Coast Guard Journal

Sept. 12, 2008 

Today from the 9^th Summit

A highly successful plenary session, superb bilateral discussions with Adm. Thad Allen, and a terrific cultural tour day bring the 9^th summit to a close.

Yesterday morning each head of delegation signed the Memorandum of Cooperation, an important document that will guide North Pacific Coast Guard Forum activities for the future.  
 

It has taken two years of hard work to finalize this important document, and we are very proud that it was signed here in San Francisco .  Other successes include agreements on bringing assets and personnel to the multi-lateral, multi-mission exercise to be held in Seattle in the summer of 2009.  The forum’s objectives of cooperation and collaboration have been fully demonstrated during the 9^th summit.
 

The delegates boarded the San Francisco Spirit for a tour of the bay and a demonstration of U.S. Coast Guard operational capability.  The new C-144A CASA aircraft, an HC-130, the cutter Tern, a Station San Francisco 47 footer, and two HH-65Cs from Air Station San Francisco expertly executed a full SAR scenario.
 

The delegates were awed by a non-compliant vessel boarding scenario brilliantly executed by two San Diego based HH-60Js and the MSST vertical insertion team.  It was really a sight to see! 
 

The delegates then viewed an MSST San Francisco team conduct a non-compliant boarding from the water onto the San Francisco Spirit.
 

Any Coastie would have been beaming with pride after watching the capability and professionalism of our operational personnel.
 

The delegates were then transported to Coast Guard Island in Alameda where they toured Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf and had a chance to shop for gifts at the exchange.
 

The delegates then celebrated their work at a farewell dinner hosted by Adm. Allen at the Oakland Coliseum where the Oakland A’s baseball team played the Texas Rangers.  Envision this:  the commandants from six coast guards on the field for the first pitch ceremony on September 11^th!  Adm. Allen threw out the first pitch, a nice slider to the lower right hand corner of the strike zone.  Each of the commandants received an autographed ball and an A’s jersey as a gift from Adm. Allen.
 

As I write, the delegates are packing and heading to SFO for their long flights home.  The NPCGF planning team is cleaning up final details and closing down the event.  They are tired but have the satisfaction of knowing they put on a world class event that resulted in some significant achievements.  
 

This blog entry will be my last for this summit, and my last action as a member of the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum.  After six years of work, over 300,000 miles of travel, and many memorable experiences, I will turn the reins over to a new Coast Guard lead for this noble endeavor.  I leave this position knowing that the work has forged new cooperation that is being demonstrated daily in the North Pacific.  I have been honored to represent our service at the many NPCGF events.  I am also extremely proud of the many Coasties who have worked hard to make the San Francisco summit such a phenomenal event.
 

Semper Paratus,

Bob Day

Sept. 8, 2008

Today from the 9th NPCGF Summit

After months of detailed planning, we are underway! Colonel General Trufanov and a delegation of 16 from Russia; Commissioner Kang and a delegation of 12 from Korea; Commandant Iwasaki and a delegation of nine from Japan; Major General Chen and a delegation of 18 from China; and Commissioner DaPont and a delegation of 12 from Canada have safely arrived at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco.

Vice Adm. David Pekoske, Commander Pacific Area; Rear Adm. Gene Brooks, the District 17 commander; and Capt. Bob Day, the summit planning lead, greeted each of the delegations as they arrived at the hotel.

More than 50 Coasties from all over the country are working hard to prepare for these important meetings and ensure that our guests are well cared for. We have a very busy schedule starting with a Welcoming Reception this evening, hosted by Vice Adm. Pekoske.

Tuesday is an action-packed day, with each working group spending most of the day refining briefings and decision papers to be presented to the Head of Delegation at the Plenary Session on Wednesday. Some of the key objectives include planning out all elements of next year's Joint High Seas Drift Net enforcement patrols, finalizing plans for a multi-lateral, multi-mission exercise scheduled to occur in the Pacific Northwest next year, and hopefully putting the finishing touches on a Memorandum of Cooperation that has been worked on for the past two years.

Many of the delegates who arrived on Sunday are already out and about, taking in the sights and sounds of San Francisco. Shopping appears to be an activity of choice.

We are looking forward to a very productive week, culminating with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen hosting the delegates at a surprise venue for our farewell event - can't tell you where, it's a surprise!

More on the accomplishments from the Summit tomorrow. But know that even as we meet here in San Francisco, there are assets and personnel from each member country conducting joint operations in the North Pacific. Hopefully another HSDN (High Seas Drift Net) seizure will occur during our meetings.

Capt. Bob Day,
From the 9th Summit in San Francisco

View video from the first day of the conference: NPCGF Newscast

Sept. 9, 2008

Today from the 9th NPCGF Summit

Wow! Talk about a spectacular start! Last night, Vice Adm. Pekoske, Commander, Pacific Area, welcomed the 110 delegates with a reception held at the famous "Top of the Mark" restaurant; this venue provided the delegates with a panoramic view of the city.

