Above: Being a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary gives members some interesting opportunities. Local Auxiliary member John Ceryes visited the North Superior Coast Guard Station in Grand Marais on Sunday, September 4. He was able to take a short monitoring cruise with the active duty Coast Guard personnel before they left for the season. Left: Coast Guard Auxiliary members like Ceryes and Heinz Ledowski of Silver Bay manned the Coast Guard Auxiliary booth at Fisherman’s Picnic, providing safe boating information to the public. They also spoke to visitors about joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s philosophy is Semper Paratus—always ready against all threats and hazards. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, including a few in Cook County, assist the service in fulfilling that mission. Coast Guard Auxiliary member John Ceryes of Grand Marais would like to see that number grow.
Ceryes is a great advocate for the Auxiliary, quick to point out two things. Although he served in the Coast Guard for four years, that is not a requirement to join. In fact, the majority of Auxiliary members never served in the Coast Guard. The second thing, perhaps most surprising, is that you don’t have to own a boat. There are many activities that support the Coast Guard on land.
The Auxiliary has an interesting history. Congress established it as a volunteer reserve in 1939 to aid the Coast Guard in promoting small boat safety. During World War II, the Auxiliary performed many tasks that relieved active duty and Reserve Coast Guard personnel for combat duty. Those tasks included offshore and harbor patrols and even the rescue of torpedo victims.
In 1941, the volunteers became the uniformed U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Auxiliary’s purpose was described as “to facilitate other operations of the Coast Guard.”
Ceryes said there are currently over 30,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary members— about two times the number of active duty Coast Guard personnel. There are Auxiliary members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam.
Because of his involvement with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Ceryes has had some interesting experiences. A former resident of Texas, he worked with the Auxiliary as a public information specialist on Lake Texoma, the 10th largest manmade lake in the world.
Here in Minnesota, he has been a familiar face handing out safe boating information in the Coast Guard Auxiliary booth at Fisherman’s Picnic and at places where boaters congregate— at the Grand Portage and Silver Bay marinas and at Buck’s Hardware and the Beaver House bait tanks. Ceryes took part in the Duluth Tall Ship Festival, helping provide crowd security.
As a member of the Auxiliary, he has been able to ride along in a rescue helicopter and onboard the ice cutter Alder.
Ceryes said there is a definite role for the Auxiliary along the North Shore. Currently Auxiliary members are assigned to the Flotilla in Duluth and travel to Duluth on the first Monday of the month for meetings. If a few more people signed up, Auxiliary meetings could take place in Cook County. “We could form our own Flotilla,” he said.
A local Flotilla could not only provide safe boating information, but with proper training could assist in water rescues. Training for numerous volunteer positions is available at no charge to members, much of it online. However, for things like water search and rescue efforts, extensive hands-on training is required. To accompany the active duty Coast Guard on helicopter rescues, Auxiliary members must now undergo training on egress of a submerged helicopter.
Ceryes grinned as he explained that training requirement, stressing that Auxiliary members don’t have to be that involved— but the opportunity is there for those who are interested.
For most people, the job consists of shoreline security duties, patrols on local waterways, conducting vessel safety checks and sharing boating safety information. Something that could be established in Cook County if a Flotilla was formed is a life jacket loaner program. Ceryes has discussed this with the Cook County Community YMCA, which is interested, if someone wanted to take on that volunteer position.
Asked why he joined and continues to serve in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Ceryes said he enjoys the camaraderie. There are the volunteer activities, training opportunities, networking at monthly meetings and sometimes dinners at which Auxiliary members don dress uniforms. “We enjoy the volunteer work and we enjoy each other’s company,” he said.
To join, applicants must be U.S. citizens and pass a basic background check. The Auxiliary asks for a list of an applicant’s job skills to see what role he or she could best play. But Auxiliary members get to decide how involved they want to be. There is no minimum requirement for service hours. For more information or to join the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, contact John Ceryes at (218) 387-2064.
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