Central NY Coast Guard Auxiliary Has New Leader

John Conroy of Cazenovia is the new commander of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 2, overseeing the Central New York area of operation. Division 2 encompasses five flotillas in Oswego, Brewerton, Syracuse/Phoenix, Ithaca and Sylvan Beach.

Conroy will fill the remaining 2013 term of the previous commander, who had to step down due to his health. A special election took place June 19, with District Commodore Robert Laurer presiding.

Serving with Conroy on the bridge as vice division commander is Richard Kunz of East Syracuse.

Conroy has been the division's operations officer for a number of years, serving as a liaison with the active duty operations training officer at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo and coordinating search-and-rescue training on Oneida Lake and other waterways. In his role, he also outfitted boat crew members with rescue and survival equipment.

John Conroy monitors training during
search-and-rescue exercise on Oneida Lake.

He joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2002 after attending the Auxiliary's 13-week Boating Skills and Seamanship Course. He became an instructor for boating safety courses, and 2003 became operationally qualified to serve as a patrol boat crew member. A year later he qualified as a coxswain. Then he qualified as a personal watercraft operator, patrolling Oneida Lake along with Auxiliary patrol boats.

A native of Little Falls, NY, Conroy grew up and attended schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He graduated cum laude from American International College in Springfield, Mass.

Conroy and his wife, Sandy, have three children, Jennifer, Daniel and Shannon.