From the Florida-Georgia line and the Fenholloway River in Northwest Florida to south of the Ten Thousand Islands in Southwest Florida and from the interior of the state to the Gulf of Mexico the Team West Area of District Seven includes Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor as well as rivers and lakes too numerous to mention. Within that area 1800 Auxiliarists serve and support Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater (the largest single command in the U. S. Coast Guard), Sector St. Petersburg and five Coast Guard Stations along the Gulf of Mexico.
Team West on-the-water members are coxswains and crew members on Auxiliary facilities and crew on Coast Guard vessels. Team West members serve as Auxiliary Air Pilots and crew. Auxiliarists are watchstanders, radio operators, vessel inspectors, food service specialists, instructors, marine dealer visitors and keep tabs on aids to navigation. As the only volunteer organization in the Department of Homeland Security, the Auxiliary is the eyes and ears for the Coast Guard around and on the water.
- Division 15 in northwest Florida has expertise in providing on the water support to Coast Guard Station Yankeetown whose area of responsibility includes long winding rivers and the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The division’s geographical area includes large rural areas as well as towns and cities including Gainesville and Ocala. The Division Commander, Diane Berman, is in her second year providing leadership to Division 15’s five flotillas and nearly 350 active members.
- Larry O’Brien is in his first year as Division Commander in Division 11 which covers the area of responsibility of Coast Guard Station Sand Key located in Clearwater. This active division is focused on operations including training support to both Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and Station Sand Key. There are over 325 active members in six flotillas in Division 11.
- Division 7 covers the Tampa-St Petersburg area including much of Tampa Bay. Eugene Keller, in his first year as Division Commander, leads this dynamic division which assists Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg in Tampa Bay port security and is the lead division each year in providing on-the-water support for the Gasparilla Invasion of Tampa. The division has approximately 300 active members in six flotillas.
- South of Tampa Bay Division 8 includes Sarasota and serves the area of responsibility of Coast Guard Station Cortez. Division 8 reaches from South Tampa Bay on the north to Boca Grande Pass on the south. William Beckett, in his second year as Division Commander, leads this division which excels in all areas of Recreational Boating Safety as well as operations. The Division has six flotillas and nearly 400 active members.
- Frank Wondolkowski is in his first year as Division Commander of Southwest Florida Division 9 comprised of over 500 Auxiliarists and serves Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach and the Southwest Florida boating public. Division 9 provides administrative support and training to nine flotillas located across a geographic area that extends from the Gulf of Mexico on the west to Lake Okeechobee on the east and from Cape Haze on the north to the Thousand Islands on the south.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the non-military component of the United States Coast Guard, was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the US Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1941.
Please check the division and flotilla website links provided at this site for additional information.