What's up with USCGAUX?
 

As a member of the USCGAUX, I thought I was a civilian volunteer. Turns out I
am told that I am a USCG employee. I thought employees were paid personnel!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"Capt Lou" wrote in message

As a member of the USCGAUX, I thought I was a civilian volunteer. Turns
out I
am told that I am a USCG employee.

In what context?

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Capt Lou wrote:

As an auxiliarist doing patrols, teaching safe boating classes, vessel exams,
etc!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.


uh-oh!

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

As an auxiliarist doing patrols, teaching safe boating classes, vessel exams,
etc!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Harry Krause wrote in message
...
Capt Lou wrote:

As an auxiliarist doing patrols, teaching safe boating classes, vessel
exams,
etc!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou
every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial
to
95.9FM.


uh-oh!

I hope Capt Lou likes hot dry climates. Sounds like George W may be getting
desperate.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Don White wrote:

Harry Krause wrote in message
...

Capt Lou wrote:


As an auxiliarist doing patrols, teaching safe boating classes, vessel

exams,

etc!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou

every

Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial

to

95.9FM.


uh-oh!


I hope Capt Lou likes hot dry climates. Sounds like George W may be getting
desperate.



At some point, an overwhelming majority of Americans are going to say to
Bush, "are you out of your frippin' mind?"

I'm amazed there haven't been more jokes about Bush's upcoming
"testimony" before the 9-11 committee. He has to have Cheney there to
hold his hand and whisper answers into his ear?

"Uh...I dunno...Dick...when did we talk about that?"

Cripes. We have an idiot for a president.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has no law enforcement powers.

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has no law enforcement powers.

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Capt Lou wrote:

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has no law enforcement powers.


Wow...that's a relief!

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"Capt Lou" wrote in message

As an auxiliarist doing patrols, teaching safe boating classes, vessel
exams,
etc!

No, Lou, I mean in what context, on what documents, have you been defined as
an employee? I've seen nothing official in that regard.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"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.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Either Capt Lou is trolling or there are two jerks he the one that told
him he's an employee, and him for believing it.

"Capt Lou" wrote in message
...
As a member of the USCGAUX, I thought I was a civilian volunteer. Turns
out I
am told that I am a USCG employee. I thought employees were paid
personnel!

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou
every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

I volunteer with the Florida DEP but I am not confused that I am an employee
just because I do some of the same things employees do.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

At the end of 2003, The Department of Homeland Security (that oversees the
USCG), made some enormous changes in
policy regarding USCGAUX membership.

The Auxiliary could probably be used by
terrorists, posing as volunteers, (anybody check out Capt. Lou,
lately?...joking),
to get closer to variouis military targets or installations than if they were
simply part of the general population.

You jump through a lot of hoops to join the
AUX today, it's not a simple matter of being willing to work and showing up to
volunteer.

Through the USCG "Operation Patriot", the USCGAUX must now be ready to assume
secondary strategic responsiblities for defending ports and harbors during a
time of war. USCGAUX members have been divided into two broad categories:
"Direct Operations" and "Operational Support".

To join the USCGAUX today, you must leap the following hurdles if you aspire to
be in the "Direct Operations" category.

1. Fingerprint check
2. Complete background investigation on a level sufficient to qualify the
applicant for a "Secret" level security clearance.

(applicants failing the background check will not be given any reason why they
have been rejected, merely told that the check was "unfavorable".)

3. Must sign a statement allowing the USCGAUX to run a credit check.

"Operational Support" category persons are only required to submit to the
fingerprinting and the credit checks.

For additional details:

http://www.cgaux.info/g_ocx/publicat...st-550-03.html

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Gene Kearns wrote:
Going back to the original poster's position...... that he was somehow
informed that he was an "employee"....

.... is it your take that these "Auxiliarists filling CG positions on
a part-time basis" are employees?

CGAUX members are not CG employees...the AUX is the civilian volunteer
arm of the CG. Except that the AUX has NO law enforcement authority,
only SAR responsibility, on the water they are the CG while on
duty...and when on the water, they must operate under orders and
guidance from the CG, even on inland waters where there is no CG
presence. And like any other gov't agency, the amount of record keeping
and paperwork that must be turned into the CG is humongous.

If you're old enough to remember the Civil Air Patrol during WW II, the
CG Aux is a very similar organization.

