In the Loop is the authorized newsletter of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 59, Smithfield, VA. It is published monthly as a PDF and emailed to members. Hard copies are available by request from the editor. Members are encouraged to submit articles, photos, and letters. Editor reserves the right to edit all submissions for length and content. In this issue: - Henry Troutner fills in at PFB mailroom - Meet our people: Michelle Thornton - Full house at boater safety class

1. Meet Our People
Meet Michelle Thorn-
ton, a prior active duty
Coastie, qualified as
boat crew, air observer
and more!
page 2
Troutner at PFB
Flotilla 59’s Henry Trout-
ner is the main point of
contact for the Ports-
mouth Federal Building
mailroom.
page 1
Boater Safety Class
Flotilla 59 had a full
house for their boater
safety class at the IW
Rescue Squad, with
100% passing.
page 3
In this
issue:
The Newsletter of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 59 • Smithfield, VA • April 2016
Flotilla 59’s Henry Troutner fills
in at PFB Mailroom
Meeting Highlights
See Troutner, page 2 See Meeting, page 2
Smithfield Flotilla 59 held its monthly
meeting March 21, 7 p.m. at the American
Legion in Smithfield. Here’s what you may
have missed if you could not attend:
Awards and Recognition
Chuck Mullen, Sr. completed his
Search Coordination Specialist course,
one of the seven advanced courses
leading to AUXOP status.
Announcements
AUXMU - There is now an Auxiliary
Musician program (AUXMU.) Auxiliarists
with musical skills who wish to pursue
AUXMU qualification should see their
Flotilla Commander.
FORMS - If you can report your
Auxiliary hours on form 7030 rather than
form 7029, please do so. It will help the
flotilla with budgeting.
STATS - Flotilla 59 is number one in
the Division for RBS, SAR, PV and PA
hours, as well as total hours.
Staff Report Highlights
PA - Flotilla 59 participated in the
Safety at Sea Seminar at the Mariner’s
Museum in Newport News. National
awards for Public Affairs are now
accepting nominations. We will submit
our music video from last year.
When downsizing and numerous
transfers took over half of the U.S. Coast
Guard’s mailroom staff in the Portsmouth
Federal Building, Smithfield resident and
Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer Henry
Troutner stepped in to help. Now, he’s the
main point of contact for the centralized
office supply window that services over
400 people in the building.
Troutner’s mailroom duties include
processing, shipping and receiving
FedEx Express, Ground and United
Parcel Service packages, as well as
processing inbound and outbound USPS
mail. Troutner also routinely handles over-
the-counter drug issues, government
vehicle motor pool reservations and
maintenance, copier operations and all
mailroom operations, working alongside
his active duty Coast Guard and civilian
counterparts.
“Mr. Troutner is an extremely
friendly, hardworking and dedicated
individual,” said Lieutenant Commander

2. S
M
ITHFIELD, V
A
FLOTILLA
SMITHFIELD, VA
Troutner
cont. from page 1
Meeting
cont. from page 1
In the Loop
is the authorized newsletter of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 59, Smithfield, VA. It is published monthly
as a PDF and emailed to members. Hard copies are available by request from the editor. Members are
encouraged to submit articles, photos, and letters to FSO-PB/FSO-CS Stephen Faleski at stephenfaleski@
gmail.com. Editor reserves the right to edit all submissions for length and content.
FC/FSO-MS: R. Anderson Braswell
VFC: H. Fred Hetzel
FSO-FN/PA/MT: Peter Faleski
FSO-CS/PB/SR: Stephen Faleski
FSO-IS/PE: George Langdon
FSO-HR: Dean Densmore
FSO-DV/NS/DCAPT: Michelle Thornton
FSO-PV: Charlie More
FSO-VE: Lou Bott
FSO-OP: Mike Quinn
Why did you join the Auxiliary:
I joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary
in 2006 after becoming a Coast
Guard civilian employee. My “boss,”
Sector Commander Captain Scott
Buschman handed me an Auxiliary
application and said you should think
about doing this - we have a need for
an ASC. It’s always a good thing to do
what the boss “suggests” and I have
not regretted it since. The Key West
Flotilla is very active and they put
me right to work qualifying as boat
crew, air observer and instructor all
in the first year. I started working on
my Coxswain qualification and after I
moved to Virginia, I completed it.
Why did you become an AV:
I always wanted to become an
Aid verifier but just did not find the
time until about six months ago. I
see being an AV as a big opportunity
to help the Coast Guard ATON
teams and also it gets me out on
the water or near the water. ATONs
are the traffic signals on the water
and can sometimes be a challenge
to understand, but with continual
training and exposure to different
types, I will become a proficient AV.
Name: Michelle Thornton
Hometown: Smithfield, VA
Profession: Civilian search & rescue
specialist, U.S. Coast Guard
Years in Auxiliary: 9 yrs Aux, 9 yrs
Active Duty
Last/Highest Office: District
Captain, Sector Hampton Roads
Qualifications: Boat Crew,
Coxswain, Air Observer, Instructor,
Aids Verifier
Meet Our People
CS - Flotilla 59’s YouTube music video
now has 2,665 views, and our Facebook
page is at 850 likes.
PV - Division V SO-PV Gary Alvis sent
out revised PV standards to all flotillas.
New rules mandate at least one program
visit per flotilla per month. PVs must notify
their FC or VFC before going on visits for
insurance purposes, even if not in uniform.
You are only required to wear your
uniform for the first visit but are strongly
encouraged to wear it for every visit.
PE - George Langdon taught the
free, state required boater safety course
April 21-22, 6-10 p.m. at the Isle of Wight
Rescue Squad.
OP - Flotilla 59 had eight patrols last
month. Three facilities went out for a SAR
support event and two provided support
to the Navy on the James River. There is
now a monthly PPE check required. Next
meeting, anyone who has any gear needs
to bring it and have it inspected. If gear
is not inspected, the OTO can disqualify
the flotilla from going out on patrol. Mark
all gear with initials (first, middle and last)
plus the last four digits of your member
ID. Do not loan your gear - gear must be
officially re-issued if it is given to someone
else.
Colleen Symansky, Facilities Engineering
Department Head at Coast Guard Station
Portsmouth. “He is vital on days when we
have personnel absences and are short
handed for customer service.”
Facilities Operations Specialist Gary
Robinson also offered high praise for
Troutner.
“Henry is a great asset to the
office services at Portsmouth Federal
Building mailroom, taking good care of
LANTAREA/District Five,” Robinson said.
The Portsmouth Federal Building mailroom
handles all incoming and outgoing mail for
the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area District
Five Southern Region Commands and
Joint Task Force East Staffs.
In addition to working in the mailroom,
Troutner is also an active member of U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary Smithfield Flotilla
59, where he serves as boat crew on
the Flotilla’s river patrols and as a vessel
examiner, providing free vessel safety
checks.

