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Division 2 What's New!

Division 2 Celebrates Change of Watch in a Winterfest Village

Wed, 12 Feb 25   Posted by: Robert Stronach
Mark Lewis and Master Chief Wilcox Lt. Cmdr. Foster
Auxiliarist of the Year Mark Lewis is congratulated by Master Chief Bradley Wilcox. RIGHT: Lt. Cmdr. Carrie Foster.

SKANEATELES – It was the weekend of the Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary Winterfest, with 27 ice sculptures dotting the village streets, plenty of food offerings for the milling crowds, and even a Polar Bear plunge in the lake.

In fact, while hearty hearts were plunging into the icy water on Jan. 25, the Division 2 Change of Watch luncheon was taking place across the street at the Sherwood Inn.

And unlike the shivering swimmers, members of the Central New York Coast Guard Auxiliary were bathing in the warm expressions of praise and gratitude by Lt. Cmdr. Carrie Foster, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit at Fort Drum, and Master Chief Bradley Wilcox, officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Oswego. The five Division 2 flotillas are within the area of responsibility of both the station and MSU.

Wilcox praised the support that Auxiliarists provide the Coast Guard, saying they can be described in three words – service, reliant, best.

“I know you will be reliant in providing service that is the best.”

Foster pointed to the volunteer hours and operational support provided by Division 2 Auxiliarists, including those who staffed Coast Guard Station Sodus Point and handled search-and-rescue missions last summer. “That’s quite impressive.” In fact, she noted, that kind of effort is what led Sector Eastern Great Lakes to win the Coast Guard’s Team Integration Award.

Mark Lewis, the Auxiliarist who coordinated the Sodus Point operation, was honored as Division 2 Auxiliarist of the Year, and the Auxiliarists who served at Sodus Point were awarded the Coast Guard Auxiliary Meritorious Team Commendation Medal.

Division 2 Commander Peter Wiles Jr., Lt. Commander Foster and Master Chief Wilcox presented those and various other honors.

Other special guests were Commodore Steven Botsford, the new leader of the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Ninth District, Eastern Region, and District Capt. John Conroy.

The guest speaker was Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. With the Erie Canal celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2025, Radliff offered a glimpse of the canal’s history as well as anniversary highlights.

Operation Sodus Point

Auxiliarists from Division 2 who received the Team Commendation Medal for serving at Sodus Point were:

  • Auxiliary Team Leader Mark Lewis, Brewerton Flotilla 2-14
  • Tony Scaglione, Brewerton Flotilla 2-14
  • Gary Zdan, Brewerton Flotilla 2-14
  • Pamela Wik-Grimm, Brewerton Flotilla 2-14
  • Jodi Butterfield, Brewerton Flotilla 2-14
  • Aaron Aab, Ithaca Flotilla 22
  • Dave Pierce, Ithaca Flotilla 22
  • Bruce Ressner, Ithaca Flotilla 22
  • Tim Kerstetter, Oswego Flotilla 24
  • Sara Barden, Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26
  • Bonita Stillwell, Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26
Recipients from Division 4 were:
  • Sue Lander, Rochester Flotilla 42
  • RJ Campoli, Rochester Flotilla 42
  • Bevin Lynn, Rochester Flotilla 42
  • Suzan Ray, Sodus Point Flotilla 44
  • Henry Stewart, Hamlin Beach Flotilla 48

'Operation Lights Out'

A number of Division 2 Auxiliarists were awarded the Special Operations Service Ribbon for their role in “Operation Lights Out,” where they provided safety information and public support leading up to and during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. In the Sector Eastern Great Lakes area, the operation involved 100 Auxiliarists and 150 active-duty Coast Guard personnel, responding to sites of mass gatherings along the waterways.

