Building partnerships: Coast Guard and National Guard

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWcajGCHlas” css=”.vc_custom_1526070426856{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1526070547700{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]Article By Cpl. Elizabeth Scott, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Video by Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers, 175th Wing Public Affairs Office[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1526071175713{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]

^{Service members from the 24th Civil Support Team and the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team conducts a 360-degree perimeter patrol to check the radiation levels of a simulated collapsed building at the Urban Search and Rescue Yard in Baltimore, during Vigilant Guard 18 on May 9, 2018. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Cpl. Elizabeth Scott)}

BALTIMORE – Six figures, in suits with protective masks, move through broken concrete and debris with scanning devices. This however is not the opening scene of the newest science fiction movie, it is partners training to save lives.

Service members from the 24th Civil Support Team, New York National Guard, and the U.S. Coast Guard, Atlantic Strike Team, begin the search and rescue training exercise by conducting a 360-degree perimeter patrol at the Urban Search and Rescue Yard in Baltimore, during Vigilant Guard 18 on May 9, 2018.

In level C hazmat suits, the team uses their equipment to determine if there was a potential source that would make it unsafe for first responders to rescue the simulated injured from the rubble and assess the structural damage.

“We get a lot out of this type of training,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Torcivia, a marine science technician. “We don’t get out with the CSTs like this all that often, so it was awesome.”

The realistic nature of the scenario also helped service members practice the skills they would need to use in a real-life situation.

“We want to take advantage of days like today,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Saul Rodriguez, a survey team chief from the 24th CST.

“It’s great to work with other agencies, because in a real world scenario, we would be working with the other agencies, like the Coast Guard,” said Rodriguez. “So this is great for building that rapport, that working relationship that you don’t get when you work by yourself.”

The only thing that distinguished the 24th CST and the USCG Atlantic Strike Team were the color of their suits – USCG in white and the CST in dark blue.

“I thought it went great, as soon as we were paired with them it was really fluid,” said Torcivia. “We had good communications. We really complimented each other.”

The 24th CST and USCG Atlantic Strike Team had similar equipment and similar vocabulary, but in training there’s still the opportunity to make sure that there’s that interoperability in a controlled environment.

Torcivia said that this sort of training is important because they are able to see the differences in the standards and even the minor differences in how they talk about the same things. Sometimes it’s also knowing who to turn to if they don’t have a particular resource.

At the end of their patrol, the group found no significant radiation sources, which allowed the Baltimore City Fire Department, Special Operations Command, to start extracting and rescuing the simulated casualties.

Vigilant Guard is an exercise that allows the Maryland Military Department, along with 42 federal, state, and local agencies a chance to collaborate and test interoperability as part of a national level exercise. The agencies are evaluated on preparing for and recovering from a catastrophic hurricane making landfall. Nearly 2,000 service members are participating in the Vigilant Guard exercises in Maryland and Virginia. International partners are present observing the exercise to take home lessons learned. The national level exercise is sponsored by United States Northern Command in conjunction with National Guard Bureau.[/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”View photo gallery from exercise” css=”.vc_custom_1526040459743{margin-top: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;border-top-width: 5px !important;border-bottom-width: 5px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}”][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1526040433502{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]