Coast Guard Station Honolulu Partners on Search-Rescue Training Course

Image: U.S. Coast Guard Station Honolulu.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Honolulu teamed up with the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Airport Division Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Unit for five days of training.

The agency revealed on Dec. 14 that the crews both took the National Association of Boat Law Administrators’ Boat Operator for Search and Rescue course. 

Developed to standardize the training, qualification, credentialing and typing process for maritime first responders, the course centers around “on-the-water risk management, team coordination, navigation, search patterns (and) rescue and towing,” according to the Coast Guard. 

This helps strengthen the working relationship between the USCG and the firefighting unit, the first responding agencies in the USCG area of responsibility, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Quinn, a boatswain’s mate stationed at Coast Guard Station Honolulu.

“Training with the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Unit this past week helped both agencies better understand each other’s limitations, capabilities and standard procedures,” Quinn said.

Coast Guard Station Honolulu oversees the waters around the Island of Oahu to the west end of Molokai.

“These face-to-face interactions help everyone better understand the individuals responding to these emergencies, making the overall response quick and more efficient,” Quinn said.