As a reminder to all hands:
Prior to traveling out of the area, especially during holiday routine, you are encouraged to use the travel tool called TRiPs.
This tool gives you travel planning and weather advisories for the areas that you will be traveling through while operating a motor vehicle.
Today's festivities throughout the harbor:
HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE FUN THINGS HAPPENING ON BASE THIS SEASON!
*13 Dec ~ Cabrillo Music Theatre Presents 'Welcome to the 60's' at the
Needham Theater. This is the Cabrillo Music Theatre's second performance
onboard NBVC. There will be two performances to choose from, a 1600
showing and a 1930 showing. This show is free for all hands (Active Duty
and Family members, Reservists, Retirees and DoD personnel). Tickets
will be available at the MWR ITT offices soon. This is an event you do
not want to miss.
*13 Dec ~ Swim with Santa at the Port Hueneme pool. Children and
adults are welcome to come and have their picture taken with Santa for
free. This event is open from 1300-1600, there will be arts and crafts
as well as refreshments. Make sure to bring your swim trunks and a towel
for this Southern California style holiday event.
*31 Dec ~ Year 2 Year Fun Run. Get out your running shoes and show up
in your pajamas as MWR will hold the 3rd annual Year-2-Year Fun Run on
New Years Eve. The run starts at 2355 and finishes in the year 2009.
Sign up by picking up an entry form at any MWR facility or go online to
www.active.com. For details please call 989-7378.
I thought this was quite interesting.... I'll get the full story and post it later today. 
Thanks to Larry Owens for the great picture of the guys.
"Four officers and one enlisted man have been chosen to become the first Coast Guardsmen to participate in the elite Navy SEAL training in Coronado, Calif.
After Commandant Adm. Thad Allen announced the program July 31, Coast Guard Personnel Command fielded more than 150 phone calls from people requesting additional information. As of the Sept. 15 deadline, 19 people had applied — 12 officers and seven enlisted members, said Lt. James McLay, spokesman for Deployable Operation Group commander Rear Adm. Thomas Atkin.
Of the 19 applicants, 12 were selected to move on to the evaluation phase in Florida. The group was then whittled to five by Naval Special Warfare Command and the Coast Guard’s DOG.
If any or all selected Coast Guardsmen make it through the nearly two years of physically and mentally daunting training, they will be assigned to a SEAL team for five to seven years, although they officially will be part of the Coast Guard.
Those who successfully complete the service commitment are not required to return to the Coast Guard, but Allen said this summer that he wants them to come back.
It is not yet clear when those selected will begin training.
Selected were:
• Lt. j.g. Brian Bruns, Civil Engineering Unit Miami.
• Lt. j.g. Brian Naughton, Coast Guard District 7.
• Ensign Sean Norton, cutter Steadfast.
• Ensign Matthew Oloughlin, cutter Boutwell.
• Machinery Technician 3rd Class Kyle Walker, Station Channel Islands, Calif."
Here's a big thank you to the Command for providing such a great Thanksgiving Feast.
It was such a treat to be able to spend time with everyone on Thanksgiving! The food was great! The people were great! The kids had a great time! And it was even exciting to watch the guys rush out two different times to head out on a case!
Luckily (or maybe unluckily - depending on the surf) everyone had mostly eaten before the alarms went off.
A big thank you to Cookie who did a great job of figuring out how to set up the training deck with couches, a play area for the kids, and all of the food. Everything was really nice and inviting and it was easy for us wives as well as the kids to be able to feel comfortable and welcome. I know I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
-FOOTBALL OF COURSE -
- watchin' Christmas movies -
I Google everyday. I love Google. Not so much yesterday.
Some of you may have noticed yesterday (Veteran's Day) that Google seemed to forget the Coast Guard and left them out of their Veteran's Day search engine picture.
A special shout out to Jenn Rothdeutsch who went out of her way and emailed them.....
