Semper Paratus
The Coast Guard held a drill today on the Potomac River. CNN reported the events of the drill as an actual event. Drills are held about every day of the calendar. I am in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and I have participated in drills and training exercises. The radio traffic for the raining exercises begins with “this is a drill, this is a drill, this is a drill”.
Despite doing that, people listening to the traffic do sometimes ask if something actually is happening. It is an unavoidable happenstance when the marine radios are being used, even if we use a channel different from the distress channel and our normal working channels. For example, once the USCG Aux was conducting a search and rescue training mission to coordinate auxiliary surface and air facilities. We began each of our transmissions during that operation with “this is a drill” and still received queries from other boaters asking if they could assist. (BTW – thanks private citizens for the offer).
Private citizens are excused from making mistakes about a training exercise – they don’t all monitor the radio with full attention, nor should they be expected to.
Bur what excuses CNN? They are supposed to be the professionals – not just an angler who hears a report and wants to assist, or some family out on the water, in the area, and responds. In their rush to get the scoop they failed to do the necessary fact-checking, to make certain that the radio traffic was real before committing to the report. They blew it, big time, and rather than question the Coast Guard, they ought to be questioning themselves, their procedures, and their policies.
To the devil with CNN. Semper Paratus.
- Entries
Carry on, sailor.