Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City personnel will host members of the Coast Guard Aviation Association, also known as the Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl, Sept. 6-9, 2018. On November 9th, the national chapter of the Coast Guard Aviation Association selected Traverse City as the location for the annual conference, colloquially called the “roost”, in recognition of the air station's busy 2017 boating season. Of note during the 2017 boating season, the air station's crews began the season with a major asset reallocation program that brought three MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters to Traverse City and sent the unit’s four MH-65 Dolphins to new air stations. The Great Lakes region has already benefitted from the new airframes, which have the capability to respond to incidents across the region without the need to re-fuel en route conducting missions as far away as Duluth, Minnesota or Chicago Illinois to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. In total this summer, Air Station Traverse City crews flew more than 1,000 flight hours during 154 search and rescue missions that resulted in 14 lives saved or assisted. Association members from across the country will descend upon Traverse City for the four day event. Previous roosts have been held in San Diego, California; Mobile, Alabama and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 2018 roost will include a golf tournament, tours of local wineries, and an awards banquet honoring the accomplishments of Coast Guard Aviation personnel from around the country.
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