May 19, 2011
Thoughts on Leadership
Coast Guard Captain Nick Bartolotta
Coast Guard Captain Nick Bartolotta Shares Thoughts on Leadership
By John Kayes, Awards Chair, LMLA Chapter #541 Atlantic City
Captain Nick Bartolotta, Commanding Office of Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City spoke at the May meeting of the LMLA Chapter #541 Atlantic City. He was introduced by Nikki Cavileer, the Chapters President.
Nikki shared our speaker’s impressive educational background:
Captain Nick Bartolotta graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in May 1989 with a Bachelors Degree in Marine Engineering & Naval Architecture. Upon commissioning, his first assignment as an Ensign was aboard USCGC TAMPA (WMEC-902) in Portsmouth, VA as Deck Watch Officer, Law Enforcement/Boarding Officer and Helicopter Landing Signal Officer. He reported for flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola in April 1991 and received his Wings of Gold upon graduation in Oct 1992. His first aviation assignment was as a Search and Rescue pilot at Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, GA where he met his wife and married. After completing his first tour, he was selected to be an HH-65 Instructor Pilot and Command Flight Safety Officer at Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, LA, where he also served as Assistant Operations Officer.
In June 2000, he was transferred to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C. and assigned to the Office of Aviation Forces (G-OCA) as the HH-65 Platform Manager responsible for operations and upgrades of all 98 Coast Guard H-65 helicopters in the inventory. Captain Bartolotta’s accomplishments included the first procurement of additional H-65s since the original contract with Aerospatiale in 1985, initial procurement of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system in support of the Presidential “Huntsman” mission, drafting the operational requirements doctrine (ORD) for the Deepwater rotary-wing FLIR/EO sensor package, Air Lead for the USCG/ICGS Deepwater Gap Analysis project, Project Officer for the return of LT Jack Rittichier’s remains and interment at Arlington National Cemetery (USCG’s only MIA from Vietnam) and the $500 million dollar project re-engining the HH-65 fleet.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Captain Bartolotta was assigned as the USCG Liaison Officer (LNO) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon for eight months in addition to his CG HQ duties. After his tour was completed at Coast Guard Headquarters, Captain Bartolotta returned to the aviation community in May 2004 when he was assigned as the Operations Officer and re-designated an H-65 Instructor Pilot at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, MI.
Captain Bartolotta was the Air Boss and Joint Air Support Operations Center (JASOC) commander for the first international Rotary-wing Air Intercept (RWAI) mission for Super Bowl XL in Detroit responsible for US and Canadian air assets. In June 2007, he returned to Savannah, this time serving as Executive Officer at Air Station Savannah and completed his Masters of Science in Aviation Safety Management. In fall 2009, Captain Bartolotta was selected for O6 and in the summer of 2010 he took the reins as Commanding Officer of USCG Air Station Atlantic City which is the largest U. S. Coast Guard H65 unit that is responsible for Search and Rescue & Law Enforcement from the Long Island Sound (NY) to the Chesapeake Bay (VA) and Commands the Coast Guard’s only alert Air Defense Facility protecting the National Capital Region airspace over Washington DC for the Department of Defense.
Captain Bartolotta has received multiple Meritorious Service Medals, Commendation Medals, Achievement Medals and other personal and unit awards. He is originally from Hauppauge, NY (Long Island) and is married to the former Mary Cameron of Carmel, IN; they have two children; Patrick and Madeline. They now reside in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
The Captains discussion was on Air Station Atlantic City’s leadership skills and how it maintains two Dolphin helicopters in 30-minute response status. Both can be quickly airborne and enroute at speeds in excess of 145 knots. The MH-65C Dolphin typically carries a crew of four, consisting of two Pilots, one Flight Mechanic and one Rescue Swimmer. The Rescue Swimmer is a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who can be lowered out of the helicopter to assist personnel in distress. The Dolphin can also deliver dewatering pumps to sinking vessels, hoist victims from the sea with its rescue basket, and can “medevac” injured persons with a rescue litter for delivery to local hospitals. The helicopter’s radius of action extends out to 150 nautical miles. Air Station Atlantic City also provides multiple aircraft and crews to protect our Nation’s Capital on a 24 hour, 7 days per week basis in Washington D.C. at the National Capital Region Air Defense Facility (NCRADF) under the operational control of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
U.S. Guard Air Station Atlantic City opened in 1998 and is the product of merging of Air Station Brooklyn, NY and Group/Air Station Cape May, NJ into one unit. The facility is the newest and largest single airframe unit of the Coast Guard’s Air Stations. The 69,200 square foot facility is located as a tenant command at the Federal Aviation Administration's William J. Hughes Technical Center on the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, NJ.
The Air Station is comprised of 10 MH-65C Dolphin Helicopters. Several tenant commands also have components located at the Air Station, including Sector Field Office and Electronics Systems Support Detachment Atlantic City. The Air Station supports the wide range of Coast Guard operations, such as search and rescue, law enforcement, port security, and marine environmental protection for both District One and District Five, encompassing the coastlines of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia including interior bays and rivers such as the Chesapeake, Delaware, Hudson and Long Island Sound.
