii Sail and Power Squadron, and the Honolulu Sail and Power Squadron, hold a signed proclamation for National Safe Boating Week in Honolulu City Hall, Wednesday.

National Safe Boating Week is an annual initiative sponsored by the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary. The purpose of it is to raise awareness of safe boating and ocean practices. Highlights also include the importance of life jackets; purchasing, maintaining and registering an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, carrying safety and communication equipment aboard a vessel and the use of float plans and Paddle Smart stickers. National Safe Boating Week runs from May 19-25.

For more information contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony L. Soto

Editor's note: For high resolution image, click on the image above.

Story by Lt. Stephanie Young

Located 430 miles south of Guam in the Western Pacific Ocean, is a small, coral atoll made up of 22 islands called Woleai. Part of the Federated States of Micronesia, the atoll’s inhabitants are isolated from the rest of the world with their only means of communication being a VHF radio.

Woleai is a unique place in the world; everything on the atoll is communal and there are different clans, each with their own chief. Above each clan chief are three paramount chiefs that rule the island. While Woleai Atoll is a place many of us have never heard of, or will likely never visit in our lives, there are approximately 1,000 people who proudly call the atoll “home.” Petty Officer 2nd Class Kensley Raigeluw is one of these people.

Raigeluw is currently stationed aboard Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis, a high-endurance cutter that routinely deploys to the Pacific – from Russia to Panama and everywhere in between. While the crew travels great distances, they were recently able to take a brief departure from their primary mission to reunite Raigeluw with his native soil. It was the first time Raigeluw visited home in 12 years.

It’s hard to imagine a young boy growing up in such an isolated environment finding his way into the U.S. Coast Guard. But Raigeluw’s journey started with a chance encounter when he was just eight and Coast Guard Cutter Basswood came to the atoll.

“I still remember watching their small boat driving up to our beach and my whole community having a party for their crew,” recalled Raigeluw. “They took me on a tour of their ship and all I can remember is thinking that it would be so cool to be one of them, sailing around the world.”

While more than a decade has passed since he has returned, he has strong memories growing up in Woleai, where people live off the land and ocean.

“One of my fondest memories growing up was sitting on the beach in the evening with my father and uncles and learning celestial navigation,” said Raigeluw. “To this day the people of my island learn to navigate by the stars.”

Raigeluw left Woleai in 2000 to attend college in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, followed by the University of Hawaii in Hilo, Hawaii. He earned this opportunity by being one of two people from his island who achieved high enough scores on a college aptitude exam.

Years later, in September 2005, Raigeluw was looking into joining the Army, but happened to see a Coast Guard banner online. It immediately reminded him of the Basswood and he made the decision to join the Coast Guard.

After college he enlisted in the Coast Guard, attending boot camp in Cape May, New Jersey – 9,000 miles away from his native atoll. After graduating from boot camp, he was assigned to Station Rio Vista, Calif., and now Jarvis, bringing him back full circle to the place where he was born.

Anchored offshore, Jarvis’ crew launched both their small boats loaded with donations of canned foods, medical supplies and gifts. When asked what emotions he felt being home after 12 years, with his crew besides him, Raigeluw could only recall one – happiness.

“The day when my ship sailed to Woleai was one of the best days of my life. It is hard to explain how overwhelmed I was with happiness,” said Raigeluw.

“When we arrived on shore I realized most of my uncles were starring at us from beyond the beach and had no clue who I was, especially because I was in my uniform,” recalled Raigeluw. “I had to walk closer to them before they recognized me.”

When word got out one of their own was there, the whole village came out to greet him.

“The feeling of seeing Petty Officer Raigeluw reunited with his family after so many years cannot be put into words,” said Capt. Webster Balding, commanding officer of Jarvis. “It’s one of those things in life that just really makes you appreciate your family, our maritime service and our nation. I believe my heart grew today, definitely a once in a lifetime experience.”

The visit lasted just hours as the cutter had to get back to the mission at hand. But before departing, Raigeluw presented a gift to his family – a photo album containing pictures of his wife and two sons, whom his parents have never met.

While the visit was short lived, Raigeluw will hold onto the memory of his homecoming forever, adding the experience to his already unique perspectives from growing up on Woleai Atoll.

While Raigeluw may have come from a far away place, who he is and what he stands for is something we can all identify with.

“My family has been seafarers for generations; they have sailed all throughout Oceania. Going to sea is in my nature and fits well with my service in the Coast Guard,” said Raigeluw. “In my upbringing, my parents instilled the importance of service to others. I take to heart the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty.”

Editor’s note: For a video and photo of the LA51 in use click on the images above.

