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Log Book Station Galveston is located on Galveston Island, 50 miles south of Houston at the mouth of Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. The station has a crew of 50 personnel, which includes seamen, firemen, machinery technicians, and boatswains mates. The unit shares the base with Aids to Navigation Team Galveston, the cutters Dauntless, Manowar, Skipjack, Harry Claiborne, Clamp and Hatchet, and several support units. The station is part of Sector Houston- Galveston which serves one of the busiest ports in the world and a massive petroleum infrastructure. This all adds up to a challenging and rewarding assignment. Galveston Island has a semi-tropical climate, it is temperate most of the year, but hot and humid in the summer. Expect winter lows of 44-46 degrees with summer temperatures reaching anywhere from 72-95 with high levels of humidity. Colleges on the island are limited to Galveston College, a junior college, and Texas A&M University at Galveston. Galveston is one of Texas’ most popular tourist places to visit. The island has a population of 57,000 who enjoy miles of beaches year-round. The summer is swamped with tourists who flock to the island for events such as the Lone Star Biker Rally and Mardi Gras. Galveston is also a Texas Spring Break hot spot. With attractions like Moody Garden’s and Schlitterbahn Water Park, there is plenty to do in the area. Downtown Galveston offers plenty of shopping and historical attractions including rail and air museums. Dining is also a high point of the area with plenty of fresh seafood and excellent local cuisines including Tex- Mex and barbecue. There are also plenty of outdoor activities available. Fishing, surfing, biking, golf and volleyball are popular all-year because of the temperate climate. Galveston‘s weather is not always mild as proven by Hurricane Ike recently. There was extensive damage in the area but everyone on the island is pitching in to rebuild. The station, adjacent units and local maritime public form tight-knit community and are very supportive. Overall, the area is an excellent place to live, work and play. STORY BY BM2 BERNIE LODGE, STATION GALVESTON power, as well as those of our friends and allies. The Global Maritime Senior Enlisted Symposium aligns with the strategy’s goal of strengthening existing and emerging alliances and partnerships. To build these relationships and build confidence and trust among partner nations, “will require an unprecedented level of integration among our maritime forces and enhanced cooperation with the other instruments of national power, as well as the capabilities of our international partners,” as stated in the strategy. “The interaction with navies all around the world provides opportunities to build friendships, build tactics, learn cultures, and find out how to better interact with each other,” said Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Cleroux, maritime command chief petty officer of the Canadian navy, who said his service is already a close partner of both the Coast Guard and Navy. Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, spoke to the senior enlisted representatives at the Waikiki Hyatt Regency via a pre- recorded message and echoed the theme of the symposium. “We share common threats: piracy; illegal fishing; illegal immigration, narcotics trafficking … to be effective in protecting our global commons, it takes teamwork,” said Allen. “The linkage between our senior enlisted people and officers in executing our missions is one of the strong points of the U.S. Coast Guard and one in which we treasure.” Bowen and Campa’s shared goal is to create a global integrated maritime senior enlisted community around the world. “There is no better place to start building a better tomorrow than here,” said Bowen. Six Stars Ekaterine Batsikadze from the Georgian Navy and Dietmar Donner from the German Navy listen to presentations. Navy photo by MC1 Jennifer A. Villalovos STATION 50 Coast Guard — Issue 4, 2008 51 uscg.mil/mag Coast Guard photo GREETINGS FROM It has been said that all men of the sea are brothers.