The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Support Center, including the Help Desk and Knowledge Base

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Support Center comprises the Auxiliary's National Help Desk and Knowledge Base.  It is managed by the Member Support Division of the User Support & Services Department, Information Technology Group.  The mission of the IT User Support & Services Department (U) is to deliver support for Information Services employed to meet the needs of Auxiliary support missions.

The Help Desk supports Auxiliarists by addressing questions about the Coast Guard Auxiliary that members have not been able to have answered by Coast Guard and Auxiliary reference materials (e.g., web sites, manuals, instructions), Auxiliary parallel staffing, and the Auxiliary chain of leadership and management.

Members can submit questions, comments, website errors, or any other type of feedback to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary National Staff via the Help Desk.  All reports of website errors, or system errors (such as learning platform, Auxiliary officer log ins and more) should be routed via this system.

Although questions from the general public are not solicited by the Help Desk, since they are not blocked from access, the Help Desk attempts to answer their queries related to the Coast Guard Auxiliary and recreational boating issues.

The Help Desk attempts to answer a wide variety of questions from Auxiliarists, not just those related to the support for Information Services.  A Help Desk Agent may either choose to address the question directly, refer it to another Help Desk Agent, or contact a Directorate representative for a more authoritative answer.

The most precise answer is not necessarily the quickest one.  In the interest of expediency, the Help Desk answers will take reasonableness into consideration. Help Desk responses are not to be considered official information unless quoted directly from official sources or otherwise so stated.

Complaints, requests for investigation, and any personal matters dealing with recognition or administrative discipline cannot be addressed by the Help Desk.  Members are reminded that such matters must be submitted to and handled through the appropriate Auxiliary chain of leadership and management.

The Auxiliary’s Knowledge Base contains articles deemed relevant to Auxiliarists.  Prior to submitting a Help Desk ticket, Auxiliarists are encouraged to search the Articles to see if the question has previously been addressed.  Any member can suggest a new article topic or submit a proposed article to BC-UMK for consideration.