ABOUT THE COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed all-volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. The Auxiliary was created by an Act of Congress in 1939, and has grown to over 32,000 members who daily support the Coast Guard in all its non-military, and non-law-enforcement missions. We have members and units in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam.

Recreational Boating Safety is Job #1

Auxiliary members conduct safety patrols on local waterways, assist in Search and Rescue, teach boating safety classes, conduct free vessel safety checks for the public, provide boating safety literature to dealers, as well as many other activities related to recreational boating safety. The Coast Guard considers the Auxiliary its primary resource for recreational boating safety outreach and prevention (see the message “From the Commandant”, this site), and each Coast Guard district around the nation has established a senior officer and staff to provide tight liaison and coordination between the active-duty Coast Guard and the various Auxiliary units in that district.

And in many inland portions of the country, where the majority of U.S. recreational boating occurs on lakes and rivers, the Auxiliary is the sole Coast Guard presence!

Force Multiplier

But the Auxiliary is more than recreational boating safety; we regularly serve alongside our active-duty shipmates serving as communications watchstanders, uninspected passenger vessel inspectors, training resources for air and sea operations, numerous duties related to environmental protection and homeland security, and even as chefs! In fact, there are nearly two dozen “qualifications” open to Auxiliarists willing to put in the time and training. Collectively, Auxiliarists volunteer over 4.5 million hours per year and complete nearly 500,000 missions – a true force multiplier for the Coast Guard!

ABOUT DISTRICT 11 SOUTHERN REGION (SR)

Coast Guard 11th District, based in Alameda, CA, is comprised of the states of California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona as well as the coastal waters out beyond one thousand miles, and the entire western coast of North and Central America.  For administrative purposes, the Auxiliary has been subdivided into District 11 Northern Region (NR), and us, District 11 Southern Region. A map showing the demarcation appears on the home page of this site. Although the two regions work closely together, they are totally separate organizations. You can learn more about our shipmates to the north by visiting their Website at www.d11nuscgaux.info.

2000 Members, 9 Divisions, 65 Flotillas

District 11SR is comprised of over 2000 volunteer members, populating our 65 flotillas. The flotilla is the basic unit of the Auxiliary. For administrative purposes, the 65 flotillas have been apportioned to 9 divisions, which can be seen under “District Organization, Divisions & Flotillas”, on this site. Geographically, District 11SR is comprised of Southern California, Arizona, and the counties enclosing the Colorado River in Nevada and Utah. District 11SR consists of 6.2% of the total Auxiliary membership, 6.9% of reported mission hours (2009), and an average of 155 volunteer hours per year per member, versus the national average of 140. Diversity is the watchword of the Coast Guard and Auxiliary, and our members come from all races, walks of life, and interests. Less than 50% own a boat.

PLEASE LEARN MORE ABOUT US BY EXPLORING OUR SITE. IT’S FOR EVERYONE!