F87 Auxiliarist Aboard CG Cutter Gallatin
By Craig Smith, FC F87, Birmingham

WHEC 721, Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin at its berth at Key West Florida

Oct. 12-16, I took vacation from work to go on an adventure I will remember for the rest of my life. My son Kyle works aboard the High Endurance Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin, a sleek 378 foot vessel that prowls the Caribbean half the year primarily searching for drug runners. He is a Nav BM2 (Boatswains Mate 2nd PO who does navigational duties on the bridge). He invited me to cruise on the Gallatin as it was returning from a two month patrol, from Key West to their home port of Charleston. I flew to Ft. Lauderdale and stayed overnight with relatives. The next day I drove a rental car to Key West and met my son. After we did a little sight-seeing he showed me my enlisted mans berth deep in the bowels of the ship. The berths were stacked three high and I had about 20 inches of space, but I slept well that first night in port. The next day the ship headed out to sea as the winds and seas were building. Out of sight of land a lone helicopter came to the ship from Miami for touch and go landing training. The skies were overcast and the wind was blowing about 30 knots. Plus the ship was jumping around in the lumpy seas. This exercise was a real eye-opener and I saw an impressive array of personalities and levels of leadership meld into a superbly functioning unit that executed complicated, technical actions during some lengthy periods of tense and risky operations. I got to see that pilot land his helo on a small landing pad on the back of the ship, while it was jumping up and down at him and while holding the helo steady in a very stiff and variable wind, over a dozen times. It was impressive. That evening in the cramped berth I could feel the ship rocking and a-rolling. Fortunately I don't get sea sick and was able to finally fall asleep. At about 0300 when Kyle woke me up to follow him to the bridge for his watch. Every 30 minutes he has to plot their position as well as do a whole series of other duties. At this time of the morning, the bridge is very dark and only low red lights are allowed. It's like another world and takes some getting used to, especially when the whole environment is moving about due to still lumpy seas.

After a day or two at sea I finally started to feel a bit at home, although moving about and up and down ladders all the time was tiring. The food was OK but they had run out of lots of items like milk for example. One day two of the officers showed me how to use a sextant to shoot a local apparent noon that provided a fix that Kyle used as part of tracking the ships movements through the Gulf Stream. For the most part, he gets his position from GPS coordinates.

Craig Smith on the bridge of the Gallatin and at the navigation desk in the wee hours of the morning

On the last day as we entered the Port of Charleston, I was allowed to board the Over the Horizon Zodiac and our team was lowered to the water while underway. The davit hooks were released and we speeded ahead of the Gallatin to reconnoiter the Cooper River towards the berth at the old Charleston Navy base. Therefore I was on the docks when the graceful Gallatin pulled in.

I wore my auxiliary tee shirt and cap but was not under orders as an auxiliarist, I was there as a civilian and proud father. These types of opportunities are available on various cutters at certain times for civilians, especially for family members. I met a lot of great Coast Guard men and women, elisted and officers alike. I learned a lot about how well trained and dedicated these young professionals are. Plus I learned a good bit about navigation and other operations aboard that complicated and capable ship. We were busy the whole three days at sea, except when I was able to get a few precious hours of sleep. But it was a trip I'll never forget.