WILLIAMSBURG 7 October, 2009: Rear Admiral James Watson, Coast Guard Atlantic Area Director of Operations, visited with the Flotilla 67 Detachment at the College of William and Mary.

Admiral Watson showed and discussed informational videos he had made about the Coast Guard’s operations and missions around the world. The videos focused mainly on the Coast Guard’s role in Marine safety in the past, present, and future. After viewing four videos, all available on Admiral Watson’s page on Youtube.com (http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesawatson), Admiral Watson discussed the growing and ever-important role of the Auxiliary. “We rely very much on the Coast Guard Auxiliary… because the most challenging people are sea going people,” Admiral Watson said. He added the Coast Guard relies on professional mariners to rescue each other.

After discussion of the Youtube videos, Admiral Watson’s conversation with detachment members focused mainly on the environment. In response to Detachment Member Nicole Leger’s question about chemical pollutants, Admiral Watson encouraged her to continue to be involved in chemistry, particularly in chemical details of the environment by saying, “greenhouse gas regulation is going to be huge.”

Admiral Watson also spent a bit of time discussing the international aspect of the Coast Guard, particularly the United States Coast Guard’s help in setting up Coast Guards (and Coast Guard Auxiliaries) in other nations. Beyond that, Admiral Watson gave his favorite reading selections, which include Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. Admiral Watson’s suggestion was to find a book that tells the story of the place where you are, whether you live there or are just visiting.

After Admiral Watson left, Dan Burns, Flotilla 67’s Vice Commander said that Admiral Watson was “very informative and… a good talker.” The Detachment was very grateful that Admiral Watson was able to clear a small bit of time from his busy schedule. All present felt that the Detachment was improved by the Admiral’s visit.