3. Commander’s
Corner
Flotilla
- Anderson Braswell
Flotilla Commander
Smithfield Flotilla 59
Patroling the “Ghost Fleet”
Coast Guard Auxiliarists who qualify as Boat Crew have the opportunity to work alongside
active duty personnel and see some parts of the Hampton Roads community that are
ordinarily off-limits to civilians, such as an up close and personal view of the “Ghost Fleet”
or James River Reserve Fleet docked at Fort Eustis. Pictured: FSO-VE Lou Bott.
Full house at boater safety class
Upcoming Events: FREE BOATER SAFETY CLASS
A total of 27 students took Flotilla 59’s
free, state-approved basic boater safety
course, offered two consecutive nights
April 21-22, 6-10
p.m. at the Isle
of Wight Rescue
Squad Building
in Smithfield. All
27 passed and
were awarded
their DGIF
boater safety
course proof-of-
completion cards.
The course
satisfies the
Virginia state law
mandating that
all motorboat operators complete an
approved boater safety course and carry
their proof-of-completion DGIF card at all
times when on the water effective July 1.
Boating safety instructors George
Langdon, Peter Faleski and Scott Lauder
taught the course.
“The feedback we received at the
end of the course was that they much
preferred the two-night, four-hour sessions
on weekdays over
an all-day class
on a Saturday,”
Faleski said.
“Also, I would like
to extend special
thanks to the Isle
of Wight County
Volunteer Rescue
Squad for the use
of their excellent
facility.”
The Flotilla’s
next free, state-
approved boater
safety course is scheduled for Tuesday,
May 24 and Wednesday, May 25, 6-10
p.m. at the Norfolk Collegiate, room B31,
7336 Granby St., Norfolk. The course
will be presented in partnership with the
Norfolk Anglers’ Club thanks to the efforts
of Auxiliarist Henry Troutner.
It is a well-known fact that I
personally place the WW2 generation
on a pedestal right next to Superman
and beside Mount Olympus.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to
share a drink with a member of the
Greatest Generation, who dove into
the subject of community service.
“You always hear about the
captain going down with the ship,”
the Navy veteran said. “But the
moral of the story is sacrifice.” He
explained that sacrifice is the virtue
most forgotten in modern times- the
ability to give up your own desires to
aid another.
While I listened intently, expecting
a (justified) rant about “kids these
days,” things took an unexpected
turn. The elderly man looked at me
and very confidently said, “Holding
on to your stuff seems like a good
idea now, but the more tightly you try
to hold on, the less happy it makes
you. You just want more, and you feel
empty.”
So does that mean we give
away our worldly possessions and
buy a cabin on the shores of Walden
Pond? Of course not. We make our
sacrifice through community service
and we donate our time. Our service
has the potential to transform lives,
communities, and even us personally.
Observing students pass a class
gives you a feeling of satisfaction
every time. Performing a rescue
quickly puts your own problems in
perspective. Meeting new people
in the community breaks down
prejudice. Being part of a team helps
you find yourself. The US Coast
Guard Auxiliary’s service has, such
as during WW2, helped change the
nation.
Presented by:
REGISTER AT: WWW.AUX59.ORG • 30 SEATS AVAILABLE
STATE LAW REQUIRES ALL BOAT OPERATORS COMPLETE A BOATER SAFETY CLASS BY JULY 1, 2016
MUST ATTEND BOTH DAYS TO COMPLETE THE CLASS AND RECEIVE YOUR DGIF BOATER SAFETY CARD
U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 59
S
M
ITHFIELD, V
A
FLOTILLA
SMITHFIELD, VA
WHEN: TUES. & WEDS. MAY 24-25, 6-10 PM
WHERE: NORFOLK COLLEGIATE, ROOM B31
7336 GRANBY ST., NORFOLK