The crew does certification boards and check rides as a team with Eshelman sitting on both active and reserve member evaluations. “We do everything together,” said Eshelman. “If I’m around, I sit on active duty boards. If active duty evaluators are around on a weekend, then they sit on reserve boards. This makes sure everyone is held to the same standards.” Understanding this level of efficacy, Conway said, “We’re pretty mature in the RBS program, and the operational tempo here demands the RBM. We have the capacity, and we are going to train up on it.” Toward that end, Station New York hosted a 45-foot RBM boat college over the summer. Using the additional training periods supplied by the Coast Guard Reserve for both individuals seeking new certifications and their respective trainers, Eshelman put together a training plan to certify both active and reserve members on the platform. The Friday evening of the four-day boat college, a crew of 10 assembled in the first-floor conference room in the Station operations building. Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Esposito, a break-in coxswain on the 45, led the operations brief for the crew, reviewing the tasks to be accomplished. Eshelman assigned the personnel positions required for the day’s tasks, including mooring evolutions that would be part of each member’s training. “Only go as fast as you want to hit something,” said Eshelman wryly. As part of the risk assessment brief, Petty Officers 1st Class Scott Liebensohn and John Pizzuto shared the weather and tide information. After the crew determined that there was low risk and medium gain for the morning’s trip, they all proceeded to the boat docks to get underway. Each member of the crew had an opportunity to maneuver the boat with ample “stick time;” they also took turns performing each of the other duties in the man overboard drills and anchoring evolutions. Petty Officer 1st Class Sam Guzman, an active duty member, oversaw the training evolutions, while Eshelman assisted the break-in coxswains as they learned to maneuver the water jet-propelled craft. Maintenance Weekend Reserve machinery technicians assigned to Station New York have the option of drilling on the weekend with the Maintenance Assist Team or remaining in an operations section to obtain boat and law enforcement competencies. “The creation of the maintenance team at Station New York has been one of the greatest ideas and accomplishments for both myself as a machinery technician and the station,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Genao. He said there were collaborative benefits for active duty and reserve personnel as they work together to resolve the often-overwhelming maintenance tasks a large station encounters. “The inception of the MAT team has created a bond between active duty and reserve personnel that I’ve never seen in my 13- year career,” said Genao. “We’re able to participate in the roles for which we initially enlisted.” Having the experience to work on both boats and facilities proved to be useful when members deployed during the 2017 hurricane season to aid recovery efforts. “On an island where power loss was devastating, many key members were able to operate, maintain, and repair generators for critical pieces of equipment in buildings, hospitals, and homes,” said Genao. The RMAT weekend personnel coordinated their worklist with the assistant engineering petty officer prior to their duty weekend. Members are certified to splash boats through the Chief Warrant Officer 4 Fred Eshelman explains procedures to Seaman Apprentice Odin Arnold during training. trailer program, and others are qualified to maintain assets through general naval engineering requirements. Conway said his reservists helped keep the Station’s boat availability numbers high despite the high operational tempo with events like Fleet Week and the U.N. General Assembly. He said he hopes to send many more reserve members to engineering related “C” Schools. “The creation of the Reserve MAT has been a huge success,” said Genao. “This program can be implemented in many stations and units around the Coast Guard.” Operations Station New York’s reserve personnel are fully equipped to respond to security missions and emergencies alike. Petty Officer 2nd Class Martin Eves said, “We are involved in all kinds of operations. We supported the New York Jet Ski Invasion. We worked security zones during the Sail Grand Prix Race, and we often run various other law enforcement evolutions.” Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Flynn spoke about a recent SAR case where he, Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Sesa, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Collin Bins responded to a boat that capsized with two people on board. “A life jacket inflated and trapped the man wearing it under the boat,” said Flynn. “The other person, whose life jacket didn’t inflate, swam under the boat to get him.” Everyone was recovered safely. Reservists at Station New York have a reputation of being important cogs in Station New York’s operations wheel. This tradition of excellence continues with the addition of the RBM and MAT programs. The motivation to build bigger and better programs might be inspired by the silhouettes of some of the largest buildings in the world, just a few miles north of where Station New Yorkers moor their boats and conduct most of their work. Whatever is fueling the motivation, it is apparent that those assigned to Station New York are absolutely making it there, and they’re ready to deploy their skills anywhere. Issue 2 • 2019 � RESERVIST 15
