As the sun set and the bay became dark, the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Detachment prepared for an upcoming casualty evacuation training exercise, Oct. 11 on U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Matthew Adams, the waterside security division officer for MARSEC DET, briefed the four Joint Task Force Guantanamo Troopers involved in the exercise of the scenario. In the scenario, the team receives a 911 call of an injured Marine falling from a guard tower and needing transported to the naval hospital. The MARSEC DET conducts this type of training quarterly, but there was a difference this time; all of the other scheduled training was during the day. With Hurricane Matthew passing through Guantanamo only a short week ago, the crew knew there would be additional obstacles to overcome to complete the exercise
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Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel Ford, the tactical coxswain for the exercise. “It was more for area familiarization, getting to know where the landing sites are and where we have to drop off the patient. This one we ramped up a little bit. The casualty actually has an injury, so our crew members will be utilizing their first aid skills on the patient, hand-in-hand with the Navy. It takes that next dynamic, that next step that we need to improve our efficiency.”
Ford says completing training such as this is just another asset to the JTF GTMO mission. The more people trained the more assets available to utilize. If things go wrong and someone needs to respond quickly, the Coast Guard is always the first ones out. Once the simulated call came in, the Coast Guardsmen quickly responded by boarding their Transportable Port Security Boat and heading to the site of the Marine. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Martin Crew, a tactical crewman, said his favorite part is arriving at the scene with the casualty because that is when adrenaline really starts
Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel Ford, the tactical coxswain for the exercise. “It was more for area familiarization, getting to know where the landing sites are and where we have to drop off the patient. This one we ramped up a little bit. The casualty actually has an injury, so our crew members will be utilizing their first aid skills on the patient, hand-in-hand with the Navy. It takes that next dynamic, that next step that we need to improve our efficiency.”
Ford says completing training such as this is just another asset to the JTF GTMO mission. The more people trained the more assets available to utilize. If things go wrong and someone needs to respond quickly, the Coast Guard is always the first ones out. Once the simulated call came in, the Coast Guardsmen quickly responded by boarding their Transportable Port Security Boat and heading to the site of the Marine. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Martin Crew, a tactical crewman, said his favorite part is arriving at the scene with the casualty because that is when adrenaline really starts