BOAT SMART CHRONICLES: Lake Michigan Devours its Wounded

Senior Chief Tom Rau retired from the Coast Guard in May 2002 after serving over 27 years on active
duty and in the active reserves. A great deal of his active-duty time was spent on Lake Michigan at six
different search and rescue facilities along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. One of his more notable
achievements included writing the “Group and Stations Communications Watchstander Qualification
Guide” used throughout the Coast Guard to train radio watchstanders in handling boater’s calls for
assistance.
In 1990, Rear Admiral Robert Nelson, Chief Office of Navigation Safety in a letter to Rau
wrote; “This guide has provided us a valuable tool to improve our service to the boating public.”
Rau has had a great deal of experience with the boating public in search and rescue even in his later
years as a Chief. On his retirement, Senior Chief Rau received his second Coast Guard Commendation
medal with The Operational Distinguishing Device. The award cited that from May 1997 to May 2002,
Senior Chief Rau personally conducted 150 search and rescue cases on the water and performed 435
vessel boardings. His most noted contribution, which two Coast Guard Commandants have personally
awarded him for, is the Boat Smart column. Rau has been writing safety articles since 1986. Many of the
columns are based on actual Coast Guard cases he has played a part in. During the 2001 Coast Guard
Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan, Admiral James Loy, then Commandant of the Coast Guard, awarded
Senior Chief Rau the prestigious Alex Haley award for the Boat Smart column.
Even though Senior Chief Rau has retired, he remains active with the Coast Guard Auxiliary in
Manistee, Michigan. He also continues to write the Boat Smart column with the Coast Guard. The
popular column now reaches hundreds of thousands of readers through dozens of newspapers and
magazines. Boat Smart is also distributed across the globe via the internet. In addition, Senior Chief
Rau’s 60-second Boat Smart safety messages have reached millions of radio listeners across the Midwest.
For all his efforts, which include over 350,000 published words and hundreds of columns, he has never
received a dime. Senior Chief Rau feels that if just one life is spared on the water from this effort, that
is more than payment enough.