Last night I was jumping around the channels of CNN, FOX and MSNBC. I saw what appeared to be a USCG boat working the area of the bridge collapse, I don't know that class you call them now, I last knew them as Safe Boats. (Orange, foam hull over fiberglass, phone booth cabin, twin outboards. The view was from a helo above.)

Good luck to you and though the duty is not pleasant, I hope you can provide closure to some families with missing loved ones.

Take care and thank you for your service,

Don

It looked like one of these;

Thats a 25' Defender Class Response Boat-Small (RBS). They're fun and a decent platform. They make for a bad day when you're in over 3-4 footers. Can you say kidney killer?

I heard something about the CG having divers out there. Are those ours or probably from a local FD or PD?

To the crews out there. Good luck and stay safe. Wish I was up there to help. Eternal rest to the deceased and GOD bless the survivors.

MSST New York has been deployed to the area as well.

We were worried about Rivercop1, one of our Reserve S/A's.

Turns out he was scheduled to work his Traffic Detail that evening, but after spending his day in Traffic Court, his Shift Commander was able to give him the evening off, or he would have been cruising the area on his Harley.

GREAT to hear you're okay, John!

quote:

Originally posted by BM_SARDog:
Thats a 25' Defender Class Response Boat-Small (RBS). They're fun and a decent platform. They make for a bad day when you're in over 3-4 footers. Can you say kidney killer?

I heard something about the CG having divers out there. Are those ours or probably from a local FD or PD?

To the crews out there. Good luck and stay safe. Wish I was up there to help. Eternal rest to the deceased and GOD bless the survivors.

Thanks for the well wishes Sardog. I returned yesterday from the site. My reserve crew, along with 6 other boat crews from St Paul, St Louis, Two Rivers, and Duluth were deployed to the site to conduct 24 hr safety/security zone patrols in support of dive recovery operations. The CG had no divers on scene. All dive ops are being conducted by local agencies. We were relieved by MSST New York yesterday.
As those of you who were at 9/11 and Katrina know, these sights of destruction, although on a smaller scale in Minneapolis, makes you take stock of how important it is of family and friends.
Again, thanks for the kind words.

I live about 30 minutes east of Minneapolis, near Stillwater. The local news (I've been watching WCCO4 News the most) reported no military dive assistance until Tuesday when the Navy came to town.
Dogshow: One reporter mentioned a National Guard helicopter. Was there really one in the air and if so what assistance did they provide?
It was nice to see some D.C. presence in the area but I can't help comparing response time in this event to that of the Katrina disaster (***Please note, not trying to blame or bash anyone. It's merely an observation.)
I had no idea how much Coast Guard assistance there was. The only thing mentioned on the news was that the CG was closing that 4 mile stretch of the river. (Was it 4 total or 4 on each side?)
How is a SAFE replacement bridge going to be built in time for the convention??? The strength and integrity of that bridge worries me.

Let me add a thank you that didn't make it into my previous due to a sudden flow of questions...
Thank you to everyone sending well wishes and prayers and all other support. It's really helping the community.

There was a letter to the editor in the Star Tribune yesterday from an out-of-towner saying that if this was the worst disaster in our state's history, we should just feel fortunate to live in such a safe area. My response... Yeah, maybe we're sheltered, but just because the toll it takes on human life doesn't come near to matching 9/11 or Katrina, the emotional toll it takes on the community matches nearly every disaster in history.
Bad things, no matter how much worse they could be, are still bad things.

I grew up in the same area boarder19 lives (Oakdale) and I happened to be home on leave for the first time in years when the bridge collapsed. I was nowhere near the area when it happeed but it certainly did shock everyone in the area as most at least knew where the bridge was if they didn't commute regularly in that area. The only thing I quickly grew annoyed with was how many people I spoke to who had recently traveled over, or knew someone who had just crossed the bridge. I know it was their way of identifying with the tragedy but unless you were in the mishap, you simply crossed a bridge. The same way you did every day. I was so frustrated with one person I knew that I wanted to say "leave the sympathy for those who lost someone there instead of trying to get sympathy for your "close call"". They had crossed the bridge two hours prior to the collapse.

