1. The Coast Guard Office of Auxiliary (CG-5421) receives and replies to many questions about Auxiliary policies every week. The questions come from a wide variety of sources including Congressional inquiries and letters or web queries from Auxiliary membership. To inform Auxiliarists of some of the most frequently asked questions, especially those which are not necessarily or easily found in Auxiliary manuals or Coast Guard instructions, the Office of Auxiliary has created the Auxiliary Knowledge Base.

2. Auxiliary program areas drive the Auxiliary Knowledge Base. Many of the same questions appear in multiple program areas and/or sub-sections for easy cross-reference. It enables users to e-mail articles to third parties. Built-in acronym definitions provide an easy understanding of subject matter.

3. The Auxiliary Knowledge Base permits user feedback by employing a built-in question rating system. This allows users to provide feedback and comments on specific questions. The Office of Auxiliary will not directly reply to feedback or comments, but it will consider them in order to revise, update, or add to the Auxiliary Knowledge Base. The most efficient and effective way for an Auxiliarist to get an answer to a policy question, particularly when it is regionally specific, remains through the Auxiliarist's chain of leadership and management.

4. The Auxiliary Knowledge Base is a dynamic and comprehensive reference tool. Accordingly, Q&A proposals may be submitted from Auxiliary regions to the Auxiliary Knowledge Base staff through the respective Director of Auxiliary. The Office of Auxiliary will conduct final review and approval of appropriate proposals.

5. The Auxiliary Knowledge Base is located at http://kb.cgaux.info. It can be accessed directly through its title button at the top of the Chief Director's web site, http://www.cgaux.info/g_ocx/. To contact Auxiliary Knowledge Base staff, e-mail cg-3pcx@cgaux.info.