ALCOAST 522/22 - DEC 2022 PROMULGATION OF THE AUXILIARY INTEGRATION AWARD PROGRAM

R 271400Z DEC 22 MID600052536190U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 522/22
SSIC 1650
SUBJ: PROMULGATION OF THE AUXILIARY INTEGRATION AWARD PROGRAM
A. Auxiliary Policy Statement
B. Commandant's Intent 2022
C. Recognition Programs Manual, COMDTINST 1650.26
1. In support of REFs (A) and (B), this ALCOAST promulgates a new
two-pronged award program to recognize Coast Guard units/offices and
District Directors of Auxiliary (DIRAUX, dpa) that significantly
promote the Coast Guard Auxiliary and integrate it into Coast Guard
operations and activities.
2. The Commodore Viggo C. Bertelsen, Jr. and Vice Admiral John P.
Currier Award recognizes Coast Guard units/offices for their
distinguished Auxiliary integration achievements. Commodore
Bertelsen, National Commodore at the time of the 9/11 tragedy,
quickly composed Operation Patriot Readiness, created Auxiliary Unit
and Sector Coordinators, and achieved a level of Auxiliary
integration with Coast Guard unit operations and activities that had
never existed. Vice Admiral Currier served as the Ninth District
Director of Auxiliary from 1998-2001, the District Commander's
direct representative for the management and administration of more
than 3,000 Auxiliarists, their facilities, their skills, and ensured
their readiness when 9/11 occurred.
a. As the scope of the Coast Guard's responsibility to provide
unparalleled service and support to the maritime public and its
workforce has expanded, so has the scope expanded of the Auxiliary's
ability and commitment to support the Coast Guard. Although
recreational boating safety remains its primary mission, the
Auxiliary also provides the Coast Guard with significant support in
a rapidly expanding array of non-traditional programs like flight
surgeon support to Coast Guard healthcare facilities, religious
ministry support to District Chaplains, cyber security training at
the Coast Guard Academy, and galley and dining facility support
through its culinary assistance program.
b. With the objectives of transforming our total workforce,
sharpening our competitive edge, and advancing our mission
excellence, this award recognizes Coast Guard units/offices that
capitalize on their relationship with the Auxiliary. They must
demonstrate significant interaction with the Auxiliary by developing
and promoting beneficial opportunities that employ Auxiliary
experience and resources that improve mission performance, and
leveraging them to shape a fortified and unified workforce.
c. The award is presented annually in recognition of Coast Guard
units/offices judged to be most supportive of a totally integrated
Coast Guard force as demonstrated by their effective use and support
of the Auxiliary during the previous calendar year.
(1) Award Categories and Criteria. Awards will not be based
solely on measurable data. Historical background and circumstances
arising during the award period that provide appropriate context, as
well as other best practices that foster and capitalize on Auxiliary
integration into Coast Guard mission support, operations and
innovation will be considered. An award will be presented annually
toa Coast Guard unit/office for each of the following three
categories:
(a) Enhanced Mission Support. Creativity and diversity in
leveraging Auxiliary skills, experience, and resources that
enhance and improve the unit's/office's ability to:
i. Remain always ready for operational missions.
ii. Maintain its surface, aviation, shore-side
facility, and/or C4IT systems.
iii. Train, prepare and develop its people.
iv. Support its operators in both planned and
emergency situations requiring visibility across the country and
integration across lines of business.
v. Improve unit/office morale and esprit-de-corps.
(b) Enhanced Operations. Creativity and diversity in
leveraging Auxiliary skills, experience, and resources that
enhance and improve the unit's/office’s ability to:
i. Efficiently and effectively perform its
operational missions.
ii. Analyze, identify and fill unit resource gaps to
optimize mission execution, and promote and achieve
maritime safety, security and stewardship.
iii. Establish and maintain relations with
interagency partners and maritime stakeholders to achieve unit/
office objectives.
iv. Execute operational planning, policy and/or
international engagement.
v. Improve unit/office morale and esprit-de-corps.
(c) Applied Innovation. Creativity and diversity in
leveraging Auxiliary skills, experience and resources that
enable the unit/office to efficiently and effectively:
i. Employ new ideas that develop and implement
practices and tools that enhance and improve readiness,
preparedness, and mission execution.
ii. Foster a culture of continuous innovation and
learning.
iii. Increase the potential for rapidly generating
ideas to solve challenges.
iv. Find new solutions to challenges through
encouraging, recognizing and rewarding innovative
ideas.
v. Improve unit/office morale and esprit-de-corps.
(2) Nominations.
(a) All Coast Guard units/offices at district, area, and
headquarters levels are eligible for nomination.
(b) Units/offices must submit nomination packages through
their chain of command. Anonymous nominations will not be
accepted.
(c) A unit that has subordinate units may consolidate
Auxiliary interaction and support from those subordinate
units into its single nomination. In doing so, independent
nominations from any of those subordinate units may not be
submitted.
(d) The same unit/office may be nominated for, and earn,
the award for more than one of the three categories in the
same year.
(e) An award-winning unit/office cannot be nominated in
