Profile in Service
Local Resident Honored by the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary

April 26, 2012. Sheffield Village, OH. Hidden away on a quiet dead end street in Bay Village, Ohio is the home of Auxiliarist Ron Behl, Flotilla 64, District 9-ER. You will not see him out cutting grass or washing his car or walking his constant companion, "Scout," a Border collie trained to assist Ron answering the phone. If you call Ron be prepared to have a conversation with Scout, as he enjoys "phone talk." Ron has Multiple Sclerosis. He has lost his ability to walk, stand, and lift himself out of the chair. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has claimed a big part of his life but not his spirit.

His life was one of what dreams are made of: a great job, he married his college sweetheart Ellen, he had the house overlooking Lake Erie, and a son, Christopher. His greatest pleasure was taking his 24 ft. Lyman runabout, "Dream Catcher", for a spin with family and friends. Boating had been a special part of his life from childhood. It was one of these friends that invited him to join the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Ron Behl joined the Auxiliary in 1972.  He became a staff officer in his flotilla and now serves as an Assistant Information Service Staff Officer in his Division. The position requires knowledge of the rules and procedure established for all positions within the Auxiliary.

Data input from hand written forms to computer can be demanding and tedious to him.  What took only seconds, to enter the data, now takes hours.  He performs this task by adjustments of the head to move the cursor around the screen. To me it is fascinating to watch him manipulate the cursor on the monitor with out hands and fingers on a keyboard.

He continues to amaze me with his abilities as he operates his motorized wheel chair from room to room with a customized joy stick operated with his mouth.  The only drawback to this is Scout who sometimes gets in the way; as he is always by his side.  It’s a good thing Scout is faster than Ron.

Ron’s sense of humor about his illness is classic. When I asked him how this happened, he remarked, "It was as if heaven opened and it dropped from the sky". Do you feel like "Chicken Little?"

"No," he said, "just a little chicken".

This past year The Ninth Coast Guard District combined two divisions into one. The purpose of this move was to combine the educational and operations of each of the flotillas into one stronger force.

Auxiliarist Ron Behl by outstanding and exceptional dedication to duty and overcoming his physical disabilities helped to insure the transformation of Division 8 and Division 9 into the "New" Division 6.

On March 21, 2011 Auxiliarist Behl was presented the Auxiliary’s Sustained Service award for superior performance of duty.