I was an AUX member for a number of years, btw.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

At my flotilla meeting, I was told by the former National Legal Officer that CG
auxiliarists are no longer civilian volunteers.
I was kind of taken aback by this so I asked "what are we then?" His answer to
me was "employees." I was kind of shocked!

I then went home to review the Auxiliary's web site, and although it still
claims in its history section that the Auxiliary is made up of volunteer
civilians, the new Homeland Security background form that must be completed
clearly asks for your CGAuxiliary employee number:

This is what the form reads:
"You will be asked for several peices of information in order to activate your
account:

Your seven (7) digit Auxiliary Employee ID.

This is not your old member number (which are now obsolete), and does not
contain any unit number. Your Employee ID can be found on your new member card.
Your Employee ID will act as your login username for the eDirectory, so it is a
good idea to have it memorized."

"If you are unsure what your Employee ID or Zip Code is in AUXDATA, consult
your FSO-IS. We can not give out this information for security purposes."

Furthermore I found the following langauge in the latest CGAuxiliary Manual:

"A member of the Auxiliary while assigned to duty shall be deemed to be a
Federal employee for the purposes of the following:

(1) Chapter 26 of title 28 (popularly known as the Federal Tort Claims Act).
(2) Section 2733 of title 10 (popularly known as the Military Claims Act).
(3) The Act of March 3, 1925 (46 App. U.S.C. 781-790; popularly known as the
Public Vessels Act).
(4) The Act of March 9, 1920 (46 App.U.S.C. 741-752; popularly known as the
Suits in Admiralty Act).
(5) The Act of June 19, 1948 (46 App. U.S.C. 740; popularly known as the
Admiralty Extension Act).
(6) Other matters related to noncontractual civil liability.
(7) Compensation for work injuries under chapter 81 of title 5.
(8) The resolution of claims relating to damage to or loss of personal property
of the member incident to service under the
Military Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act of 1964 (31U.S.C. 3721).
(c) A member of the Auxiliary, while assigned to duty, shall be deemed to be a
person acting under an officer of the United States or an agency thereof for
purposes of section 1442(a)(1) of title 28.

Now what do you think?

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Capt Lou wrote:
At my flotilla meeting, I was told by the former National Legal Officer that CG
auxiliarists are no longer civilian volunteers.
I was kind of taken aback by this so I asked "what are we then?" His answer to
me was "employees." I was kind of shocked!

I then went home to review the Auxiliary's web site, and although it still


Then you should quit in protest.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"Gene Kearns" wrote in message

Going back to the original poster's position...... that he was somehow
informed that he was an "employee"....

.... is it your take that these "Auxiliarists filling CG positions on
a part-time basis" are employees?

Not in the least. Absent a response from Capt Lou, I presume he's referring
to some new documents in the CGAux world that contain a reference to
employee numbers, or employee application, or some such thing.

In the last year, there have been substantial upheavals in the procedures
the CG uses to ensure compliance with new security requirements on the part
of and concerning Auxiliary membership. Over the next few years they will
be implementing fingerprinting and background checks on members. Involved
with these new procedures are numerous forms (of course!) and in the
interest of efficiency, I suppose, the CG just lifted standard forms from
other agencies for their own purposes. One of the form, for example, is
remaining from the DOT, even though the CG has for a year now been under
DHS. Several of the forms that I've seen make reference to "employee
numbers", or to "...information contained in your employee application...",
etc. In fact, the CGAux membership information system on computer refers to
member number as "Empl ID". God knows why.

There are some few and intermittent times and circumstances when an
Auxiliarist may be treated by the CG in the same manner as a regular CG
member, but the bottom line is that, afaik, Auxiliary members are *not*
considered to be employees of the CG in any legal manner at all.

JG

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

See my response to Lou below

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"Capt Lou" wrote in message

"A member of the Auxiliary while assigned to duty shall be deemed to be a
Federal employee for the purposes of the following:

(1) Chapter 26 of title 28 (popularly known as the Federal Tort Claims
Act).
(2) Section 2733 of title 10 (popularly known as the Military Claims Act).
(3) The Act of March 3, 1925 (46 App. U.S.C. 781-790; popularly known as
the
Public Vessels Act).
(4) The Act of March 9, 1920 (46 App.U.S.C. 741-752; popularly known as
the
Suits in Admiralty Act).
(5) The Act of June 19, 1948 (46 App. U.S.C. 740; popularly known as the
Admiralty Extension Act).
(6) Other matters related to noncontractual civil liability.
(7) Compensation for work injuries under chapter 81 of title 5.
(8) The resolution of claims relating to damage to or loss of personal
property
of the member incident to service under the
Military Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act of 1964 (31U.S.C.
3721).
(c) A member of the Auxiliary, while assigned to duty, shall be deemed to
be a
person acting under an officer of the United States or an agency thereof
for
purposes of section 1442(a)(1) of title 28.

