|
Coast
Guard Auxiliary rescues Navy Seal
Send a link to a friend
[AUG. 19, 2005]
OSWEGO,
N.Y. -- U.S. States Coast Guard Auxiliarists, "America's
volunteer lifesavers," assisted the U.S. States Navy at a recent
festival in the historic Oswego harbor.
|
|
During the aviation portion of the official festivities of
Harborfest 2005, on July 31, Navy "Leap Frogs" left their aircraft
and began to parachute down to the designated coordinates.
Auxiliarists Rob and Deb Somers and John and Margaret Martin were on
a safety patrol at the outer edge of the safety zone.
Two of the Navy Seals missed their mark and landed just short of
the Maritime Museum pier, in the harbor. The Seals were not
intending to make a water-borne landing.
Coxswain Rob Somers and crew immediately responded and were able
to assist one of the Seals into their vessel. A New York State Park
Police boat was able to retrieve the other Seal.
The danger to the Seals was their parachutes. Should they have
completely submerged, it would have pulled them down into the water,
possibly drowning them. Both rescue boats were able to retrieve the
chutes and lines without endangering the Seals or the vessels.
[to top of second column in this article]
 |
 There were no reported injuries.
As with all sports, careful planning pays off, and in this case
the Coast Guard Auxiliary was part of the safety plan.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed,
nonmilitary volunteers who assist the Coast Guard in all of its
varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement.
These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the
air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing maritime domain
awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public
education.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an act of
Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and redesignated as the
Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1941. Its 31,000 members donate millions of
hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
[U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary news
release] |
