Division 7 Boat Crews Support Coast Guard Training Flights One of the favorite missions of Division 7 boat crews is to support Clearwater Air Station in conducting C-130 Hercules training flights. These training flights assist Coast Guard flight crew members to become dropmaster qualfied by dropping simulated message blocks and simulated life raft training bags from a C-130 to Auxiliary vessels waiting at designated positions within Tampa Bay. The Coast Guard C-130s swoop down and drop their packages near the Auxiliary vessel ‘targets’ below with amazing accuracy. It is a thrill to see these massive aircraft approach over the water’s surface! Due to the pandemic, supporting Coast Guard C-130 training flights is one of the few missions in which the Auxiliary continues to participate. Sometimes, the Coast Guard authorizes Auxiliary members to ride along in the C-130 Hercules. These members observe the process from the air and photograph the missions from above. In one such flight, Terry Hershman, Tom Bodi and Oresto Baffi, all members of Flotilla 7-16 Gulfport rode along in the aircraft.
About Clearwater Air Station Clearwater Air Station is the largest and busiest Air Station in the Coast Guard. In addition to the local area, our Area of Operations includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean basin, and the Bahamas. We constantly maintain deployed H-60s for Operations Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), a joint DEA, Coast Guard, Bahamian Turks and Caicos anti-drug and migrant smuggling operation in the Bahamas. We also have C-130s deployed in support of Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) operations in the Caribbean. This is done while simultaneously maintaining a constant Bravo Zero Search and Rescue response at home in Florida. The Air Station is commanded by Capt. Joseph T. McGilley. Ω Top: Terry Hershman (left) and Tom Bodi pose at the controls of a C-130 Hercules (Photo from 2015). Mid-page: The C-130 approaches the Auxiliary target vessel to drop its package Bottom: The package drops in the water close to the Auxiliary vessel with amazing accuracy. Photos by Oresto Baffi, Flotilla 7-16 Gulfport.
INTERCOM
Division 7 Tampa Bay
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