When they opened the foot bridge near the area people flocked to see the damage. When interviewed many lamented how they felt the tragedy affected them and they somehow needed closure to an event they were not in but there were those truthful folks who said they were there out of pure morbid curiosity.

It was tragic and I applaud all who provided support to the area Coast Guard or otherwise. It was a great response and the area was quickly secured. People in the area had no question that the incident was being taken care of properly and people would be located as soon as they could be. Hopefully those missing will be found soon.

I agree with tankkllr... Stories like "Oh, my God... I drove across that bridge with my daughter 20 years ago... Oh, my God" got annoying fast, especially when told right before or after someone who was on the bridge talked about just knowing it would be taken care of and that they would give any possible support to fellow victims and their families.
This is the worst "Oh, my God..." story I heard: Someone who works in the KSTP (local news, ABC) newsroom told an anchor that a high school friend took a detour on her way to a funeral and avoided the bridge on the morning of the accident.
Many of the people trying to get a glimpse of the wreckage said they knew they couldn't fully understand the enormity of the scene through their televisions. The majority of these people were 50+... the younger folk were just curious and comparing the scene to action movies. The people arrested for breaking through the perimeter... that's just sick.

so baorder19 what town do you live in? I grew up in Oakdale near HWY 36 and 120 and I am very familiar with the whole area.

What REALLY sucks is the guy the local media is reporting on who was a former Coastie who says he's a current civilian Coastie who's trying to sell a depth sounder of some sort to aid in the recovery.

His current CG status was found to be a bogus claim.

I hope they make him walk walk the plank!

Sorry to say, or maybe not sorry to say. He is an actual retired Coast Guard O-6. CG Academy Graduate. Working for a contractor.

It never ends well when you get charged and thrown in the slammer. Its worse when you appear to be bright and supposedly well mannered gentlemen.

quote:

Originally posted by 21yrsUSCGUSCS:
Last night I was jumping around the channels of CNN, FOX and MSNBC. I saw what appeared to be a USCG boat working the area of the bridge collapse, I don't know that class you call them now, I last knew them as Safe Boats. (Orange, foam hull over fiberglass, phone booth cabin, twin outboards. The view was from a helo above.)

Good luck to you and though the duty is not pleasant, I hope you can provide closure to some families with missing loved ones.

Take care and thank you for your service,

Don

It looked like one of these;

tisk tisk...Hands in your pockets? what are you crazy!

Checking for keys, hey you got the keys?

yous got to remember they are in minnesoooooootapass the lutifisk!!!!

quote:

tisk tisk...Hands in your pockets? what are you crazy!

I'm sure that the working Coast Guard in the real world has more important things to worry about than stupid Mickey Mouse protocol.

quote:

yous got to remember they are in minnesoooooootapass the lutifisk!!!!

Ummmm - rotted herring!

quote:

Ummmm - rotted herring!

Actually it is lye soaked whitefish (cod). A family tradition that I thankfully no longer have to take part in.

Hopefully, better than jellied gefilte fish.

Because of its abundance in the Pacific North West, the Swedes of the Seattle burb of Ballard (AKA "Snoose Junction) and other close by communities use herring for the preperation of lutifisk. And since it was allowed to "cure" in lye and involved bacterial action, I would consider the "delicacy" somewhat rotten.

If there was anything that could cure a person of the Christmas spirit, it was lutifisk, something that I tried once but did not inhale...

By the way, authorities are now attributing the cause of the bridge collapse to advanced corrosion exasurbated by the effects of years of pidgeon poop accumulation.

Probably won't be long before someone starts blaming the mainstream media for the bridge colapse. The media seems to be catching the flack for everything else that is dastardly evil in this world these days.

quote:

Originally posted by M_Wood51:

quote:

tisk tisk...Hands in your pockets? what are you crazy!

I'm sure that the working Coast Guard in the real world has more important things to worry about than stupid Mickey Mouse protocol.

quote:

yous got to remember they are in minnesoooooootapass the lutifisk!!!!

Ummmm - rotted herring!

Maybe Mark.. but appearance is important these days.. "off with the beards".. no more stopping in Sears for uniform items (Dickies) and the FatBoy program .. At least they don't have their hats turned around backwards or sporting the Vanilla Ice look..