Making it count: the art of reporting your time

Shipmates,
Almost everything you do as an Auxiliarist in support of the Coast Guard is reportable - and it is worth reporting for a number of reasons:

1. Your time counts towards a variety of personal and unit awards.
2. We make the case for the value of Auxiliary programs based on the time and mission accomplishment reported. Time really does equal money in many cases.
3. The Coast Guard has certain mandated missions and by reporting time and accomplishment on these missions we help meet these requirements.
4. Your reporting helps the Coast Guard and Auxiliary leadership plan for, and meet, the need for training and equipment for the Auxiliary.

Here is my cheat sheet on which form to use, it isn't comprehensive but it should get you started and lead you in the right direction for the cases not addressed. I'll discuss how to use these forms in future posts. Each form has instructions.

Missions with unique forms:

Vessel exams or a facility inspection?

• Mission time: Record the time on a 7038 Vessel Examination Activity Report
• Travel and preparation time: Report on your 7029 Member Activity Log

Recreational boating safety visit?

• Mission time: Record the time on a 7046 RBS Visitation Report
• Travel and preparation time: Report on your 7029 Member Activity Log

Some specified Auxiliary workshops

• Class time: In the case of 18 specified Auxiliary workshops the instructor will circulate a  7039 Workshop Mission & Attendance Report
  
• Travel and preparation time: Report on your 7029 Member Activity Log

Note: While there is a 7054 Aids to Navigation, report which is used in the AN chain, you still need to submit a 7030 for hours.

Everything else:

Most other activities are reported on either a 7030 Mission Activity Report or a 7029 Member Activity Log. Figuring out which of these form to use and how to use it can be challenging.

In general the 7030 is used for missions and the 7029 logs time for preparation, travel, and individual study. The concept of missions in this context is broad and there are over 80 different mission codes which can be used on a 7030. Luckily most of these are not relevant to the majority of us and new members need even fewer because of the "crew" concept of the 7030.

What do I mean by "crew" concept? When a 7030 is filed for a mission with multiple participants (or crew) it is filed by the lead on the mission. This is best illustrated by a surface facility (e.g. boat patrol) mission where the 7030 is prepared by the Coxswain as the mission lead. As a crew member you only need to report your preparation and travel time (on your 7029). Your Coxswain should send you a copy of the 7030 for the mission so you have it for your records -- if you don't get one ask for it.

What other kinds of missions are covered by the 7030?

• Any operational mission
• Augmenting at Sector
• Checking Aids to Navigation
• Public Affairs watch standing and many other PA activities (websites, newsletters, etc.)
• Member training (as the instructor only)
• ... and many more - the 7030 form has both a summary and a detailed list

The downside of a 7030 is that you can only report one day of continuous activity. If you do the same mission day after day (or broken into multiple segments in a single day) as an individual it can be tedious to create a form for each. Our Flotilla has a policy to simplify this reporting for missions done as an individual on an ongoing basis. Rather than submitting a 7030 you may send an email in the following format to the FSO-IS:

[Last Name], [First Name]

[Member number]

[Activity 1 Date in DDMMMYYYY format], [Start Time in 24hr format] - [End Time], [Mission code], [Hours rounded] hrs

[Activity 2 Date], [Start Time in 24hr format] - [End Time], [Mission code], [Hours rounded] hrs

[Activity 3 Date] ...

For example:

Lewis, Daren

121NNN

30SEP2009, 1430-1515, 10D, 0.75hrs

01OCT2009, 1733-1920, 10D, 1.75hrs

... which reports two days of website maintenance.

If your time is not covered by the 7030 mission codes it is reported on the 7029 Member Activity Log. Examples include:

• Attending, preparation and travel to/from Flotilla meetings
• Attending, preparation and travel to/from member training not covered by the 7039 Workshop Mission & Attendance Report including classroom portions of the crew academy but not the underway portions of the academy where you are logged as a member of the crew of the facility and thus on the Coxswains 7030.
• Preparation and travel to/from member training covered by the 7039 Workshop Mission & Attendance Report (see the pattern, your travel almost always goes on the 7029)
• Completing ICS courses at home
• Any self study at home
• Preparing uniforms

If you have any questions please let me, your mentor or any one of our long serving members know. This is a complex topic and I'm sure this article would benefit from your questions.