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OUR MISSION
District Nine, Eastern Region, of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary is located along the southern
shores of the St Lawrence River, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the states of New York,
Pennsylvania and Ohio. The district has an area of responsibility (AOR) that spans from
Massena, NY on the St Lawrence River in the east to Lorain, OH on Lake Erie in the west.
Ninth District Eastern Region personnel routinely facilitate public safety classes,
perform courtesy vessel safety checks (VSCs), visit marine dealers, perform safety patrols
afloat, ashore and in the air, augment active duty personnel where needed, and other
missions as directed by the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Historically, the primary missions of the Auxiliary have been courtesy marine examinations,
public education, and operations. These three missions, together with Fellowship, were known
as the "Four Cornerstones." Through the years, these four cornerstones served the Auxiliary
and the Coast Guard well.
However, as the Auxiliary has continued to grow, these four cornerstones have been found to
limit our vision of the important role the Auxiliary can play in assisting the Coast Guard.
The Auxiliary's purpose, as stated in the 1941 law, also is "to facilitate other operations of
the Coast Guard." The Coast Guard's need for Auxiliary help has continued to expand in recent
years. Today, this need goes well beyond what we envisioned when the original cornerstones were
first established.
With the passage of the Auxiliary legislation in October 1996, the Auxiliary's role has been
greatly expanded to enable Auxiliary participation in any Coast Guard operation authorized by
the Commandant. In general, this law opens all the Coast Guard mission areas to the Auxiliary,
with the exception of combat and direct law enforcement.
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