No one captures the attention of the entire flotilla as easily as Al when he steps in front of the screen displaying the patrol schedule. If you want to get on a boat, you’d better pay attention.
Al has been Flotilla 96’s Operations Officer since 2006. He is at the heart of what we do as Coast Guard auxiliarists, our on-the-water presence that adds to the visibility and the effectiveness of the United States Coast Guard. As Ops Officer, Al schedules and reschedules the patrols, coxswains, crewmembers, and watchstanders. His spreadsheet changes almost daily as emails arrive at
flotilla96@yahoo.com. Thanks to Al, the coxswain and crew usually manage to meet and get their patrol under way on schedule.
Al is now holding special quarterly meetings with the bridge and staff officers involved in Operations. He says the aim is to standardize the way coxswains and crew carry out their duties on patrol, from handling lines to verbal exchanges as they work. Training will be based on the procedures used by the Coast Guard and will enable us to work with confidence with Station Fort Myers Beach and other flotillas in both distress and non-distress situations. He also approves of the recent decision to require new boat crew to first qualify in the radio room.
On a busy day Al may show up at a flotilla meeting in his scrubs, a reminder that, unlike most of our members, he still works for a living. He has worked in health care for over 25 years. Today he is Radiology Manager in charge of the Ultrasound and Vascular departments for both the downtown and North Naples hospitals. On any given day he is supervising about twenty technicians. He also does the hiring and firing that keeps the departments running smoothly.
As coxswain of his 22-foot Mako, Angie-O, Al has had a few memorable patrols. One involved a “fog parade” from New Pass when other boats learned he was headed for Wiggins Pass and fell in behind to keep him in sight. Luckily he spotted the Alpha marker in the fog and led the parade safely through the Pass. Another was a turtle rescue off Barefoot Beach, when he and crewmen Ned Herrmann and George Stancil brought an ailing sea turtle aboard and delivered it to Fish and Wildlife officials waiting at the dock.Al is divorced and the father of two teen-agers living in New York. He is also a licensed foster parent in Florida after surviving a tedious process he described as more difficult than the screening required to become an auxiliary member. With his girlfriend, Al has sponsored three or four foster children but reluctantly gave it up because, he said, “The system is screwy and the kids are screwy.”
Al lacks only a couple of points to attain his AUXOP designation and has made that his goal for this year.