Now what do you think?

I made reference to this in my response above to Gene, when I said "...There
are some few and intermittent times and circumstances when an Auxiliarist
may be treated by the CG in the same manner as a regular CG member..."
There's nothing new in the quote above, but they've apparently codified the
status of Auxiliarists while operating under orders, for purposes of
liability coverage. The CG lawyers have been batting this conundrum about
for about three years now. Apparently, this is their solution. They
consider us "employees" for purposes of liability coverage when we operate
under orders. Maybe housing and exchange privileges are next.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

Funny thing, after 25 years of volunteering my time and boat to the auxiliary,
I am now seeking retirement status. If they don't know who I am by now, what
does that tell you? I know we are at war, and must be forever vigilant, but
let's exempt those who have been involved for so long. Do it to the new people,
but not us "veterans."

I understand that 40 per cent of the auxiliary membership in my Division feels
the same way and has failed to return the latest security paperwork. They do
not want to subject themselves to fingerprinting, background checks, credit
checks, or passing gas or whatever.

The Auxiliary is supposed to be made up of civilian volunteers who teach safe
boating and do safety patrols with their boats.

"Listen to the live broadcast of 'Nautical Talk Radio' with Captain Lou every
Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5 (Eastern Standard Time) on the web at
www.959watd.com or if you are in Boston or Cape Cod set your radio dial to
95.9FM.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

It looks like they have simply extended sovereign immunity to you so you can't
get your ass sued off if you screw up on patrol.
Thank them and move on.

The state of Florida did the same thing for some of their code enforcement
contractors. It didn't make them employees.

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

John Gaquin wrote:
See my response to Lou below

Obviously, the rules have changed since I was a member. But even then,
you couldn't just show up and join...you had to pass a test that took
all day just become a member, and then take additional courses and tests
to become qualified in various areas including various levels of crew,
then skipper for on-the-water operations, instructor, vessel examiner
(courtesy exams) etc...and then put in the required number of hours per
year and take additional courses and tests to remain qualified in each
area. Auxiliarists' vessels classified as "operations facilities"
could--and I'm assuming still can--be commandeered by the CG in time of
emergency. However, that's never happened....yet.

The only compensation any AUX gets is reimbursement of fuel costs for
on-the-water duty--but few if any members ever bother to ask for
it...possibly because the amount of additional paperwork required. Otoh,
fuel costs have gone up considerably since then, so more may be doing
so--and a flat per diem rate for out-of-town expenses...for instance,
when a bunch of my flotilla members on Lake Lanier who owned
trailerboats and any others who could go with 'em were asked to
volunteer to go to Charleston to help the CG after Hurricane Hugo.

Or has all that changed too?

Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message

Obviously, the rules have changed since I was a member.

A lot of the management details have changed, but the basics are the same.
Auxiliarists now get reimbursed for fuel through automatic billing accounts
through selected fuel suppliers in the area. You refuel after you're done,
replacing what you used. There's still a considerable amount of internal
training required for boat crew quals, etc, although it's been considerably
streamlined. Essentially, all the training the Aux now receives is the same
as that received by the CG -- same text, same course syllabus, same testing
standards.


JG

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

On Fri, 09 Apr 2004 16:30:16 +0000, Capt Lou wrote:

At my flotilla meeting, I was told by the former National Legal Officer that CG
auxiliarists are no longer civilian volunteers. I was kind of taken aback by
this so I asked "what are we then?" His answer to me was "employees." I was kind
of shocked!


I'd be on their ass asking for vacation time, health benefits, retirement fund,
.... And a raise! ;)

Lloyd

What's up with USCGAUX?
 

In article , "Don White" wrote:



Sounds like George W may be getting
desperate.

Why the hell do you care ya socialist canuuck?
No pressing issues for you to worry about up there in Canadaland?