Sea Service Organizations 
Prepare Coasties of the Future

By CDR Dale Rausch, Commandant (G-WTR-2)

This article kicks off a series that will describe and highlight sea service-oriented youth groups throughout the nation.  It is important, especially during the current campaign to grow the end strength of the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve, that we look to these organizations as potential sources of future Coast Guard men and women.  Many of these organizations have a long history of Coast Guard affiliation, if not total sponsorship, and many active duty, Reserve and Auxiliary members fill key leadership positions.  This month, we will look at the Sea Scouts.  In future issues, we will feature the Naval League Cadets, the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, and the nation’s only Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program at Mast Academy in Miami.

 

Sea Scouts

The Sea Scouts were established in the United States in 1912, two years after the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated following the form of the original British program.  The original concept of Sea Scouting was to prepare young men for service in the Navy. 

In 1949, the name Sea Scouts was changed to Sea Explorers to help attract older members and provide the opportunity for junior Sea Scouts to continue to participate.  In 2001, recognizing a need to reconnect with the Boys Scouts of America, the name Sea Scouts was restored.

Sea Scout units are called “ships,” even though they might not actually meet and train aboard their own vessels.  There are active Sea Scout ships throughout the nation, though most are concentrated in metropolitan areas near the coastline.

The Sea Scouts were established in the United States in 1912, two years after the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated following the form of the original British program.  The original concept of Sea Scouting was to prepare young men for service in the Navy. 

Members of the Sea Scouts pose in front of a HH-60 Jayhawk  from AIRSTA Astoria, at a training day at MSO Portland, Ore.  Photo courtesy of Sea Scout Ship 601, City of Roses

The Coast Guard has had a long history of facilitating and sponsoring Sea Scout ships, as has the Navy.  Sea Scout Ship City of Roses, #601, is based in Portland, Ore.  The unit, originally named Viking, has been continuously active since 1929.  The name was changed to City of Roses on the eve of World War II.

The Ship has two training vessels.  One, a 29-foot ketch rigged sailboat appropriately named City of Roses, was built from a kit by unit members in 1973.  It has no auxiliary power and must be sailed, or rowed by pulling four 13-foot oars.

The other boat is the former 44-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) 44372 which the unit acquired in 1998.  Though in need of major mechanical repairs, the boat was made operational by unit members in 1999 and has been used constantly ever since for underway training.

The vessels are moored at the R.A. Rasmusen Sea Scout Base in Portland, near the Portland International Airport.  The base is also home to eight other local Sea Scout ships, including the Voyager, which is also a former 44-foot MLB and has an all women crew.  In addition to serving as a home port for Portland area ships, the base is also a cruise destination and supply point for three other ships in outlying areas. 

Of the adult members, four are current or retired Coast Guard Reservists.  The unit leader (or Skipper) is BM3 Trevor Cotton, USCGR, who drills on the CGC Bluebell.  MK3 Mark Littlepage and MK3 Carsten Stoeckler are both members of PSU 313 based in Tacoma, Wash.  LCDR Pat Kelley, USCGR(Ret.), is the former CO of CG Reserve Unit Kennewick, Wash.  Another unit leader is LTJG Chad Holm, an active duty marine inspector at MSO Portland. The most recent past Skipper is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the Gulf War.

Over the years, many of the Ship’s alumni have served in the sea services, especially in the U.S. Coast Guard and Cost Guard Reserve.  One recent alumnus is assigned aboard the CGC Boutwell.  Another is retired BMC Jerry Steed, a legendary surfman from Station Cape Disappointment.  One former member is a senior cadet at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., who plans to apply for a commission in the Coast Guard upon graduation next year.

Over the past year, in addition to underway training, the unit also participated in training at MSO Portland that included incident preparedness, damage control, coldwater survival, and the hands-on use of pyrotechnics.

Several current members of Sea Scout Ship City of Roses are planning on enlisting in the Coast Guard Reserve in the very near future.  The unit maintains a website at: http://www.sss601.org/  .  The official Web site for Sea Scouts is: http://www.seascout.org/ 


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