Currency Maintenance is the broad term applied to minimum
proficiency, activity levels, and recurrent training required to
maintain certification ("remain current") in the surface operations
program.
The Auxiliary Boat
Crew Training Manual describes the requirements.
Every crewmember and coxswain must be underway (under orders) for
at least 12 (twelve) hours every calendar year. Coxswain may be
underway as either crewmembers or coxswains.
This is required to maintain basic experience levels. The surface
operations program needs performance skills that require constant
exposure to maintain proficiency.
Failure to record the minimum activity level will cause the
member's certification status to be placed in REYR (short for Required
Yearly).
Underway time is recorded in AUXDATA when patrol orders are
properly submitted in POMS and a corresponding online record is made of
underway hours.
Every 3 (three) years, each Crewmember or Coxswain must
successfully perform
the tasks in the Currency Check Ride with a Qualification Examiner
evaluating the tasks.
This Currency Check Ride is virtually identical to the Underway
Check Ride performed when the member was first certified. It
includes a wide range of activities, and includes evaluation of
overall safety, policy adherence, decision making, and total
competence ("the whole" in addition to "the parts").
The year in which a member needs to fulfill the Currency Check
Ride depends upon when the last check ride was performed.
Yes. Certain recurrent training must be
taken to maintain certification currency.
Annually, the National Response Department
issues an Operations Workshop. From time to time, the USCG
Commandant makes this workshop required training. If required, every
surface operations member must attend a workshop and have their
attendance recorded in AUXDATA. Failure to attend a required
workshop by a deadline date (usually 31 May) will put the member's
certification into REWK status (short for Required Workshop).
If the workshop is not required, attending a workshop session is
still recommended but there is no certification consequence for not
attending.
The National Response Department also
issues a Team Coordination Training refresher workshop annually.
This workshop can be given locally without requiring a formal TCT
Facilitator. The workshop is required annual training by all surface
operations members.
Every five years, every Crewmember and
Coxswain must attend a Team Coordination Training class. These
classes are presented by trained TCT Facilitators.
Coxswains must renew a Navigation Rules
examination every five years. The expiration date of the NavRules
exam is the actual 5 year anniversary date, not the end of the
calendar year.
Missing any of the above training
requirements requires taking the required training ("make up")
before certification can be restored.
What record keeping
is needed?
Underway hours are recorded through POMS (Patrol Order Management
System), under the responsibility of the coxswain-of-record for a
given patrol. The coxswain-of-record or facility owner fills out
patrol orders in POMS and also submits an online '7030' form for
AUXDATA through POMS.
Recurrent training is reported through workshop attendance, with
either IS staff recording (operations workshop, TCT refresher) or
with
D1NR Cape Cod office recording (NavRules, 5 year TCT classes).
One-time training is recorded by the
D1NR Cape Cod office (ICS classes, initial
NavRules) when results are reported to them.
Check Ride results are reported directly by the QE involved to
the ASST DIRAUX Operations and Training Officer (OTO), who then handles the
necessary recording within AUXDATA. It is HIGHLY recommended that
the member keep some record from the QE about the successful
completion of the check ride.
If certification is lost (REYR or REWK status), the member must
request (via their Flotilla Commander to the ASST DIRAUX Operations and
Training Officer) recertification once the missing requirements are
met (hours, training, check ride). Recertification is a manual step
that won't happen without notification - fix items first (and verify
that AUXDATA has the fixed items recorded), then request.
It is far easier to keep required items current rather than lapse
and "make up" the items. Many people must do extra work to handle
lapsed items for you, and your ability to participate in operations is
suspended when your certification is lapsed!
Why are there places for 2 QEs to sign the
currency check rides?
Both the crew and coxswain currency check rides have provisions
for two signatures of Qualification Examiners (QEs) in the Auxiliary
Boat Crew Training Manual.
Don't panic, this does not mean you have to have two QEs on your
check ride!
This is done in case your check ride needs to be done in two
sessions for some reason. Possible reasons would include that you
were not able to successfully complete some tasks, that weather or
other circumstances interrupted the check ride, or even that the
check ride was scheduled in two sessions (a one-boat session, and a
two-boat session for towing evolutions). It is recommended that
check rides be finished in a single session, but this is not
always possible.
How do I restore my lapsed certification (REYR,
REWK)?
If your certification has lapsed (status put into REYR or REWK),
there may be more than one reason for the lapse.
You need to complete all the items missing that triggered the
lapse. This might include:
- missing required underway hours from previous year
- missing or expired check ride
- expired TCT
- expired NavRules (coxswains, expires on 5 year actual
anniversary)
- missing required Incident Command System (ICS) courses
- missing annual refresher TCT
- missing required operations workshop (only IF required, this
would be REWK status if missed by 31 May of a year)
After you have completed the missing item or items (and had your
FSO-IS or SO-IS verify that the former missing items are now
recorded in AUXDATA), your Flotilla Commander must make a specific
request to the ASST DIRAUX Operations and Training Officer (OTO) to
reinstate your operations certification, indicating what you were
missing and what you corrected.
The last request step is critical! Just completing missing items doesn't
automatically restore your certification, no matter how long you
wait and wish it to be so.
Items that expire (TCT, NavRules) must be renewed BEFORE they
expire.
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