This morning, the delegates immediately got down to work to develop presentation and final agreements that will be presented to the Heads of Delegation at tomorrow's Plenary session. Vice Adm. Pekoske challenged the delegates to finalize the Memorandum of Cooperation (a key document governing Forum activities), commitments for a multi-lateral, multi-mission field exercise to be held in the Pacific Northwest in 2009, and plans for the multi-lateral 2009 North Pacific Enforcement Patrol.

While the delegates were meeting, the Heads of Delegations gathered multi-laterally and bi-laterally to discuss mechanisms for further cooperation, collaboration, and items of national interest.

As I write, the Coast Guard Band is setting up for tonight's performance at the Welcoming Dinner. This event will be some well-deserved relaxation after a busy day of work for all of the delegates. The Coast Guard Band will display a wide range of their talents during tonight's dinner, from a concert band performance to the "Kings of Swing" ensemble. What a treat for our guests!

You should all be extremely proud of the way our Coasties are supporting this event. The 60-plus personnel are doing everything from translation to driving are really hitting it out of the park. Our guests are impressed!

Very important day tomorrow. Let's hope the work has paid off and we reach agreement on all of the Summit's objectives.

Capt. Bob Day,
From the 9th Summit in San Francisco

Arctic Ocean, Monday, Sept 7th 

Musings of an Arctic Sea Captain

Well, word from the beach arrived and told me to keep the blog shorter, and make it more personal. Today, I’ll try to offer a glimpse into “what it’s like to be the Captain of Healy”. I summarize it in three words: Service, Responsibility, and Pride.

Service. Like the other 42,000 men and women wearing a Coast Guard uniform, I choose to serve the country and ideals greater than myself. The men and women of the Coast Guard are an extremely talented and motivated group. We’re imminently employable in the private sector, in many cases, for greater financial rewards. But riches can’t buy job satisfaction. I want to leave our country and planet better than I found it, for my kids, and for their kids. The work on an agenda that large is never done. For me, the Coast Guard’s mission set provides a tangible way to make things better. In the case of Healy, we are doing the work needed to preserve arctic resources, and protect life and property as arctic development accelerates.

Responsibility. Leading 80 of our nation’s finest sailors and 30-50 of our best and brightest scientific minds on a modern polar expedition is a weighty responsibility. Their safety is on my mind every waking hour. Every ship at sea must be self-sufficient. We are our own power, light, propulsion, water, and sewage company; our own fire department and emergency room; our own hotel, restaurant, health club, movie theater, chapel and science lab. Operating 500-600 miles north of Barrow with a satellite phone for communications amplifies that isolation.

The prospect of a medical emergency is the one that weighs heaviest, largely because we can’t control it and our ability to respond is limited. Our Physician’s Assistant is immensely talented. But his skills and facilities end at minor surgery—if someone needs a procedure requiring general anesthesia, it’s a 3-5 day sail to Barrow, followed by a life-flight to Fairbanks. A big part of being the captain is to constantly think and re-evaluate the ship’s operations, the weather, the crew’s endurance. Captains get paid to constantly ask themselves: What can go wrong? How will we deal with it? What can we do to reduce the risk? What am I not thinking of (that I should be)?

We can’t eliminate the risks inherent in going to sea or operating in the extreme remoteness and weather of the Arctic. But we can be smart about managing the risks. My job is to get the mission done and to bring the people and ship back in one piece. Simple to say; harder to do.

By tradition and necessity, the job of sea captain is fairly lonely, even when you’re surrounded by 130 people for several months. We can be very social and care deeply about our crew…yet it’s prudent to leave a little separation, to stay a little aloof, because eventually the captain will face a decision requiring the utmost objectivity—probably a decision with no “good” options.

Pride. When I tell people what I do for a living, their reaction tends to be one of “being impressed”. I think this is born of an impression that the job is one of great privilege, respect, and perhaps ego. There’s a grain of truth to that, but only a grain: there are some good perks, and I don’t know a sea captain without at least enough ego to be confident in their abilities. Yet, I submit that the pride of being the Captain of Healy is much humbler than that. I’m humbled to be assigned the responsibility and the opportunity to serve. I’m proud to be collaborating among federal agencies to advance national interests, especially during a time when so much of the nation is cynical about the ability of the government to work constructively and efficiently. Above all, I’m proud to serve with our nation’s finest young people who absolutely impress me every day with their energy, dedication, idealism and service. I’m not alone in these views. The Coast Guard is a small service and the sea captains all know one another. You’ll find servant leadership a key quality in all my colleagues.

Just for fun. By Coast Guard standards, I am an old man at age 45. In light of our medical strategy, maybe that’s a good thing! Certainly the strange hours and physical stress of extreme climate favor the young man. Middle age seems like a nice balance of experience and youth for the captain.

For 23 years, I’ve counseled Coast Guard people considering other careers to have a clear plan that will make them happier. I tell them, “There will be time enough to work at Wal-Mart when you’re old.” I had to remind myself of that lesson last spring when my orders arrived and I contemplated leaving my wife and children for the better part of two years. It wasn’t a simple decision, but it was the right one for us.

I’m going to leave the blogging to the crew for a while.

Captain Fred Sommer
Commanding Officer, USCGC Healy