To whom it may concern:
I was wondering why you do not have a US Coast Guard hat on your opening display! They are a branch of the military that are often forgotten yet risk just the same for their country as the other branches! Please don't forget them! Please honor them too! Thank you!
US Coast Guard Wife
Jenn R
Google's misstep apparently caused quite an uproar out in cyberspace and from devoted Coast Guard vets, members and spouses with the same complaint.
WAY TO GO JENN!!
Of note - Google did apologize:
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S., a day to honor all veterans of military service. As we often do, we created a special design of the Google logo (which we call a "doodle") in honor of the event. The design for the doodle featured a few military-style hats. We weren't trying to represent all of the branches or all of the symbols of military service and, as a result of space and design limitations, we inadvertently left the U.S. Coast Guard out of our depiction.
Understandably, we have heard from many veterans and Coast Guard members, and have now posted an updated version of our Veterans Day doodle, including all five branches of the military.
Our sincere apologies for what may seem like a slight -- this was not in any way our intention. Our thanks to those of you who were alert enough to catch our omission and diligent enough to tell us about it. Thank you very much to all current and former Coast Guard members for your outstanding service. And finally, thank you very much to all U.S. veterans, for protecting our nation and the ideals it stands for.
The Bonnie Hunt Show is putting together a very special Veterans Day show and would love to have military wives be part of the show. If anyone is interested in taking part in this, the show will tape Monday, November 10th from 4-5 PM at Culver Studios in Culver City.
Please contact Jennifer at
jennifer.pike@bonniehunttv.com
call 310-845-2503
to be added to the guest list.
I am sure all of the wives, girlfriends, and family members out there will love being able to take a glance at this most recent photo taken of the guys at the station.
Thanks to Larry Owens for sending over a copy. I have it above as a permanent fixture, but here's the color version as well.
I wanted to give a big thank you to Lt. Gherardi for all of his help and support.
We had such a great time at the Coastal Clean Up Day this year. I hope everyone from the Station can come next year. It was such a great way to help out the community, and especially the Silver Strand Beach area, which is so close to our Station.
There were a bunch of people there and we all got donuts and T-shirts. It was a really great.
Let's represent the Coast Guard by helping in the California Coastal Clean Up DAY this Saturday September 20th.
Our station, the families, and any AUX who are interested will be helping out at the Silver Strand Beach location. Volunteers should meet at the north end of Silver Strand and clean up will start at 9:00. We will meet there around 8:30 to collect waivers and such. For anyone who still needs one, I will have a stack of waivers. We would love to see a bunch of our Coast Guard family there. If you do come, make sure to wear something Coast Guard related so we can make our presence known!
Please email me if you have any questions and check back here for any further updates before Saturday.
Let's get out there and do our part for the community!
Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission's year 'round Adopt-A-Beach program and takes place every year on the third Saturday of September, from 9 a.m. to Noon. In 2008, that day falls on September 20. Coming at the end of the summer beach season and right near the start of the school year, Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our fragile marine environment, show community support for our shared natural resources, learn about the impacts of marine debris and how we can prevent them, and to have fun! Coastal Cleanup Day is also the kick-off event for Coastweeks—three weeks of coastal and water-related events for the whole family.
Three easy steps to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day, September 20, 2008:
Cleanups will be held throughout California along bays, creeks, rivers, highways, and the coast. Select the area that you would like to help clean and then recruit your friends, family and co-workers. Contact the local coordinator (contact info is linked from the counties below) for directions and instructions on cleaning the site. If there is no cleanup site in your local area, you may volunteer to set up a site. Call (800) COAST-4U or e-mail coast4u@coastal.ca.gov
If you are under the age of 18, you will need to get a parent or guardian to sign a waiver form before participating. Read our safety page for more information.
Wear sunscreen, shoes, hat, and gloves. When you check in at the cleanup location, you will be given trash bags, pencils, and a special data card to tally the items you collect.
