Volunteers awarded Emergency Service Medal for services to fellow Queenslanders

Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services The Honourable Mark Ryan

Two Queensland Volunteer Coast Guard members have been awarded the Emergency Service Medal in the King’s Birthday awards.

Sunshine Coast volunteer Raymond Mogg and Keppel Sands volunteer Commodore Darryl Prizeman were each awarded the Emergency Service Medal for their distinguished service.

Mr Mogg has been a member of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association for more than thirty years, and during that time has gone to the aid of hundreds of vessels in distress.

Mr Prizeman has also been a Coast Guard Volunteer for thirty years and as Squadron Commodore he is responsible for the Central Queensland region.

Quotes attributable to Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan:

“These two men are great Queenslanders, who have shown many years of commitment to their fellow Queenslanders through their tireless efforts as volunteers.

“Raymond and Darryl have given freely of their own time to come to the aid of countless people who’ve gotten into strife out on the water.

“There is no doubt the work of these two fine volunteers has saved the lives of others.

“And there can be no higher purpose than that.

“I commend Raymond and Darryl on receiving their thoroughly deserved Emergency Service Medal awards.”

Biographical information:

Mr Raymond Mogg

Mr Raymond Mogg joined the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association (Coast Guard) in November 1991. Mr Mogg soon qualified as a competent crewman, progressing through to being an inshore skipper, then a TDM07 coxswain and a leading coxswain by 2010. Mr Mogg demonstrated his seamanship skills to such a high level that he was appointed as the lead skipper of his boat crew. During his years on boat crew, Mr Mogg performed 268 assists of vessels in distress and logged 1,182 hours of sea time, retiring from boat crew duties in 2017.

Mr Mogg has also applied himself to becoming a base station radio operator, amassing over 5,000 hours of radio operations in almost 20 years of service. Mr Mogg was so efficient in his duties that he was appointed as the Flotilla’s radio section leader, as well being an invigilator from 2011 for the high frequency and very high frequency radio operator’s Certificate of Proficiency courses; training hundreds of members of the public and QF6 members. Mr Mogg was also keenly interested in training and assessment of new boat crew and radio operators, and completed the Train Small Groups course in 2001, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in 2013.

Mr Mogg remains an operational member of the unit, and actively supports emergency operations through his work in radio rooms. His work plays an important part in monitoring emergency activations, providing communications to and from vessels, and liaising with other emergency services as required. As an experienced crewman with over 30 years of service to the Mooloolaba Coast Guard, Mr Mogg provides invaluable advice, assisting boat crews to coordinate operations, anticipate logistics requirements, and otherwise ensure that activations run seamlessly.

Mr Darryl Prizeman

Over the course of 30 years of service in the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association (Coast Guard), and concurrent service in the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Mr Darryl Prizeman has shown unwavering commitment to Australia’s emergency services. Mr PrIzeman has demonstrated skilled mastery of his tradecraft and is a highly regarded coxswain and crewman. He has readily invested in the next generation of Coast Guard personnel, transferring his on-water expertise into learning experiences for new recruits and Coast Guard trainees.

He is highly regarded by his peers as a technical expert and as squadron commodore responsible for the Central Queensland region, he is a tireless advocate of the remote and smaller units who perform a critical role in the delivery of marine rescue services on the coast. The units he supports are typically around one hundred nautical miles from their nearest supporting marine service neighbour and needs to operate autonomously under a range of treacherous weather conditions. His support and encouragement, to these small operating bases provide a critical marine rescue capability.

In addition to the extensive command and leadership roles he undertakes, he continues to perform operations on boats as a coxswain and roster duty officer. In these positions he is responsible for the deployment of boats, management of crew, planning and coordination of emergency activations as well as all on-water operations. He holds a rank of leading coxswain and has responded to more than 300 activations.

Mr Prizeman’s enduring legacy is his commitment to emergency services, and the benefit that these marine rescue services provide to the community. His volunteer work with both the Coast Guard and the RFS in both an operational capacity and a range of training and leadership positions, has ensured that these emergency services continue to support the local communities that depend on them.

/Public Release. View in full here.