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Aid Verifier Commitments and Expectations
DOs and DON'Ts for Aid Verifiers
 
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Memorandums of Understanding at the national level between the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary have defined certain activities that are the responsibility of Coast Guard units but that can be performed by qualified Auxiliary resources.

At the district level, these activities are further defined via the District's operational procedure and policy statements. For example, in District Eight, the "CCGD8 Standard Operating Procedures, Chapter 22, Section 6" contains these statements as they apply to verification of private aids.

At the unit level, specific verification programs and activities are jointly developed by the local Auxiliary division and the Coast Guard Cutter that share an area of responsibility (AOR). Experience has proven that a good working relationship (and personal relationship) between the:

– Coast Guard unit (CG Cutter) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and crew, and the
– Auxiliary Division Captain (DCP) and the Division Staff Officer - Aids to Navigation (SO-AN)

Where the units and the local Auxiliarists work together year-round:

• This results in better planning and scheduling of activities:
  Aid Verifier training (and "NE" training if available), Aid Verifier qualification, aid verification patrols, AOR coverage, etc.
• Needs unique to the unit and the AOR can be addressed:
  Special training, running buoy lines, re-verification requests, administrative support, watch standing qualifications, land mobile support for Cutters under way – list is limited only by the imagination of the Cutter OIC, the Auxiliary DCP and Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary policies and procedures.
• Visible and measurable results are achieved:
  More qualified Aid Verifier resources are available; verification reports are timely, complete and accurate; the number of private aids that have to be verified by the units (because the Auxiliary didn't verify them) is zero.
• Ancillary needs are met:
  Coast Guard duty assignments are for a limited time. Auxiliary members have often lived in an area for several years. Auxiliary knowledge about the local area (places to live, churches, schools, doctors, stores, etc.) is a valuable resource and this knowledge should be offered to the unit OIC for newly arrived personnel and their families.

Remember: Experience has shown that the best Auxiliary aids to navigation programs are those that have been established for an area through the joint efforts of the local Auxiliary division elected officers / staff and the local active duty unit OIC and crew!

The performance of all members of the Auxiliary Aids to Navigation Team should be focused on the following Aid Verifier program goals:

1. Annual night verification of all Class I PATONs and Bridges in your AOR.
2. Deliver timely, 100% defect-free (no exceptions) verification results to our customers, the Cutters (for Federal and private aids) and Bridge Administration (Saint Louis, for bridges).
3. Develop high quality Auxiliary Aid Verifier resources in sufficient numbers needed to accomplish the Auxiliary aid verification mission.
4. Provide the training necessary to develop and maintain qualified Auxiliary resources. Promote the Auxiliary Aids to Navigation Programs.
5. Actively promote the Auxiliary Aids to Navigation and Aid Verifier programs.
6. Establish mission plans and schedules working with peers (e.g., SO-OP and SO-MT) and with the active duty Coast Guard units to assure that mission goals and objectives will be met.
7. Maintain strong relationships and communication between all levels (up and down) of the AN staffs, the Aid Verifiers, the Auxiliary elected officers and the appropriate Coast Guard personnel in your AOR.
8. Challenge the Auxiliary Aid to Navigation (AN) staff to provide whatever support the Aid Verifiers (AVs) need to do their job.
9. Execute missions safely and have fun!

An Auxiliarist who wishes to qualify as an Aid Verifier:

1. Must have successfully completed Auxiliary Basic Qualification training including the Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) Course, or the Boating Safely Course, or America"s Boating Course or have equivalent experience in order to pass the Aid Verifier Qualification Examination.
2. Should have a good working understanding of the aids to navigation ("Your Highway Signs") and the "Inland Boating" BS&S lessons or equivalent.
3. Is not required to be boat crew qualified.
4. Is required to attend the annual Operations Workshop.
5. Is required to participate as a trainee with a qualified Aid Verifier on aid verification patrols (or multi-mission safety patrols) at night, where s/he will complete at least one Bridge and one PATON Annual Night Verification Report form.  (This may be a re-check of a Bridge or PATON that has already been reported on in that year.).
6. Must be willing to complete TCT (Team Coordination Training) before certification.
7. Complete both Incident Command System (ICS) 100 & 700 courses before certification.

Note: The Aid Verifier Class training materials assume that the trainee has the working knowledge of aids to navigation basics (characteristics, shapes, colors, etc.) and usage of charts as described in the above lessons.

The Coast Guard District Eight Standard Operating Procedures, Chapter 22, Section 6 (CCGD8 SOP) promulgates Aid Verifier training by the Coast Guard units (cutters) for Auxiliarists within the cutter's AOR. Also, Auxiliary instructors are expected to supplement the Coast Guard training resources in order to reach as many of the Auxiliary flotillas as possible.

Individuals qualified as Aid Verifier instructor / trainer include:

1. Qualified Auxiliary instructors who are currently qualified as Aid Verifiers and who have acquired, and know how to present, the Aid Verifier training materials.
2. Coast Guard cutter active duty or attached reserve personnel who are designated as a qualified trainer by the cutter's OIC. Per CCGD8 SOP, the OIC is responsible for determining the training curriculum to be used by Coast Guard personnel. (The Aid Verifier training materials developed by the Eighth Western Rivers Region are available on this Web site - see Aid Verifier Classroom Training Materials.)
3. Coast Guard District Eight and Director of Auxiliary Operations Training personnel who are subject knowledgeable.