Those receiving the ribbon were:

  • Tim Kerstetter, Oswego Flotilla
  • Martin Enwright, Oswego Flotilla
  • Graig Arcuri, Oswego Flotilla
  • Rick Kunz, Oswego Flotilla
  • Catherine Slabaugh, Oswego Flotilla
  • Deb Somers, Syracuse Flotilla
  • John Carpenter, Syracuse Flotilla
  • Kathy Vertetis, Syracuse Flotilla
  • Bob Shanahan, Syracuse Flotilla
  • Peter Wiles, Syracuse Flotilla
  • James Dale, Syracuse Flotilla
  • Aaron Abb, Ithaca Flotilla
  • David Pierce, Ithaca Flotilla
  • Michelle Stoddard, Sylvan Beach Flotilla
  • Kevin Coursen, Sylvan Beach Flotilla

Flotilla and Individual Awards

Division 2 flotillas were honored for outstanding service in the following categories:

  • Culinary Assistance – Ithaca Flotilla 22 - 138 Hours.
  • Public Education – Syracuse Flotilla 21 - 463 Students
  • Public Affairs – Syracuse Flotilla 21 - 159 Hours
  • Program Visits – Syracuse Flotilla 21 - 58 Visits
  • Operations – Brewerton Flotilla 2-14 - 574 Underway Hours
  • Member Training – Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26 - 281 Hours
  • Vessel Examinations – Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26 - 74 Vessel Examinations

Aux Annual Service Performance Awards were as follows:

  • 70 Public Education Hours - John Conroy, Sylvan Beach Flotilla.
  • 104 Public Education Hours - Peter Wiles, Syracuse Flotilla.
  • 75 Hours Operations Hours - David Pierce, Ithaca Flotilla.

Aux Advanced Instructor Annual Performance Golden Key Award went to:

  • Peter Wiles, Syracuse Flotilla, for 50 Hours as Lead Public Education Instructor.

CG Sustained Service Awards were as follows:

  • 2250 Hours - Peter Wiles, Syracuse Flotilla.
  • 3750 Cumulative Hours - David Pierce, Ithaca Flotilla.

District Membership Service Awards were as follows:

5 Years

  • John O'Rourke, Ithaca Flotilla.
  • Ben Gardiner, Ithaca Flotilla.
  • Theresa Kunz, Oswego Flotilla.
  • Mathew Smith, Sylvan Beach Flotilla.
  • Ronald Stanley, Sylvan Beach Flotilla.
  • Jennifer Watson, Brewerton Flotilla.
  • Mark Lewis, Brewerton Flotilla.
  • Margaret Pheps,Brewerton Flotilla.
  • Pamela Wik-Grimm, Brewerton Flotilla

25 Years

  • Donald Campbell, Ithaca

20 Years

  • Walter Robinson, Ithaca

Wiles, Scaglione Head Central New York Coast Guard Auxiliary

Wed, 29 Jan 25   Posted by: Robert Stronach

Peter Wiles 
Peter Wiles

Anthony Scaglione 
Anthony Scaglione
Peter Wiles of Skaneateles has once again taken the helm of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Central New York Division 2, which encompasses five flotillas stretching from Oswego to Ithaca. He was elected to his second one-year term as division commander.

 

His second in command as vice division commander is Anthony V. Scaglione of Freeville.

Joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1980, Wiles has served as air crew observer, boat crew coxswain, flotilla commander and now division commander, among other roles such as boating safety instructor and vessel examiner. He is a member of Syracuse Flotilla 21.

Scaglione joined the Auxiliary in 2011. He is certified as a boat crew member and is immediate past commander of Brewerton Flotilla 2-14.


Sea Partners Campaign

Thu, 22 Aug 24  

Why should CG Auxiliary members participate in the Sea Partners Campaign?

By COMO Kenneth Jacobs
assistant district staff officer for marine safety and environmental protection

The United States Coast Guard plays a vital role in protecting our oceans and maritime environment. The Coast Guard’s core mission includes search and rescue operations, saving over 3,500 lives and more than $75 million in property annually. They enforce safety regulations to protect crews and passengers before danger strikes.

The Coast Guard is also responsible for safeguarding the maritime environment and, as we know, human activity poses threats to the world’s delicate ecosystems. The Coast Guard enforces U.S. and international laws to prevent marine pollution incidents. Additionally, it regulates and inspects vessels and facilities to reduce risks to the maritime environment.

