"Gene Kearns" wrote in message

Don't they accompany the regulars, on occasion?

Yes, Auxiliarists can fill certain crew billets on CG vessels. And
sometimes regular CG people patrol aboard CGAux vessels. In either case, it
is only the regular Coast Guard that holds any legal enforcement authority.
The CG is proscribed by act of Congress from using the Auxiliary in any law
enforcement or armed interdiction function. In point of fact, the carriage
of weapons by Auxiliarists aboard Auxiliary vessels is strictly forbidden.

The CG is more than willing to provide regular CG training to any
Auxiliarist who is willing to volunteer. In some cases, such as crew
positions aboard vessels, certain physical standards and constraints must be
met, and the Auxiliarist must meet the very same training standards as
regular CG personnel. It is made clear that a concrete commitment of time
must be made. The CG doesn't want to invest in training just to have
someone waltz off after a couple of months.

There are Auxiliarists filling CG positions on a part-time basis in a wide
variety of job functions.