Photo By Ernesto Hernandez Fonte | U.S. Navy sailors, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 12,...... read more read more
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SYDNEY, Nova Scotia - In an exercise scenario, May 7, Nova Scotia's Sydney harbor is mined, threatening the local shipping industry and civilian boating.
Canadian and U.S. Navy divers deploy to help free the navigational routes and protect the harbor in response.
This mining scenario is currently playing out, as part of Exercise Frontier Sentinel 2012 (EX FS12), and is the reason why sailors from the U.S. Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 12 are taking the plunge into near-freezing Nova Scotia waters alongside their Canadian counterparts.
U.S. and Canadian divers are proving that they can defend their homeland waters from mine and other threats by using their skills and cooperation.
"A huge part of our mission is coordination with Canadian forces, and the civilian authorities searching for mines," said Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Cliff Frazier, leading petty officer Platoon 12-0-1, EODMU 12.
The divers depend on the work of Royal Canadian navy sailors on HMCS Summerside (MM 711) and U.S. Navy sailors, assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2, to search for possible mines throughout the harbor, as well as at sea. Using unmanned underwater vehicles and side scan sonar, both search for mines and designate mine sites which divers, in turn, investigate.
Once a mine is found, the divers can either destroy it in place or raise and tow it in to land for neutralization, exploitation and forensics collection.
Although U.S. and Canadian divers work closely to accomplish their missions, they are rarely seen together in the water. Just as they would in a real-life mine event, they coordinate to keep distances from each other and minimize casualties. However, the U.S. Navy and Canadian divers partner on land, sharing intelligence and planning, in order to comb the harbor and find every mine.
"This combined operation is important because we are working with our Canadian allies," said Lt. Brad Penley, officer-in-charge, Platoon 12-0-1, EODMU 12. "We are exercising our ability to interoperate together."
The exercise is also important because the divers use their skills in a tough environment. According to Frazier, it takes a lot of mental toughness and readiness to be an EOD technician.
"The mental toughness required is unfathomable. We have guys whose sole primary mission is to dive on something that is designed not just to kill a human but an entire ship," said Frazier. "Now, I'm telling my guys not only that I want them to dive on this mine that is designed to kill a ship but that I want them to do it in conditions of limited visibility, when the water is 34 degrees [Fahrenheit] and carrying explosives. I want them to do all this in a particular way to avoid danger and to keep in the back of their mind the different kinds of symptoms you can get from decompression sickness."
Frazier says the challenges faced during the scenario are helping to build the confidence, team camaraderie and trust that will make his team successful in a real situation.
Exercise Frontier Sentinel is a combined interagency exercise involving Canada's Joint Task Force Atlantic, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Command. The exercise is designed to continue to develop and validate the existing plans, treaties and standard operating procedures for a bilateral response to maritime homeland defense and security threats.
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2012 18:51 |
| Story ID: | 88055 |
| Location: | SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA, CA |
| Web Views: | 420 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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