Safety Zone Patrol by AUXFAC, Little Joey, Joe Stephens (43), Bill Pritchard (43), Glenn Semel (43), Daniel Hall (49) and Steven Dougharty, Sabine River Authority, who is wearing a life jacket under his raincoat.

Team Coast Guard crews provide assistance in the recovery and investigative efforts following the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. As the world mourned the loss of the seven astronauts, various Coast Guard Auxiliary members freely volunteered their time and facilities to provide assistance to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They aided in the recovery and investigation efforts that followed the disaster. This effort was designed to define what happened to the shuttle so this could never happen again.

Auxiliarists joined 18 assisting agencies and over 140 people at Toledo Bend Reservoir. The Auxiliarists performed safety patrols protecting divers from various organizations. These divers were retracing the flight path over the 65-mile reservoir for pieces of the shuttle, which might explain why the shuttle disintegrated over Texas.

The Auxiliary was tasked with providing a safety zone for the divers. They diverted fishermen and other boaters from the Navy's sonar and diving activities. Without this safe zone their sonar would be rendered ineffective by screw noise. Protection of the divers was obvious and imperative. An average of three Auxiliary facilities were on the lake every day to help in this awesome effort.

The name Toledo Bend is very familiar to sportsmen across the nation; it is the largest man-made body of water in the South and the fifth largest in surface area, 196,000 acres, in the United States. The lake is located in Louisiana and Texas on the Sabine River, which forms a portion of the boundary between the two states.

D8CR briefing

The Toledo Bend Reservoir project was a forest area that was inundated without being clear-cut first. The Texas Forest Service said, "The water rose so fast they did not have time to finish cutting the trees as the scheduled." Trees stick out of the water and are just under water level all over the lake. This situation created hazardous conditions for the divers.

District 8CR members who participated in the search efforts were Division 4 members - Mike Howell (43), Bill Pritchard (43), Glenn Semel (43), Joe Stephens (43), Daniel Hall (49); Division 6 members - Douglas Blue (63), Lloyd Cox (61), Ted Ewing (68), Darrell Middleton (68), Jim Powell (68), Gerald Schroedel (68), Michael Ward (66) Randall Guidry (66), Robert Lacquement (63), Robert Goerlich (62); and Division 7 members - Joanne Kaufmann (72), and Phyllis King (72).

"The Auxiliary was there to augment their active-duty counterparts and other law enforcement agencies," said Mike Howell. "We provided a ring of security for the boats that were doing the sonar work and the dive platforms. We told boaters that there were serious activities ongoing in the area and their intrusion could damage and possibly endanger lives," he added.

Commander Ed Stanton, USCG, Gulf Strike Team, Mobile Alabama, provided a 32-foot work boat which was used to run sonar over the crash site and literally took the Auxiliary under his wing. The active duty Coast Guard crew was under Commander Stanton. Our immediate on scene commander was Navy Captain Chris Murray, who was the dive commander and coordinator for Toledo Bend. Captain Murray and his divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 had just returned in August from diving on the Civil War era USS Monitor. Captain James Wilkins was in command of "all water search."

Briefing by NASA and Navy prior to patrols

The Auxiliary's mission also included operations radio communications. The manned the operations center radio room. Joanne Kaufmann and Phyllis King, (also known as the Flotilla 72 Valley Girls) along with Mike Stacey, of the Texas Forest Service, designed the communication watch at the Fairmont, Texas command center. These three built, monitored and maintained a radio watch on over 22 vessels at a time. Because of their professionalism they were an indispensable force.

The command center was located in the Sabine National Forest in hilly country, making radio traffic very difficult. These dedicated people had to conform to eight or more radio protocols and check hourly on every facility. They literally had in their hands the lives and safety of the rescue workers.

On an average day there would be 10 to 15 divers in the water. Imagine diving in zero visibility in an underwater forest looking parts and pieces of the shuttle. The Navy was in charge and was extraordinary in its safety policies. They furnished a decompression chamber, medical personnel, lined up hospitals, stand-by life flights and anything else that you might think of that would help a fallen diver. There were several incidents where divers had to be placed into the chamber to decompress ear and other problems.

If an Auxiliary facility responded to a dive boat with an emergency and if it was the best/fastest facility available, our mission was to bring the diver to the decompression chamber. What an awesome responsibility!

"You almost thought that you are on active duty because we worked an extremely long and hard day. We were not allowed to discuss what we were finding as a team, but it was very rewarding work" said Mike Howell.

D8CR debris map

Auxiliarist Doug Blue (Flotilla 63) was the veteran of the Auxiliary mission team since he was one of the first to volunteer for the project. He not only took the lion's share of the missions, he also shared his knowledge of the project to new arrivals. The Navy team trusted Doug to the point of installing a sonar device on his vessel to detect submerged targets. Daniel Hall (49) worked with Doug extensively.

Auxiliarist David Phillips (Flotilla 66) offered his vessel for use at the site to any coxswain and boat crew member who were qualified under the current directives. A very generous offer, indeed.

The Navy, NASA, FEMA and various other agencies, who participated in this recovery effort, recognized the Auxiliary's efforts on a daily basis. This mission was a first for most of the Auxiliarists, working with an integrated command support team. Bob Cregger, Division 6 Captain, and Lenny Kappel, Division 4 Captain, worked extremely hard recruiting members to support the search effort.

Some of the D8-CR Auxiliarists who participated in this recovery expressed their feelings, "To have been part of this experience was a chance of a lifetime mission," one said.

Sean O'Keefe, NASA's Administrator said, "We have a tremendous duty to honor the legacy of these fallen heroes by finding out what caused the loss of the Columbia and its crew, to correct the problems we find, and to make sure that this never happens again."

Doug Blue (63)

Briefing prior to patrols