DNACO Malewski said “The Auxiliary made history and changed the paradigm with the response to Hurricane Harvey.” The Auxiliary he said found the right teams that were trained and ready and got them on scene immediately. “I know the Coast Guard was very appreciative and honestly somewhat surprised at how ready the Auxiliary was to respond with short notice” Malewski said.
He stressed the importance of developing working relationships with active duty teams. “CAPT Sugimoto reached out to me because he knew me, trusted me, and had confidence in the Auxiliary.”
For DNACO Malewski it was “winning the Auxiliary lottery! We all work hard at training and becoming qualified to serve the Coast Guard in a variety of jobs and skills. When you are tasked like we were in the Harvey response to assist Coast Guard OPS is when all the training and homework pays off. Trained and qualified Auxiliarists are only one phone call, one set of orders away from being called out to assist the Coast Guard. It was a great experience for me to see the Auxiliary in action bringing ‘Semper Paratus’ to life.”