The Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Flotilla Growth and Retention Achievement Award was part of its now-defunct Goal Achievement Program (GAP), which was designed to encourage Flotillas to reach performance milestones in a variety of administrative and operational areas. In the case of the Flotilla Growth and Retention Achievement Award, for example, a Flotilla had to register a certain number of accessions and maintain a specified membership level, in which case every member of the Flotilla was authorized to wear the ribbon.
While reaching these goals was obviously commendable, the GAP did not take into account the efforts of individual Auxiliary members—or, even more problematic, the lack of effort of some members. An Auxiliarist who devoted little to no effort in helping the Flotilla maintain a robust membership roll achieved the same recognition as those who had devoted considerable time, effort, and sometimes financial resources toward that objective. Although straightforward and easy-to-grasp, the design of the GAP worked against teamwork within Flotillas rather than encouraging it.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary wisely replaced the GAP with the Auxiliary Management by Objective System, or AMOS. It retained the concept of goals (objectives), but it combined the old design of Flotilla goals with goal requirements per member. This system also had drawbacks that led to its eventual replacement by the current Annual Service Performance Awards, which recognize the individual contributions of Auxiliarists in variety of programs. Under this system, the
Auxiliary Recruiting Service Performance Award is the equivalent of the old Flotilla Growth and Retention Achievement Award.