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MESSAGE FROM DIVISION COMMANDER CHARLES FITZPATRICK

Division Commander – Hudson River East , 1st Coast Guard District, Southern Region United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary was created on June 23, 1939, by an act of Congress as the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Two years later, in World War II, a military reserve was established, and the volunteer, civilian component was officially designated as the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary which serves under the direction of the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, currently Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Today, your Auxiliary has approximately 26,000 men and women nationwide and nearly 5,000 members in District 1 Southern Region, devoted to assisting you to be safe and have fun while on the water. Additionally, our members stand side by side with active duty Coast Guard men and women in fulfilling the various essential Coast Guard missions in protecting our shores from hostile and environmental threats.

Our members are all regular folks who lead lives much like yours and your neighbors’, with jobs, families, and an array of skills and interests. Like many Americans, they were interested in joining an organization as a volunteer to give back and make a difference. However, being the only congressionally-sanctioned volunteer arm of a military service, our U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary members achieve an elevated level of volunteerism and duty that, in my view, sets them apart. In recognition of all the Auxiliary has done to support the Coast Guard mission, we have earned the nickname “America’s Volunteer Guardians”.
I encourage you to start at our website Hudson River East and review the links for Boating Safety, Operations, and Staff and scan the opportunities that are available to you. I guarantee that you will come across one or more, if not many, categories that spark an interest. When that happens, and you have questions, go to the link below to find nearby flotillas, and be contacted by a member in your neighborhood who can answer your questions:

https://join.cgaux.org.