BOB PETCHER The local unit of the U.S. Coast Guard proudly displays their awards and pennant.

The U.S. Coast Guard Station on Fort Myers Beach received two prestigious national awards Friday – one that recognized the unit as the best in the country and the other that distinguished it amongst the top 10 percent in the nation and marked the second consecutive time the local coast guard station received such an award.

FMB Coast Guard collected the Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award which went to those units that achieve and maintain the highest standards of boat and crew readiness. It also picked up the CG Unit Intelligence Award which is presented to the unit that best demonstrates its intelligence performance, readiness and initiative in support of the Coast Guard’s missions.

“The Kimball Readiness Award was established in 2001 and is awarded every two years,” said Petty Officer Second Class BM2 Matt Smith. “This recognizes the best of the best of coast guard stations in the country and only 10 percent of coast guard stations get this award. Last time we received it, we were one of 70 stations in the whole country to get it. It’s a pretty significant, elite award.”

After receiving the readiness award in 2007, the local coast guard station was again visited and evaluated by the readiness standardization assessment team in March 2009. The wording on the plaque labeled the unit’s boat crews “outstanding” and the team can be “truly proud of their achievements especially considering the pace of operations in our boat forces community.”

“They look at all our administrative work and training work,” said Petty Officer Smith. “They go over all of our rescue and survival equipment. They look at the readiness of the boats and boat inspections themselves. They are very meticulous inspections. After the inspections, we take the boats out and everybody on the crew has to run through drills.”

BOB PETCHER The U.S. Coast Guard's Brian Murphy, chief officer of enforcement division, presents the Unit Intelligence Award alongside Chief of Staff Scott Buschman of the 7th Coast Guard District and Captain Timothy Close of SECTOR St. Petersburg at the Fort Myers Beach station. Congressman Connie Mack's District Director Kara Wright and FMB vice Mayor Herb Acken look on.

FMB Coast Guard then was “cited for superior intelligence support provided to the law enforcement US intelligence committees during 2008.” The FMB station “cultivated and refined its maritime intelligence capabilities forming the Southwest Florida organized smuggling intelligence group” evolving from nine to over 200 members.

“Our primary mission isn’t to collect intelligence,” said Petty Officer Smith. “However, one coast guard station in the country receives that per year.”

Multi-agency operations wielded 68 arrests, 27 vessel and 23 vehicle seizures and the recovery of 13 stolen boats. Intelligence produced over 70 Department of Homeland sighting reports and 31 field intelligence reports.

FMB Coast Guard’s intelligence gathering capabilities also “led to the creation of Southwest Florida joint maritime operation center on Marco Island to actively engage federal activity to provide an operational base from maritime enforcement partnering agencies. In addition, the local team “enthusiastically trained more than 3,000 law enforcement personnel and conducted 27 joint intelligence operations enhancing the coast guard’s intelligence program.”

“The coast guard does these inspections to see how sound a station is,” said Petty Officer Smith. “The good thing about it, especially when we get press coverage, now the public can see.”

FMB vice Mayor Herb Acken and District Director Kara Wright from Congressman Connie Mack’s office were in attendance.