Shipmates,
This year's National Auxiliary Conference (NACON) at Oak Brook, Illinois concluded with the National Commodore's Banquet last night.
Prior to the dinner I met with senior Auxiliary leaders and we discussed Auxiliary Modernization. Under the leadership of National Commodore Nick Kerigan the Auxiliary has modernized their structure to align with the new Coast Guard command and control and mission support structure. There are now four new Deputy National Commodores which will be the Auxiliary liaison and principal counterparts to our Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, Deputy Commandant for Operations, Force Readiness Command, and Operations Command. There is also a new Assistant National Commodore for Strategic Analysis. I congratulate Commodore Kerigan and his team for for their commitment to our collective future.
Another highlight of the evening included recognition of the Auxiliarist of the Year, Marilynn Leonard who has been a veritable whirlwind of activity in D13, most notably the Puget Sound Citizens Action Network which uses local residents to report events and increase maritime domain awareness.
I was extremely gratified with the large number of foreign volunteer SAR organizations that attended the conference. Shown in the picture here is Bruce Reid who heads the Royal New Zealand Coast Guard, a all volunteer organization.
I was particularly pleased to recognize the terrific support that our Directors of Auxiliary provide to our Auxiliarists.
To everyone who planned and executed the details of the conference, well done.
ADM A
