Coast Guard Fort Myers Beach Station gains third straight Kimball Award
U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach recently achieved something only a small percentage of that particular military branch’s shore-based boat force units have accomplished. And, this marks the third straight time it has done so.
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, during a brief ceremony, the local Coast Guard station received its third consecutive Kimball Award, a bi-annual readiness and standardization assessment award. It achieved the tri-feat under three station commanders -Chief Warrant Officer Peter Louzao in 2007, Chief Warrant Officer Gene Gibson in 2009 and Chief Warrant Officer Jeffrey Kerner this year.
The local Coast Guard unit received a perfect score in underway exercises, rescue and survival systems and its applied training program during the multiple-day assessment. The crew members were also well above average in all the written requirements and gained valuable points through rigorous inspections of vessel conditions by new detail examinations. Only 10 percent of shore-based boat force units have garnered enough points to achieve the award.
Rear Admiral William D. Baumgartner, who serves as current commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District based in Miami, applauded the Beach unit’s superior performance in picking up the Kimball Award. He had heard of only one station to accomplish the feat three straight times.
“It is very unique because only a very few stations receive it to begin with and to see it twice in a row is very rare. You can count on one hand the amount of stations that have been able to achieve this three times in a row,” he said. “To do it over a period of years with different commanding officers tells me there is something intrinsic about the station and the command here to pass this spirit of excellence on from crew to crew to crew.”
U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach ensures the safety and security for more than 150 miles of shoreline, spanning five counties. It averages roughly 170 search-and-rescue cases per year.
Capt. Sheryl Dickinson, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Sector Commander, recognized the “tremendous accomplishment” of the local Coast Guard station’s three Kimball Awards and complimented the teamwork involved from voluntary and law enforcement officials.
“It is a significant accomplishment to achieve once, but to do so three times is absolutely unheard of. It is also a true testament to the current and past leadership and also the caliber of the crew here at the station,” she said.
“It is a tremendous effort exerted by the crew to achieve the already stringent requirements to garner enough points to earn the award. The station’s success and performance could not be possible without the teamwork of the crew, volunteer force and strong partnership with local, state and federal enforcement officers.”
Chief Warrant Officer Kerner shared a couple of stories that led to his command of U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach last August. He then ranked his current crew as leaders in their professional endeavors.
“I knew in my heart that this crew before me was among the best in the Coast Guard and stood inspection ready then and there. I knew that we were living the standard,” he said. “(This crew) would consider it a personal insult to their own devotion to duty to allow their professional standards to slip. They understood that competency isn’t the goal -proficiency is.”
The Kimball Award is named for Sumner I. Kimball, who served the U.S. Life-Saving Service from 1878 to 1915. His skill in organization is credited for putting the U.S. Coast Guard on the road to professionalism and in defining the fundamentals of training and equipment.
The history of Station Fort Myers Beach dates back to 1962, when a crew of nine men arrived on Fort Myers Beach on a 52-foot houseboat to assist vessels in distress and promote vessel safety. From July to the end of that year, the crew answered the call of duty more than 250 times.
In 1972, the Coast Guard purchased the land where the present station sits and a newer modern facility was built six years later. Now, U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach has grown to more than 50 personnel, five boats and eight housing units.
Rear Admiral Baumgartner recognized several crew members of U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach -including BM1 Todd Harder, BM2 Kale Berger and BM3 Damian Niebla – before closing his comments about how the Beach unit should keep striving for perfection.
“The Kimball Award is not the end. It is an intermediate goal that measures how ready you are to conduct a mission,” he said. “You need to go out there, get that job done and prove that you really, truly deserve this Kimball Award every single time.”