Sea Partners emblemThe Sea Partners Campaign is the United States Coast Guard’s environmental education and outreach program. It aims to raise awareness about marine pollution issues and improve compliance with marine environmental protection laws and regulations. Sea Partners targets various waterway users, including boaters, fishermen, marina operators, and the public. It’s a proactive approach focused on protecting the marine environment by providing information, promoting responsible practices, and participating in cleanup activity.

 The program began in 1994 and in 1997 it expanded to include the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Auxiliarists can qualify as Marine Environmental Education Specialists (AUX-MEES) to conduct Sea Partners events. Key topics covered by Sea Partners include plastic pollution, recycling, and reducing plastic debris in the marine environment.

 Coast Guard Auxiliary participation in the Sea Partners Campaign plays a vital role in raising awareness and promoting responsible practices for protecting our marine environment. Additionally, our members serve as a force multiplier reducing the burden on active-duty Marine Safety Units throughout the enterprise.

 

Central NY Flotillas Honored

Sun, 04 Feb 24   Posted by: Robert Stronach

‘Change of Watch’ Event Reflected ‘Team Coast Guard’
And Featured Awards for 5 Central New York Flotillas

 
The Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Division 2 Change of Watch was a family affair – the Team Coast Guard family – with active-duty personnel joining Auxiliary members for the Jan. 27th event held at GS Steamers restaurant in Oswego.

“It’s payday for Auxiliarists,” proclaimed Division Commander Peter Wiles, who oversees five central New York flotillas from Oswego to Ithaca. “And the pay is in the form of awards.”

But before the dispensing of awards, Wiles and Immediate Past Division Commander Rick Kunz welcomed the crew from Coast Guard Station Oswego (led by Chief Petty Officer Robert J. Davis III, representing the station officer-in-charge, Senior Chief Petty Officer Bradley Wilcox), the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Thousand Islands (with Chief Petty Officer Thomas Link), and the chief of prevention from Sector Eastern Great Lakes in Buffalo (Cmdr. Jeff Bybee, representing Capt. Mark Kuperman, sector commander).

Commander Bybee thanked members of the Auxiliary for all they do, especially with the Coast Guard experiencing a shortage of personnel, and noted the need to extend the “Safe Boating Week” message beyond May.

The commander also had the honor of swearing in the 2024 division staff and flotilla commanders.

Other special guests included the Ninth District Eastern Region’s chief of staff, Steven Botsford, and the executive director of the H. Lee White Maritime Museum, Mercedes Neiss. The latter gave a presentation on the history of the Oswego museum and expressed her gratitude for the longstanding relationship with both the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Coast Guard.

Wiles, Kunz and Robert Shanahan, immediate past division vice commander, presented a series of awards and recognition for 2023 activities.

Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26 walked away with a number of them:

-- Flotilla of the Year for recruitment and member training accomplishments.

-- Public Relations Activity Award, with 198 hours of promoting the Auxiliary to the public and collaborating with other entities of the Auxiliary.

-- Auxiliarist of the Year honors shared by Holly Dillard and Michelle Stoddard, new members who stepped up their training to become qualified in Auxiliary paddle-craft operations (AUXPAD) as well as paddle-craft instructors.

-- Recruitment Award to John Conroy, immediate past flotilla commander.

Kunz presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Shanahan, citing 15 years of dedicated service to the Auxiliary. A member of Syracuse Flotilla 21, Shanahan has served in a number of key roles, including flotilla commander and division commander.

Two flotillas were each honored with dual awards:

-- Syracuse Flotilla 21 received the Program Visitations Award, recognizing 45 visits, and the Public Education Award for training 277 students.

-- Brewerton Flotilla 2-14 received the Operations Award for completing 180 under way hours, and the Vessel Examination Award for completing 40 exams.

In addition:

-- Oswego Flotilla 24 received the Culinary Assistance Award for providing 30 hours of food service to the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary.

-- Ithaca Flotilla 22 received the Member Training Award for completing 45 hours of training.