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HILLSBOROUGH: Coast Guard’s local home

BY Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
   The most gratifying moment in 22-year-old Ernie Hall’s first year with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla, based in Hillsborough, happened last month during one of the group’s routine boat inspections.
   ”At Round Valley (Recreation Area, in Clinton) two weeks ago, a 10-year old boy looks me straight in the face, and says, ‘You’re a military man,’” Mr. Hall, a Raritan resident, said. “He runs over to his dad and says, ‘I want to be like him when I grow up.’ He’s looking at me as a mentor or somebody to look up to.”
   Though landlocked and far from the first places that might come to mind for boating, Hillsborough is home to a 45-member Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla with members hailing from throughout the state, Flotilla Commander Michael Klacik said. The flotilla meets the third Monday of every month at the Somerset County Emergency Services Training Academy, on Roycefield Road.
   Despite the distance from the ocean, the proximity to Spruce Run State Park, Round Valley Recreation Area, the Raritan River and Raritan Bay and the Delaware Canal makes boating, canoeing and kayaking popular for area residents, Mr. Klacik said.
   For the all-volunteer auxiliary, it means conducting safety courses — which will become mandatory for obtaining a boating license — boat inspections, patrols and aiding the active-duty Coast Guard in its responsibilities.
   ”If a boater wants to increase their education, it’s a great place to learn and increase knowledge,” said Frank Catena, of Phillipsburg, one of the flotilla’s members.
   ”We have members who come from all walks of life,” Mr. Klacik said. “We have police officers, computer technicians. There’s always something you can do. There’s a job for everybody.”
   In addition, the flotilla’s duties include educating local boaters and addressing safety concerns arising in the waterways. “Operation Paddle Smart,” last year’s effort to educate canoers, kayakers and rafters about the dangers of their sport, reduced fatalities in the central New Jersey area by 35 people, Mr. Klacik said.
   This year, Operation Paddle Smart began April 1, but is only one of the initiatives the flotilla intends to address. This year, it will concentrate on children’s life jackets, particularly ensuring the devices fit properly.
   Part of the Coast Guard’s Division 1, Southern Region, the flotilla operates out of Fort Wadsworth, N.Y., and operates between there and Sandy Hook. Auxiliary members sometimes assist the active-duty Coast Guard as well by going on patrols, manning communications systems and occasionally accompanying the Coast Guard on missions, Mr. Klacik said.
   For several flotilla members, the volunteer organization drew them in, either from their interest in boating or public service.
   ”I was always into fishing, and our commander is also friends with my brother,” said Mr. Hall, who met Mr. Klacik after having a boat inspected. “I really joined because I wanted to go into the military, but I never really had the guts to join up.”
   The Coast Guard Auxiliary is considered a branch of the military though its members are civilian volunteers.
   ”I joined right after 9-11 so there was a sense that this was something that needed to be done,” Mr. Catena said. “It’s a great way, if you want to serve your country, but can’t make the time commitment (to the active-duty military); this is a great alternative.”
   In addition to holding positions in the local flotilla, members also can hold positions in the Coast Guard Auxiliary Divisions — groups of five flotillas in the same geographic area — and in the Coast Guard Auxiliary District, which is composed of several divisions, Mr. Klacik said.
   To join the flotilla, applicants must be at least 17 and an U.S. citizen. To join, visit the Web site, www.cgaux.org, or come to its monthly meeting. Owning a boat is not mandatory to join the auxiliary, according to the Web site.
   ”So far, the experience I’ve had had been amazing,” Mr. Hall said. “I never thought serving the general public could be so rewarding and meaningful.”