We are not preparing for battle, not usually anyway, nor am I advocating violence but a plan is necessary and we need a good plan to follow today. Without one we are left to wander aimlessly and destined not to achieve that which we are capable of. We do have a good plan, the National Strategic Plan, and it is imperative that we all follow this plan and work together to achieve its goals.
What than does the Eagle have to do with the National Strategic Plan? Don’t bother looking because there is no mention of the USCG Barque Eagle in the Auxiliary National Strategic Plan. The Eagle is simply a way for me to understand how important it is that every Auxiliarist follows the Plan and works together with his or her fellow members to accomplish its goals. It seems that at every meeting or Auxiliary event, someone is espousing the importance of every Auxiliarist to support the National Strategic Plan. When it comes to understanding something, I do much better when there is a picture, a graph, or diagram then just a written or verbal explanation. My visual aid in this case is the Eagle.
We often talk of the “Ship of State” when we are referring to our nation. Why not the “Ship of the Auxiliary” when referring to the Coast Guard Auxiliary? Of course the ship would have to be the Barque Eagle. I am an old sailor and I understand how the wind pushes a vessel through the water. I know how to set and trim a sail and more importantly, I know what happens when the sail is not set and trimmed correctly. When thinking of the National Strategic Plan I think of each Auxiliary member being responsible for a sail. It is the member’s job to set the sail and to trim it as required by the National Commodore’s plan. When he or she is following the Plan, their sail is set and trimmed correctly. An Auxiliarist, who thinks they have a better plan and is not following the National Plan, is not setting the sail for the prevailing wind but instead for a different wind condition. If the Plan calls for setting sail for a beam reach and a member not following the Plan, set the sail their way, let’s say for a close hauled wind condition, that sail will not hold the wind and will luff and flap in the breeze. It will not drive the ship forward. In fact it will probably cause it to loose way.
We have all seen pictures of the Eagle. There is nothing more beautiful, more majestic than the Eagle under full sail running before the wind with a bow wave extending down the hull and a wake extending to the horizon. This is the ship where every member is following the Strategic Plan. This is the ship where all the crew is working as a team and following the Captain’s orders, not doing it their way. If we go our own way, our sail will not catch the wind, the “Ship of the Auxiliary” will not run before the wind, but instead it will drift aimlessly in the current, its sails flapping in the breeze.
I am one of the fortunate ones. I have been on the Eagle and even had the opportunity to get underway. It was a great experience to watch the young cadets working together as a team, following the Captain’s orders, and guiding the ship into harbor. I want to be on the “Ship of the Auxiliary” like the Barque Eagle where all the sails are trimmed and set to perfection with each one catching every ounce of force from the wind and driving us into the future.
That’s the ship I will be on, how about you?
JJoin me!
Semper Paratus.
Alex Malewski
Commodore Alex Malewski
Immediate Past District Commodore
First District Southern Region
Deputy National Commodore-Atlantic East & Operations (DNACO–O)
EAGLE AND THE NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”
George S. Patton
Immediate Past District Commodore's Message