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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 fl ights. These training fl ights assist Coast Guard fl ight crew members to become dropmaster qualfi ed 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 fl ights 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 fl ight, Terry Hershman, Tom Bodi and Oresto Baffi , all members of Flotilla 7-16 Gulfport rode along in the aircraft.
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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