HONOLULU - The Coast Guard is implementing the use of a non-lethal signaling and warning device to support the service’s ports waterways and coastal security mission in Hawaii.

The LA51 signal and warning device is a fired from a 12-gauge military shotgun to produce a visible signal at a range of 100 meters. Training will be conducted in a designated firing range approximately 50 miles north of Oahu.

The LA51 signal and warning device is considered a safer alternative to the current warning devices used by Coast Guard personnel. It is a shorter range round, and the flash and noise produced by the device are more prominent than a splash in the water caused by the M16 tracer round.  Additionally, the Department of Defense’s joint non-lethal weapons program has determined through their testing that the LA51 has a low risk of significant injury. 

The Coast Guard has been using the LA51 as a warning signal during alien migrant interdiction operations and counter-drug operations. The LA51 warning device will now be used during security zone enforcement and the execution of the ports waterways and coastal security mission.

For more information regarding this press reelase contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230. 

Editor’s note: For a video of the LA51 in use click on the image above.

HONOLULU - The Coast Guard is implementing the use of a non-lethal signaling and warning device to support the service’s ports waterways and coastal security mission in Hawaii.

The LA51 signal and warning device is a fired from a 12-gauge military shotgun to produce a visible signal at a range of 100 meters. Training will be conducted in a designated firing range approximately 50 miles north of Oahu.

The LA51 signal and warning device is considered a safer alternative to the current warning devices used by Coast Guard personnel. It is a shorter range round, and the flash and noise produced by the device are more prominent than a splash in the water caused by the M16 tracer round.  Additionally, the Department of Defense’s joint non-lethal weapons program has determined through their testing that the LA51 has a low risk of significant injury. 

The Coast Guard has been using the LA51 as a warning signal during alien migrant interdiction operations and counter-drug operations. The LA51 warning device will now be used during security zone enforcement and the execution of the ports waterways and coastal security mission.

Local media are invited to view the LA51 signal and warning device during a media event at Coast Guard Station Honolulu, Thursday at 1 p.m. Subject matter experts will be available to discuss how and why the device would be used in Hawaiian waters. The LA51 will not be fired during the media event. Video of the LA51 is available at the link above.

Media interested in attending are asked to be at Coast Guard Base Honolulu on Sand Island no later than 12:45 p.m. Questions may be directed to the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230. 

Editor's note: click the images above for a high resolution photos and video. 

Lihue, HAWAII – Representatives from the Coast Guard and Kauai City and County signed a memorandum of agreement during a ceremony at the Kauai Fire Department Headquarters to improve search and rescue interoperability on and around Kauai, Monday.

Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray, 14th Coast Guard District commander, and Kauai Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. signed the agreement that sets forth terms by which Kauai Fire Department, Ocean Safety, Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, and Coast Guard Sector Honolulu will coordinate and carry out civil and military search and rescue support.

Mayor Carvalho expressed his appreciation to the Coast Guard, the Kauai Fire Department and the County of Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau for working to formalize an already strong relationship. 

“This is about partnership and working together and how we all can support each other in any situation,” said Carvalho.

The objective of the agreement is to encourage collective communications between each agency during an active search mission. Each organization involved in the agreement offers unique assets and capabilities necessary to conduct SAR missions, such as local knowledge of the community, quick response times and various technological assets.

"We appreciate the continued support of the U.S. Coast Guard," said Kauai Fire Chief Robert Westerman. "Their services have been invaluable during joint search and rescue missions."

The cooperative agreement also focuses on the prevention of death or injury to individuals and loss or damage to property in the mutual geographic areas covered by the signatory agencies.

 “We already have a great relationship with the County of Kauai and we’ve done a lot of great missions over the last few years, we don’t look at this as breaking new ground, we look at this as a confirmation of procedures of what we need to do to talk to you and what you need to do to talk to us,” said Ray. “This is a framework for when we as Coast Guardsmen transfer out and new people come in, we can hand them this and tell them, this is how we work with Kauai”

The memorandum of agreement signed with Kauai marks the final agreement in place to formalize search and rescue procedures across the Hawaiian Islands. Links to previous signings can be found below.

Coast Guard signs a memorandum of agreement with Maui and Hawaii Counties:http://www.d14.uscgnews.com/go/doc/800/1299959/Coast-Guard-signs-memorandum-with-Maui-Hawaii-counties

Coast Guard and Honolulu City and County signed a memorandum of agreement:http://www.d14.uscgnews.com/go/doc/800/1176295/Coast-Guard-local-agencies-sign-agreement-to-improve-search-and-rescue-on-Oahu

For more information contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230.