Data collection is important! Your data goes into the Ocean Conservancy’s international database, which is used to identify the sources of debris and to help devise solutions to the marine debris problem. Be sure to return trash, recyclables and your data card to the beach or site captain after the cleanup.
With all of the hurricane info going around I thought this picture was pretty telling about the whole situation. CRAZY!!!
According to TV news reports, the Coast Guard has rescued over 50 people so far and Hurricane Ike is not expected to make landfall until the early hours of Saturday. They are currently attempting to rescue 150 who are still on the ground in the Galveston area.
Be sure to follow the CG News ticker on the side column for links to current rescue videos, and news about Hurricane Ike.
Taken from uscg.mil.3 killed, 1 missing in Honolulu Coast Guard helicopter crash
A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crashed last night during a search-and-rescue training exercise six miles off Sand Island, killing three of four crewmembers aboard
Search efforts were continuing for the fourth crewmember.
"This is a very difficult case because rescuers are being rescued," said Rear Adm. Manson Brown, 14th Coast Guard District commander.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said three of four people aboard the helicopter, which crashed about 8:15 p.m., were accounted for.
The Coast Guard said the three were recovered from the water by the Honolulu Fire Department and transported by another HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.
Brown said witnesses aboard a passing Air Force C-17 transport aircraft and Coast Guard 47-foot motor lifeboat saw the Barbers Point-based helicopter go down. The helicopter and boat were doing "routine training," Brown said.
Coast Guard officials said the last major crash of one of its rescue helicopters occurred in 1982 on Moloka'i.
The Coast Guard was notified of the crash by the FAA and launched a C-130 search plane from Air Station Barbers Point.
The inbound Air Force C-17 circled the crash site until a rescue boat from the Honolulu Fire Department could get on scene.
Fire, police and Navy personnel were assisting in the search for the crewmember.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these shipmates and with all our shipmates who have been impacted by this accident.
I am trying to find one free or discounted item every week and this is what I came up with this week. I know this one is a bit odd, but you never know when it might come in handy.
HomeTrafficSchool.com is a website that offers free online traffic school to members of the military who have received a traffic violation.
(Hopefully no one will end up needing this). But if you do - go and check it out and save some time and money!
click the picture for a current link to the NOAA Hurricane Update.The following items are recommended for inclusion in your basic disaster supplies kit:
As of yesterday, the associated press was announcing this....
(08-30) 19:37 PDT San Francisco, CA (AP) --
California-based Coast Guard units are being deployed to the Gulf Coast as the region braces for Hurricane Gustav.
An estimated 1 million people have fled the region as forecasters predicted that Gustav could grow to Category 5 and make landfall Monday afternoon somewhere between East Texas and western Mississippi.
The Coast Guard plans to send units from San Francisco, including an HH-65 helicopter, to Houston on Sunday. Also traveling to the region from the San Francisco Bay area are teams trained in disaster assistance, damage assessment and reconstruction.
Units from Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Humboldt are on standby.
Personally, when my husband joined the Coast Guard I felt a little overwhelmed. Trying to figure out all of the different pieces of information involved in this complete change of lifestyle was difficult. I would have really benefited from having this new booklet given out by the Coast Guard.
This edition of Sea Legs for the Coast Guard Family contains information and tips that can assist you as you begin life as a military spouse. I have been a Coast Guard spouse for seven years and as I read through this the other day I still found some information I didn't know. Be sure to follow this link and click on the first item entitled Sea Legs for Coast Guard spouses and Families PDF file.
It really is a useful tool. It lists information about everything from reenlistment to insurance information, relocation and Mutual Assistance. Check it out, and keep it handy for future reference.
I am still working on updating and posting all the pertinent information that needs to be on this site, and I am really excited about all of the ideas I have. Plus, the collective introduction email will go out to everyone this weekend. But, while I am still working on all that I thought I would post something a little fun.
