Say NO to drugs!!

Isabella didn't want to be in the group picture. But Makayla is in the front row, wearing a pink shirt. ;)

MAA - Master at Arms (Navy) demonstrating with her Drug-Sniffing Police Dog.
McGruff

Isabella hanging her "Drug Free" ribbon.

Daddy helping Makayla hang her "Drug Free" Ribbon.

Makayla & McGruff

Police Chief, McGruff, Isabella, Makayla, & Leala (our neighbors, daughter)

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Not only was this a good educational experience for the girls but it also helped them to understand more of what daddy does in the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has a wide range of missions including patrolling the U.S. coastal waters, doing ocean rescue and even drug interdiction.

Here are a few stats:

On an average day, the Coast Guard: * Conducts 109 Search and Rescue Cases. * Saves 10 lives * Assists 192 people in distress. * Protects $2,791,841 in property. * Seizes 169 pounds of marijuana and 306 pounds of cocaine worth $9,589,000.00. * Processes 238 Seaman licenses and documents. * Investigates 6 vessel casualties involving collisions, allisions, or groundings

What else happens during an average day? * Small boats are underway for 396 sorties/missions. * Aircraft fly 164 missions, logging 324 hours, of which 19 hours are flown off patrolling cutters. * Law enforcement teams board 144 vessels. * Cutter and small boat crews interdict and rescue 14 illegal immigrants. * Marine Safety personnel open 8 new cases for marine violation of federal statutes. * Marine Inspectors board 100 large vessels for port safety checks. * Vessel examiners conduct 20 commercial fishing vessel safety exams and issue 11 fishing vessel compliance decals. * Pollution investigators respond to 20 oil or hazardous chemical spills totaling 2,800 gallons. * Buoy tenders and Aids to Navigational Teams service 135 aids to navigation. * Vessel Traffic Service controllers assist 2,509 commercial ships entering & leaving U.S. ports. * Auxiliarists conduct 377 vessel safety checks and teach boating safety courses to 550 boaters.

Want to know more? * The U.S. Coast Guard seizes 1 drug smuggling vessel every five days. * Icebreakers and buoy tenders assist 196,938 tons of shipping daily during the Great Lakes ice season. * International Ice Patrol sorties provide ice safety information to facilitate the 163,238 tons of shipping during the North Atlantic ice season. * The Coast Guard is smaller than the New York City Police Department. * The number of Coast Guard personnel for 2001 is the same as it was in 1967.

"Semper Paratus... Always Ready!"