For hi-resolution imagery and interview, click on link above.

APRA HARBOR, Guam – The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue partners, coordinated in the rescue of 9 crewmembers forced to abandon ship due to a shipboard fire 700 miles west of Guam Saturday.

Coast Guard Sector Guam watchstanders received an initial alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon from the Hsin Man Chun, a 70-foot Taiwanese fishing vessel, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Watchstanders then received a call from rescue coordination center Taipei, China reporting that a sister ship of the Hsin Man Chun received a radio call indicating the crew was planning to abandon ship.

A Navy P-3 Orion long-range search aircraft from Patrol Squadron 1 stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan, overflew the vessel and reported eight crewmembers in a life raft and two more on the bridge of the burning vessel. The P-3 crew deployed two life rafts to assist the crewmembers that remained behind. They passed the location of the distressed crewmembers to the Semirio, a Marshallese flagged bulk carrier diverted to the area by the Coast Guard.

The Semirio was only 40 miles away from the distressed vessel and was asked to assist. Once on scene, the 950-foot bulk carrier launched a small boat and successfully rescued all 10 crewmembers. The Semirio is one of many foreign flagged vessels operating in the Pacific that voluntarily participate in the AMVER System.

AMVER, sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond.

For more information about AMVER visit www.amver.com.

For more information on this rescue contact the Coast Guard Sector Guam public affairs officer Lt. j.g. Richard Russell at (671) 688-3917.

WHO: Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray, 14th Coast Guard District commander, and Kauai Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. will sign an agreement that sets forth terms by which  Kauai Fire Department, County of Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau, Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, and Coast Guard Sector Honolulu will coordinate and carry out civil and military search and rescue support.

WHAT: Representatives from the Coast Guard and County of Kauai will sign a memorandum of agreement during a ceremony at city hall to improve search and rescue interoperability on and around Kauai.

WHERE: Kauai Fire Department Headquarters located in the Piikoi Building, Ste. 315, County of Kauai, 4444 Rice St., Suite 235, Lihue, Hawaii.

WHEN: Monday, April 23, 2012, from 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. Media are asked to arrive 15 minutes early.

Media interested in attending please RSVP with Coast Guard public affairs at 808-535-3230.

APRA HARBOR, Guam – The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue partners, coordinated in the rescue of 10 crewmembers forced to abandon ship due to a shipboard fire 700 miles west of Guam Saturday.

Coast Guard Sector Guam watchstanders received an initial alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon from the Hsin Man Chun, a 70-foot Taiwanese fishing vessel, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Watchstanders then received a call from rescue coordination center Taipei, China reporting that a sister ship of the Hsin Man Chun received a radio call indicating the crew was planning to abandon ship.

A Navy P-3 Orion long-range search aircraft from Patrol Squadron 1 stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan, overflew the vessel and reported eight crewmembers in a life raft and two more on the bridge of the burning vessel. The P-3 crew deployed two life rafts to assist the crewmembers that remained behind. They passed the location of the distressed crewmembers to the Semirio, a Marshallese flagged bulk carrier diverted to the area by the Coast Guard.

The Semirio was only 40 miles away from the distressed vessel and was asked to assist. Once on scene, the 950-foot bulk carrier launched a small boat and successfully rescued all 10 crewmembers. The Semirio is one of many foreign flagged vessels operating in the Pacific that voluntarily participate in the AMVER System.

AMVER, sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond.

For more information about AMVER visit www.amver.com.

For more information on this rescue contact the Coast Guard Sector Guam public affairs officer Lt. j.g. Richard Russell at (671) 688-3917.

Editors note: For a high-resolution photo click the image above. 

HONOLULU – Coast Guard Auxiliarist Joe Kiefer, 14th Coast Guard District staff officer for Auxiliary aviation, sits in his fixed wing Piper Sport aircraft at Honolulu International Airport T-hangers, March 29, 2012. 

Kiefer, a resident of Hawaii, is just one of many local volunteers who assist the Coast Guard with its many missions in the region. 

In Hawaii, Auxiliary aviators fly about 300 missions per year, totaling more than 700 flight hours. Due to the volunteer nature of the program, the Auxiliary aviators save the public more than $5 million. 

Auxiliary pilots assist with missions such as search and rescue, marine environmental protection and law enforcement.

The Auxiliary is a civilian, volunteer, uniformed branch of the Coast Guard formed by an act of Congress in 1939. Although their mission is primarily focused on recreational boating safety, they are an integral part of the Coast Guards mission, and as such they are the only volunteer force allowed to wear the uniform of a military service.

