A weekend with the Coast Guard

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:10:00 GMT

By Lizzie W

Water, fire, helicopters, more water, ice, boats, more water, food, music, more water, lots of teenagers, handcuffs, machine guns, very dedicated Coast Guard personnel, ships, and last but not least, more water. Venture Crew 990 did everything they were promised. They used fire hoses, swam in immersion suits, shot off flares, tried to save a sinking boat, practiced first aid, toured a ship, practiced law enforcement and handcuffing, played with fire pumps, and numerous other things that would take too long to mention. On the weekend of September 22-24 one lone Venture Crew was cast into a sea of Sea Scouts at the 2006 Safety at Sea Weekend with the US Coast Guard. You may be wondering, “What’s the difference between a sea scout and a venture scout?” Not much really. Both Venture and Sea Scouts are offshoots of Boy Scouts, and both are co-ed, with members ranging from 14 to 20 years of age. Both offer opportunities to do anything you could imagine, from wilderness survival to flying a plane. The main difference is, Sea Scouts do mostly water-based activities and venture does pretty much everything. Also, venture is the only form of scouting allowed to use handguns, and is way more fun because they have a lot less rules and regulations. Venture crews are often invited to Sea Scout events, and that’s how Crew 990 ended up at the Safety at Sea Weekend. Friday was by far the least eventful day, 150 scouts arrived at the US coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, not knowing what they were in for. Awakened at 5:30 on the morning of the 23, tired scouts lined the halls of the gym they were staying in, waiting for breakfast. It was never revealed why the scouts were awakened so early, flag ceremony was scheduled for 7:30, and not one of the 150 scouts there took more than half an hour to get up and dressed. After a nourishing breakfast of Coco Puffs and muffins, the scouts headed down to the shipyard for the days activities. The scouts were split up into five groups, Alpha, Beta, Kappa, Echo, and Foxtrot. Crew 990 was placed in Foxtrot, along with a few Sea Scouts from Maryland. The first event of the day was the Mustang suits, and brief overview of the causes and effects of hypothermia. Mustang suits are flotation suits that prolong survival in cold water, think lifejacket on steroids. Each scout was then given the opportunity to put on a suit and jump in the Chesapeake Bay. Next, the scouts got to mess around with an industrial grade water pump, and had a chance to talk with a couple of Coast Guard firemen about what they do. The next station was on how to save a sinking boat. In groups of five, the scouts would climb into a simulator used by the Coast Guard for training. They would attempt to stop the leaks, but most groups were not very successful. Group Foxtrot then went on to the fire hoses, they were shown the proper way to use a fire hose, and then got some target practice. In the end it came down to the two girls from Crew 990 trying to knock each other over using the hoses. The last event of the day was the pyrotechnics station, the instructors explained the different uses for a few kinds of flairs, and then gave the scouts the opportunity to shoot off what was left of the flairs. The day ended with a barbeque and some time to hang out with your new friends. Sunday morning was the same as Saturday morning, up at 5:30, breakfast, flag, and off to a few more stations. First was the law enforcement station. Two federal officers talked about the different weapons they use and what they do in general. They moved on to a demonstration of how to properly handcuff a person, and then let the scouts try it out on each other. The weekend was finished up with a presentation from a recruiter. He talked about different jobs in the Coast Guard and the different options for joining the Coast Guard. If any of this sound like fun to you, and you would like more information on Venture Crews and Sea Scout Ships in the area, please feel free to talk to me, Lizzie Wilson. Or, for more information, you can go to the Venturing website, www.scouting.org/venturing.

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A weekend with the Coast Guard