An Auxiliarist should be assigned as Class Manager. The Class Manager:

1. Obtains training resources (location / room, visual aids, student handouts, other training materials)
2. Obtains qualified Auxiliary and active duty instructors
3. Arranges additional active duty participation as applicable
4. Publicizes class schedule, location, prerequisites
5. Assures workshop credit is obtained for students
6. Is the follow-up contact point for the students.

Note: Attending a required annual workshop does not constitute nor replace the Aid Verifier Classroom training.

The Class Manager or lead Auxiliary instructor should complete a form CGAUX-30 Workshop Attendance Report for all Auxiliarists who attended training. A copy of this form should be sent to each division SO-IS for the divisions represented in the class so that the Auxiliarists will receive credit for the training.

Qualification of an Auxiliarist as an Aid Verifier:

• Is the first step to becoming certified as an Aid Verifier (only the Director of Auxiliary can certify Aid Verifiers).  (All recommendations for Aid Verifier certification that originate within the Auxiliary membership will be processed through the DSO-AN.)
• Requires a passing score (90-percent) on the open book Aid Verifier Qualification Examination.
• Can be accomplished by attending classroom training at an Aid Verifier Workshop (five to six hours) or, on an individual basis, by An Aid Verifier Examiner who signifies that the candidate:
  • Has necessary knowledge, and
  • Is qualified to perform Aid verifier tasks.
• Must complete TCT (Team Coordination Training) to be eligible for certification.

The following individuals can designate Auxiliarists as Aid Verifier qualified:

1. Aid Verifier Examiners (for a current list of AVEs, see Eighth Western Rivers Region - Coast Guard Auxiliary Aid Verifier Examiners).
2. Coast Guard cutter active duty or attached reserve personnel who are designated by the cutter's OIC as able to qualify Aid Verifiers.
3. Auxiliary personnel who are designated by the Director of Auxiliary Operations Training Officer as able to qualify Aid Verifiers.

If qualification is done as part of an Aid Verifier training session, the Class Manager or Lead Instructor should forward the students' UNGRADED examination answer sheets along with the CGAUX-30 Workshop Attendance Report form to the DSO-AN.

For individual qualifications, a copy of the form Aid Verifier Qualification Checklist should be completed and sent to the DSO-AN along with the UNGRADED examination answer sheet.

The DSO-AN will forward the qualification(s) to the Director of Auxiliary with endorsements recommending certification as appropriate. The Director will be asked to update the member qualifications in AUXDATA, notify the Auxiliarist of their examination score, and prepare a letter of certification as Aid Verifier (if a passing score was achieved on the examination).

The Coast Guard District Eight Standard Operating Procedures, Chapter 22, Section 6 (CCGD8 SOP) states that annual re-certification is not required for Aid Verifiers who submit a minimum of three valid aid verification reports per year. However, re-certification is required on a triennial basis for all Aid Verifiers.

The required minimum valid verifications can include:

Class I Private aid verifications and discrepancies
Bridge verifications and discrepancies
Federal aid discrepancies.

If an annual Operations Workshop or Aids to Navigation Workshop is mandatory, Aid Verifiers are required to attend in order to maintain currency.  Effective October 11, 2006, recurring TCT (Team Coordination Training) is no longer required to maintain certification.  

However, given the policy statements above, all AN staff officers and Aid Verifiers are strongly encouraged to attend all available training each year. This is a good way to find out about changes.

These and any other meetings, formal or social, provide the best opportunity for all members of Team Coast Guard to get to know each other. Development of interpersonal relationships is just as important as learning aid verification skills!

AID VERIFIERS:

• Are asked to volunteer, either individually or as a group (e.g., FSO-AN representing a flotilla), for being responsible for primary mission coverage:
  • The verification of Bridges and PATONs within a specific section of a waterway in their division's area of responsibility (AOR).
  
   
• Having committed to an AOR, are responsible for assuring that the annual night aid verification missions are performed in that AOR
  • Else, they must notify the SO-AN or the DSO-AN that the duties cannot be performed. This notification must be made in sufficient time to allow reassignment to (and training of) another Auxiliary Aid Verifier.

An Auxiliarist must NEVER:

• Touch an aid to navigation (Federal or Private Aid)
• Enter private property (trespass), even if to only visually verify an aid
• Contact a private aid owner
• Originate correspondence to a private aid owner.

Auxiliarists should ALWAYS:

• Recommend establishing new aids (Federal or private) if they are felt to be needed for the purpose of boating safety
• Identify existing PATONs that may no longer be required, those that mark items that in no way are hazards to navigation (Give your reason for the suggestion, and attach supporting documentation such as upstream and downstream photographs, drawings, etc.)  Justification to downgrade to Class II or Class III, or elimination altogether may exist.
• Report unauthorized aids
• Redirect private aid questions to the District Commander(oan)
• Report discrepancies at any time regardless of the primary mission activity or while on a recreational outing
• Maintain a superior working relationship with the AOR cutter. Don't hesitate to ask them questions, or for clarification.

Note: All private aid reports should be sent to the AOR cutter. All bridge reports should be sent to the Bridge Administrator

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