CLEVELAND — Coast Guard Air Stations Traverse City, Michigan, and Detroit, located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mt. Clemons, Michigan, are scheduled to open their seasonal air facilities in Waukegan, Illinois, and Muskegon, Michigan, Friday, May 27, in order to provide increased search and rescue capabilities and faster response times throughout the Lake Michigan area during the summer months.
Both Coast Guard air facilities operate between Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Detroit crews operate Air Facility Muskegon and Traverse City crews operate Air Facility Waukegan – located at the Waukegan Regional Airport. Both air facilities will be staffed by two four-person aircrews and an MH-65D Dolphin helicopter.
"We look forward to positioning our search and rescue aircraft and aircrews at our seasonal air facility in Muskegon. From this location, we can best respond to the needs of citizens who enjoy summer boating on the Lakes," said Lt. j.g. Robby Chavez, the public affairs officer at Air Station Detroit.
The air facilities opening coincides with the end of National Boating Safety Week, which the theme for 2016 is “Ready, Set, Wear it!” referring to the use of life jackets. All boaters and weak swimmers are urged to be vigilant in always wearing their life jackets in and around water.
Boaters are also encouraged to take a boating safety course and leave a float plan ashore with a friend or family member. Swimmers should always swim near a lifeguard and never swim alone. A great resource to learn how to practice safe water activities is the boating safety resource center at http://www.uscgboating.org.
Air Station Traverse City is a year-round Coast Guard facility established in 1946 and located on the southern end of Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan. It is staffed with 135 personnel and four MH-65D Dolphin rescue helicopters.
Air Station Detroit is a year-round Coast Guard Facility established in 1966 and located approximately 13 miles northeast of the Detroit city limits, on the shores of Lake St. Clair. It is staffed with 115 personnel and five MH-65D Dolphin helicopters.
Both air facilities are maintained operated under the direction of the 9th Coast Guard District headquartered in Cleveland to provide multi-mission capabilities in the Great Lakes region.