The overall mission of the Coast Guard Auxiliary is to contribute to the safety and security of our citizens, ports, and waterways. The Auxiliary balances missions of recreational boating safety and Coast Guard support with maritime homeland security and other challenges that emerged as a result of a post-9/11 era. 

The Auxiliary has units in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Saipan. 

Media interested in learning about the many ways local Coast Guard Auxiliarists are helping to save taxpayers’ money, while protecting the local community and the maritime environment of Hawaii, may contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230. 

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is always looking for new volunteers. For information on how to join visit http://join.cgaux.org/. 

For more information regarding this release contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230.

APRA HARBOR, Guam – A fisherman missing 16 miles northwest of Ritidian Point, Guam is safe after ashore after a search coordinated by the Coast Guard led a Navy aircrew to find the missing man Monday.

Yi Hong Ji, was on his jet ski when he contacted 911 by cell phone to report he was experiencing engine problems and was not going to be able to make it back to shore.

Ji had departed approximately 6 a.m. Monday from Tanguisson Beach on a white and yellow jet ski, planning to fish north between Guam and Rota.

The crew of the 110-foot patrol boat Coast Guard Cutter Washington, a 25-foot Response Boat-Small  from Station Apra Harbor, an MH-60 helicopter from Navy squadron HSC-25 and Guam Fire Rescue Department all joined the search.

The rescue helicopter aircrew first sighted the abandoned jet ski with no sign of Ji. He was found two miles from the jet ski. 

A rescue swimmer was deployed from the helicopter and Ji was safely hoisted aboard. He was transported to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam in stable condition. 

“This successful case exemplifies the importance of our search and rescue partnerships across the island” said Capt. Casey White, Sector Guam commander. “Aside from the active participation of HSC-25, Guam Fire Rescue, Coast Guard Cutter Washington and Station Apra Harbor on the water and in the air, we gained critical assistance from a local cell phone carrier in tracking where the 911 calls came from. This support immediately narrowed down our search area and enabled us to respond more rapidly.” 

Search and rescue crews searched 640 square miles, an area roughly two times the size of Guam. 

For more information contact Sector Guam public affair's office at 671-688-3917.

Editors note: For high resolution photos click the thumbnails above. 

PACIFIC OCEAN – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia is delivering humanitarian aid and supplies to the outer Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia as part of a joint effort by the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and civilian partners Monday. 

More than 25 pallets consisting of textbooks, teaching supplies, toys, clothing, books, paint, generators, appliances, coolers, medical supplies, basic hygiene items and 55-gallon barrels are being delivered to the islands of Ulithi, Nomwin and Murilo Atolls. These supplies will enable the reconstruction of clinics, schools and provide the Pacific Islanders essential supplies they cannot receive on a regular basis. 

The Ayuda Foundation and Oceania Community Health organization personnel in Guam helped gather and load the supplies onto the Sequoia, March 12, 2012. The Sequoia also loaded several tons of Project Handclasp supplies collected in a joint effort by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. 

The Sequoia’s first stop was Pohnpei where they conducted joint law enforcement operations to support bilateral agreements for fisheries enforcement throughout the Pacific Ocean. While in Pohnpei, they also provided boat tours for more than 300 students. After the Sequoia’s law enforcement operations, the crew visited the atolls in the Hall Islands to deliver supplies. 

The Sequoia crew also visited the atolls of Chuuk State and the islands of Nomwin and Murilo. After off-loading supplies, Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Edwards, the cutter's health services technician, administered basic first aid and provided direction on the medical and hygiene products delivered to the islands. Edwards trained residents in treating common afflictions such as sunburn and heat exhaustion, in addition to conducting CPR demonstrations.

The crew also provided training on basic search and rescue concepts and equipment. Petty Officer 1st Class Geraldine Cabrera, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jared Barnes, boatswains mates aboard the Sequoia, explained the use and importance of survival gear such as flares, signal mirrors, smoke producing devices and other common distress signals. The crew also distributed and explained the importance of filing float plans that contain critical information to assist the Coast Guard in the event of a missing boater. 

“It was very rewarding to see the islanders truly understand the importance of search and rescue and the basic things they can do to help, like wear bright clothes and file a float plan with their island,” said Cabrera.

The crew of the Sequoia will continue efforts of distributing supplies in the Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia. 

The Sequoia, a 225-foot sea-going buoy tender homeported in Guam, is manned by a crew of 54. Its primary missions are maintaining aids to navigation, search and rescue, law enforcement, marine environmental protection and homeland security. The Coast Guard works in partnership with local communities acoss the Pacific to provide them with capabilities that will enable greater safety, security and economic success.

For more information contact the 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office at 808-535-3230.