the same category for a successive year. A subordinate unit of
an award-winning unit consolidation may submit its own unit
nomination the following year as long as it is not part of
another consolidated nomination.
(f) Nomination packages for CY 2022 must be forwarded to
arrive at the Coast Guard Office of Auxiliary and Boating
Safety (CG-BSX) by 17 Feb 2023. COMDT (CG-BSX) will convene the
selection board to review nomination packages and select
the awardees. Nomination packages must include the
following:
i. Narrative. This must be in standard Coast Guard
memorandum format, addressed to COMDT (CG-BSX), and summarize
accomplishments for the criteria described above. It
must be single-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font
and must not exceed three pages.
ii. Citation to accompany presentation. Not to exceed
16 lines, single-spaced, portrait, justified and 12-point
Times New Roman font. It must be a Microsoft Word document (no PDF).
(3) Selection Board. The selection board will be composed of
the following members:
(a) COMDT (CG-BSX) (Chair).
(b) Chief, Auxiliary Division (CG-BSX-1).
(c) Chief, Auxiliary Administration Branch (CG-BSX-11).
(d) Chief, Auxiliary Operations Branch (CG-BSX-12).
(e) Auxiliary Vice National Commodore.
(f) Officer (O-3 and above).
(g) Reservist (O-3 and above).
(h) Enlisted (E-7 and above).
(i) Civilian (GS-12 and above).
(4) Presentation. Awardees will be announced by ALCOAST.
Nominees identified for honorable mention will be included
in this announcement. Award hardware will be forwarded to
the cognizant DIRAUX for coordination of an appropriate
presentation ceremony with the unit/office.
3. The District Director of Auxiliary of the Year Award recognizes
the DIRAUX who significantly promotes and advances Auxiliary
programs to improve Auxiliary recruitment and retention and fully
leverage available Auxiliary skills, experience, and resources to
support Coast Guard operations and activities throughout their
district. The award is presented annually for superior performance
during the previous calendar year.
a. Award Criteria. Qualitative and quantitative information
analyses should be included in narratives of nomination
packages. Determining the awardee will be based on the following
primary factors:
(1) Demonstrated high performance as an officer and role model
with strong commitment to Auxiliary programs and initiatives.
(2) Creativity and diversity in leveraging Auxiliary skills,
experience and resources throughout the district to:
(a) Analyze, identify, and fill resource and mission gaps
for Coast Guard units/offices using Auxiliary resources.
(b) Enhance and improve Auxiliary recruitment and
retention.
(c) Support Coast Guard missions, surge operations, and
incident response.
(d) Improve Auxiliary morale, esprit-de-corps, material
condition, and personnel readiness.
(3) Comprehensive promotion and conduct of Auxiliary training
and communications.
(4) Active promotion of the incorporation of Auxiliary skills,
experience and resources into Coast Guard unit/office
organization and business.
(5) Promotion and achievement of expanded recognition of
Auxiliary support.
b. Nominations.
(1) Nominees must be Coast Guard officers assigned to a
district DIRAUX billet and must have served as such for
at least six months of the calendar year.
(2) Nomination packages must be submitted through the DIRAUX
chain of command. The cognizant Auxiliary District Commodore
must be included in the routing for endorsement. In cases in
which a DIRAUX oversees the regions of more than one District
Commodore, a consolidated endorsement from them is acceptable.
Anonymous nominations will not be accepted.
(3) There is no limit to the number of nominations from a
district that has more than one DIRAUX.
(4) An award-winning DIRAUX cannot be nominated for a
successive year.
(5) Forward nomination packages to arrive at COMDT (CG-BSX)
by 17 Feb 2023. COMDT (CG-BSX) will convene the selection board
to review nomination packages and select the awardee. Nomination
packages must include the following:
(a) Narrative. This must be in standard Coast Guard
memorandum format, addressed to COMDT (CG-BSX) and summarize
accomplishments for the criteria described above. It
must be single-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font and
must not exceed three pages.
(b) Citation to accompany presentation. Not to exceed 16
lines, single-spaced, portrait, justified and 12-point
Times New Roman font. It must be a Microsoft Word document (no PDF).
c. Selection Board. The selection board identified in section
2.c.(3) of this ALCOAST will also serve as the selection board
for this award.
d. Presentation. The awardee will be announced by ALCOAST.
Nominees identified for honorable mention will be included
in this announcement. Award hardware will be presented to
the awardee at the annual Auxiliary National Conference.
4. No paper distribution will be made of this directive change. It
will be incorporated into the next revision of REF (C) and will be
electronically available at the following web sites:
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https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/library/SitePages/Home.aspx

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https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-
C4IT-CG-6/The-Office-of-Information-Management-CG-61/About-CG-
Directives-System/Commandant-Instruction-Manuals/smdpage2823/4/

5. This ALCOAST will be canceled on 26 DEC 2023.
6. POC: For additional information regarding this ALCOAST contact
COMDT (CG-BSX-1) at CGAUX@uscg.mil.
7. RDML W. R. Arguin, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy
(CG-5P), sends.
8. Internet release is authorized.