The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard has a website with a bunch of interesting information on it. Each month they have a "question of the month" with a fun trivia question about something Coast Guard related. I'm not sure what you win- if anything (maybe you could petition for a day of leave if you win - ha ha) but I thought it might be fun to see if anyone knows the answer to this month's question. Besides it never hurts to know a little bit more about the Coast Guard so here goes.....
What famous Marine was on the island of Guadalcanal the same day that Douglas Munro risked all to save them? Why is his name revered in the annals of Marine Corps history?
Good Luck! - you can post your answers here.
I hope that by now most of you have heard of the SKILLSOFT TRAINING SYSTEM. This amazing resource has only been available to active duty personnel in the past. Just recently the Coast Guard has made this resource available to spouses and dependents as well!!!
SEE THE COMPLETE MESSAGE HERE: ALCOAST 164/08
This features an online training format with many courses to choose from including courses in leadership, project management, computer applications and more. The best part of the program is that it is all self paced and it allows access to online books as well. Once you are in the system, you can check out their catalog of courses and find out what might interest you.
I am pretty sure some of the courses will count for college credit as well. I will be checking into that.
To access the system you will need to go to this site.... http://learning.uscg.mil/
Once you are there, you can click on the "skillsoft for spouses" area and follow the instructions to register. You will need the active duty member's emplid (employee ID number) to obtain a username and password.
The main goal of giving spouses and dependents access to this system is to help alleviate the challenges we face in finding employment after relocation. This tool is specifically designed to help you acquire and enhance your professional development skills.
What a great opportunity for all of us. Be sure to check it out and expand your mind!
There is also now a permanent link to the SKILLSOFT website on the sidebar.
If you haven't heard already there is a free concert at Port Hueneme Needham Theater this week. The Spirit of America Tour presents.....
DIAMOND RIO country band, performing for NBVC on Tuesday, August 19th, 1900 at the Needham Theater 1900. Tickets are still available at the Hueneme & Mugu ticket offices (ITT). Open to all NBVC personnel including, Active Duty & Family members, Reservists, Retirees, & DoD Civilians.
Military in uniform and families accompanied by active duty member in uniform will receive preferred seating. Doors open at 1800. Tickets will hold seats until 1845 at which point any unclaimed seats will be given to persons without tickets waiting in line.
ENJOY!!! - anyone who goes - be sure to comment and tell us what you think.
The new untucked ODUs are coming out next month and I am sort of on the fence about whether I like them or not. They seem like they would be more comfortable but I've heard it may cause an issue with wearing a gun belt or any other equipment. 
Personally, they are both great, but I think the tucked in uniforms just look more put together. There is a long history of interesting changes to the Coast Guard uniforms through the years.
My grandpa served in the Coast Guard during WWII and his uniform looked like this one. I can't imagine seeing these around today. 
It's a fun read if you are interested. Check it out here
Though the new uniforms are coming.....the tucked in uniforms can still be worn all the way through December of 2012! That being said, the old uniforms are on SALE!!! right now.
Here's some information posted in a recent email to the guys!!!
TO PAVE THE WAY FOR THE UNTUCKED VERSION OF THE ODU, THE UDC IS OFFERING CERTAIN SIZES OF THE CURRENT TUCKED ODU AT FOUR-FOR-THE- PRICE-OF-ONE. INVENTORY LEVELS OF CERTAIN SIZES MUST BE LIQUIDATED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO STOCK THE UNTUCKED ODU SCHEDULED FOR
DELIVERY IN SEPTEMBER.
INFORMATION ABOUT ORDERING FOUR TUCKED ODUS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE AND AVAILABLE SALE SIZES IS SHOWN ON THE UDC WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.USCG.MIL/UNIFORMS.
CURRENT COST OF THE FOUR-FOR THE-PRICE-OF-ONE ODU COAT IS 27.55. COST OF THE FOUR-FOR-THE-PRICE-OF-ONE ODU PANTS IS 31.52
Tucked or untucked? Anyone have a preference....I'd love to hear!
