U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam Boat Forces is in distinguished company. Only 14 percent of Coast Guard units receive special recognition for unit preparedness.

Guam's Boat Forces unit was presented with the Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award April 4, 2008, by Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District. Guam's Boat Forces unit is the first to receive the award in District 14.

Not many Coast Guard components receive the award due to the rigorous week-long inspection by the boat forces standardization team. Coast Guard crews must score 90 percent or higher during the arduous testing period, which includes written tests, underway drills, boat material and function inspections, and administrative inspections.

"They were very impressed with the (condition of the) training records and the material condition of our 255021 RB-A (ridged-hull inflatable boat) class response boat. It is one of the oldest RB-As in the Coast Guard and it scored a perfect 15 out of 15 points for the material condition and power trials," said Petty Officer 1^st Class Jacob Clayton, engineering supervisor for Sector Guam's Boat Forces.

"This is a success for boat forces in Guam," said Brice-O'Hara in a short speech during the award presentation. "It shows the recent changes in the Coast Guard were exceeded rather than just met."

"The crew set a standard that accepts only their best, 110 percent, day in and day out," said Boat Forces supervisor Chief Petty Officer Eric Benafel. "Even after critical setbacks caused by our remote location and challenges shipping vital parts, my shipmates maintained a high degree of professionalism that enabled them to succeed in all aspects of military tasking. It is readily apparent in their operational mindset."

The 1-by-2-foot wooden plaque, with an engraving of Kimball, will be permanently displayed over the Sector Guam Boat Forces building entrance. 

"We are all proud to receive the award," said Clayton. "It filled all of us with pride."

Sector Guam's Boat Forces is comprised of three boats, 18 active duty and 12 Reserve crewmembers.

The award is named after Sumner I. Kimball, who was Superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service from 1878 to 1915.

For photos of Sector Boat Forces Guam and the Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award, please visit the Coast Guard's Visual Information Gallery at  http://cgvi.uscg.mil.

###