The Legislative Process

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by AUX Christopher Ware, Director, USCGAUX Government Affairs

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has more than 60 legislative liaison officers who track legislative actions on issues including life jacket wear, public education, boating under the influence, and personal watercraft operation.

The Coast Guard also allows Coast Guard Auxiliarists to testify on legislative matters such as life jacket wear, carbon monoxide detection, boating under the influence, and mandatory education for boaters.

Boat Operations and Training (BOAT)
Created in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the U.S. Navy Center for Asymmetric Warfare, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boat Forces, the BOAT program establishes a national standard for the training, qualification, credentialing, and typing of maritime law enforcement and rescue personnel.

Adapted from the U.S. Coast Guard’s boat forces training framework, the BOAT program is comprised of maritime training and management components, including:\

• system policy,
• the training and qualification process,
• boat crew qualification tasks,
• program manager roles and responsibilities,
• boat crew currency maintenance,
• documentation requirements.
  Other training modules, including search and rescue, are being developed.

For more information:
Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.