Coast Guard, Fire Department, Ocean Safety conduct Search and Rescue Exercise in Kauai

Courtesy Photo | A Coast Guard Station Kauai 45-foot Response Boat-Meidum crew departs Kauai, Hawaii, Sept. 3, 2015, to conduct a search for simulated person in distress during a joint search and rescue exercise. The exercise brought together the Coast Guard, Kauai Fire Department and Ocean Safety to familiarize the agencies with common practices and build relationships between the partners. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Sector Honolulu/Released)  

HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

09.10.2015

Story by Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir                  

U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific

HONOLULU -- The Coast Guard conducted a Search and Rescue Exercise with the Kauai Fire Department and Ocean Safety in Kauai last Thursday.

"The purpose of this drill was to help strengthen our the agency relationships and to test rescue systems," said Chief Petty Officer Jerrod Sneller, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. "It also helped all involved parties identify and exercise their ability to use local resources."

During the exercise Coast Guard Station Kauai personnel deployed a practice dummy into the water, a mile southeast of Kawelikoa Point, and let it drift for two hours before alerting search teams of its situation.

Ocean Safety crews prepared and launched their jet ski teams while the Kauai Fire Department launched their dive and rescue boat crew and prepped their helicopter crew for air support. The station crews launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium.

The Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center staff also participated in a command and control capacity and experienced an actual power loss in the heat of the moment, which gave the RB-M crew the opportunity to utilize their knowledge to plan for a possible drift situation and search patterns. A rain storm with lightning also delayed a Coast Guard helicopter to launch from Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu, however the boat crews located the search object quickly enough to keep all air assets within safe operational parameters.

All parties benefited from the face to face interaction and the opportunity to exercise search and rescue capabilities and plans in a real-time environment and foul weather.

"The exercise was successful on all counts in terms of testing
communications, sharing knowledge of resource actions, confirming situational awareness, and locating the simulated person in distress," said Sneller. "A huge mahalo to Station Kauai for hosting and coordinating this evolution."

• Date Taken: 09.10.2015
• Date Posted: 09.10.2015 21:38
• Story ID: 175658
• Location: HONOLULU, HAWAII, US