United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 

Flotilla 054-11-03, Gaithersburg, Maryland

"The Flying Flotilla"

About Flotilla 054-11-03

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the volunteer arm of the United States Coast Guard.  It was founded in 1939 to help the Coast Guard promote boating safety.  Today the Auxiliaries role encompasses all non-military Coast Guard missions except direct law enforcement.  These include boating safety, search and rescue, marine environmental protection and port security, among many others.  The Auxiliary is an essential member of the Coast Guard family, and as the Coast Guard grows into its expanded homeland security mission the Auxiliary's role will also expand.

Auxiliarists, while under orders, are uniformed members of the Coast Guard.  They perform a real, tangible service to their community and the nation as a whole.  Flotilla 11-03 members have the additional satisfaction of knowing that their contributions primarily aid Coast Guard operations, including search and rescue, marine environmental protection, and port security.

Flotilla 054-11-03 is an aviation flotilla.  Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the Flotilla's patrol area stretches from the northern end of Chesapeake Bay south to the mouth of the Bay, and east from there to the Atlantic coasts of southern New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and northern Virginia.  Pilots, flying their own, registered aircraft, fly scheduled patrols most days, and are on-call on other days.  Co-pilots, aircrew and observers fly with them.

In addition to pilot, aircrew and observer, flotilla members are encouraged to gain other Coast Guard and Auxiliary qualifications.  Also, all Auxiliary officers are elected.  A flotilla elects a Flotilla Commander and Vice Flotilla Commander every year, and the Flotilla Commander appoints staff officers.  Elected officers must have an operational qualification, and in Flotilla 11-03 they are usually pilots.  Appointed officers fill a variety of roles, and most are not pilots.

Everyone in Flotilla 11-03 has the opportunity to participate to as great an extent as they will.  At a time when the Auxiliary's operational responsibility is expanding, at a time when the Coast Guard is assuming an ever more central role in our country's security, there is at least one role for every Auxiliarist.  If you are interested in joining one of the few aviation flotillas in the Auxiliary, please take a look at the Joining the Flotilla page.

Finally, it's important to note that the Auxiliary isn't all - or even mostly - about grim duty.  The Auxiliary is a volunteer service, and people volunteer for a variety of reasons.  Some because of patriotism, some for the simple love of boating or flying, some for other reasons.  People remain Auxiliarists because they derive satisfaction from it, because they take real enjoyment from it, because it's fun.

Flotilla meetings are the second Wednesday of every month, and visitors are welcome.  If you would like to come to a meeting, please contact us.  The meetings are held at the Flotilla trailer at Montgomery County Airpark, outside Gaithersburg, Maryland.

            Contact