Law Enforcement benefits from Auxiliary Training
Thursday, August 4th was a normal patrol day for the City of Rye Marine Patrol. Bay Constable Lynn Valenti heard an emergency call of a kayaker missing. She called upon the training she has received as a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary to help find the missing man.
Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak
Chief - External Communications
Public Affairs Department
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
http://www.auxpa.org
516-353-9155
Media@auxpa.org
Law Enforcement benefits from Auxiliary Training
/24-7PressRelease/ - RYE, NY, August 11, 2005 - Thursday, August 4th was a normal patrol day for the City of Rye Marine Patrol. Bay Constable Lynn Valenti was in her patrol area, and monitoring VHF CH 16, the distress and hailing frequency for all boaters.
Officer Valenti then heard an emergency call of a kayaker missing in the Long Island Sound. Responding to the call for help, made by the paddle buddy of the missing kayaker, Valenti ended up leading a multi-agency search and rescue operation in search for this kayaker.
"As Bay Constable's we continually train for these types of emergency situations", said Valenti. What makes Bay Constable Valenti unique, is that throughout the search for the kayaker, she called upon the training she has received as a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary to assist both herself, her agency and ultimately the missing kayaker.
Valenti was assigned to lead up the on-the-water search team, whereas the Patrol Lieutenant was assigned to co-ordinate the land/air aspect.
Officer Valenti, as member of the Auxiliary Boat Crew program receives much of the same training that the Coast Guard Active Duty and Reserve members receive. When it comes to Search and Rescue, the training comes from the same manuals.
"It was the constant drilling that my crew and I on Coast Guard Auxiliary Facility Launch5 do that I fell back on, it was automatic.", Valenti said of her training. Launch5 and her crew (Valenti was not on-duty that day) just made headlines by saving three people from the rocks off the infamous Sing Sing Prison, in Ossining, New York.
"When I interviewed for the Bay Constable position, I was already Auxiliary Crew Qualified, which was definitely an asset in obtaining this position," said Valenti. In gratitude to the edge the Auxiliary training gave her and in the truest of volunteer spirit; Officer/Auxiliarist Valenti volunteered her time earlier this summer to help train the second class of students in the US Coast Guard Small Boat Course for Local Law Enforcement held for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer's 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 United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
The release is available at: http://www.auxpa.org/releases/community/081105.html
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Press Release Contact Information:
Wayne Spivak
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Chief, External Communications
2711 Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, NY
USA 117104319
Voice: 5163539155
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