JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, UNITED STATES
07.13.2016
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey Troutman
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (July 13, 2016) Chinese navy sailors from submarine rescue ship Changdao (867) retrieve an LR-7 submersible undersea rescue vehicle following a successful mating evolution with a U.S. faux-NATO rescue seat, during Rim of the Pacific 2016. The evolution was the final event and practical portion of a multinational submarine rescue exercise between seven countries. Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeff Troutman /RELEASED)
PACIFIC OCEAN
07.14.2016
Courtesy Photo
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet
PACIFIC OCEAN (July14,2016) Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and U.S. Navy Sailors conduct mass casualty rescue training aboard destroyer helicopter ship JS Hyuga (DDH 181) during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. Japan Maritime Self Defense Photo by Ryo Tanaka/Released)
Colorado Army National Guard Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters based at Boulder, CO municipal airport are helping to fight the Cold Springs fire near Nederland, CO. Each carry a “Bambi Bucket” to dip water from Barker reservoir to drop onto hot spots or edges of fire lines.
NEDERLAND, CO, UNITED STATES
07.11.2016
Story by Staff Sgt. Manda Walters
Colorado National Guard
“Smoke and flames,” said Erin Doyle, a wildland fire operations specialist with the City of Boulder, Colo., assisting in the coordination of helicopter-based fire suppression of the Cold Springs fire from the Boulder Municipal Airport, July 11, 2016.
“That was the only thing missing from our previous training,” he said.
Civil authorities and Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were prepared for the Cold Springs fire response near Nederland as a result of an annual interagency wildland fire training exercise held May 13-25 near Longmont in support of U.S. Forest Service Region 2 and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
Besides CONG, participants in the Cold Springs fire response included U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Boulder Office of Emergency Management, Boulder County Sheriff, fire departments from Colorado Springs, Longmont, and others, as well as student firefighters. Several of these agencies also participated in the May exercise.
“The training, conducted near Longmont, included scenarios exactly like what we are working with today,” added Doyle. “Recognizing the faces seen at incident command and the voices heard on radio communications generates an instant comfort in our coordinated action.”
CONG pilots echoed a similar sentiment.
Maintenance Test Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3) Theresa Bonine, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot with CONG’s 2nd of the 135th General Support Aviation Battalion, Delta Company, activated for the Cold Springs fire response, said aviation crews are pieced together based on need and availability.
“We are ready to work together and get the job done,” said Bonine, whose crew has Guard members from other units and companies, all based at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora.
By the close of aerial wildland firefighting operations July 11, CONG aircrews had already dropped 100 buckets carrying 156,500 gallons of water on the Cold Springs fire.
At the request of civil authorities, under executive order from CONG Commander-in-Chief Governor John Hickenlooper, the CONG activated nearly 75 Soldiers and Airmen for the Cold Springs fire response. They included 10 Soldiers and four High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) from the 1/157th Infantry Battalion Forward Support Company, based in Windsor, for two traffic control points near the Cold Springs fire.
“The National Guard made a huge difference in the multi-agency, Cold Springs fire response, fire suppression capability, and performance,” said Doyle.
According to RMACC, Colorado has averaged about 3,000 wildfires per year for the previous 10 years.
Firefighters from the Schriever Air Force Base Fire Department, prepare to respond to a simulated emergency at Schriever Air Force Base, Monday, July 11, 2016. Their training consists of proficiency, critical and local area training. Every position has a certain amount of proficiency training that is needed throughout the year per their core job description. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
Kenny Gestes, Schriever Air Force Base Fire Department firefighter, handles the Shark, a collapsible step cribbing, which is used to stabilize, extricate, and rescue accident victims during a simulated emergency at Schriever Air Force Base, Monday, July 11, 2016. The firefighters are in a ready posture 24 hours a day including holidays, down days and weekends. They have a normal workday which consists of routine vehicle maintenance, training and details. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
Jerame Bullard, 50th Civil Engineering Squadron firefighter, handles the Jaws of Life, a hydraulic apparatus used to pry apart the wreckage of crashed vehicles in order to free people trapped inside, during a simulated emergency at Schriever Air Force Base, Monday, July 11, 2016. This year, the fire department earned top bragging rights as Air Force Space Command’s Small Fire Department of the Year. This is the fourth time in the last five years they have earned this honor. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (JULY 12, 2016) Chief Aviation Aircrewman Jason Lessley and Aviation Aircrewman 2nd Class Hunter Price from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 provided emergency care to a tourist in medical distress on the Diamond Head Trail in Honolulu during Rim of the Pacific. Twenty-six nations, 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise scheduled June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (File Photo/Released)
HONOLULU, HI, UNITED STATES
07.12.2016
Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Veloicaza
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet
HONOLULU -- Sailors from the “Red Lions” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 15 provided emergency care to a Japanese tourist in medical distress on the Diamond Head Trail in Honolulu, July 12.
Several members of the HSC-15 aircrew division were hiking Diamond Head early in the morning and were beginning their descent down the trail when they came across a 52-year-old female tourist who required assistance.
Chief Aviation Aircrewman Jason Lessley and Aviation Aircrewman 2nd Class Hunter Price were first responders to the situation. Both are experienced Navy rescue swimmers with a background of extensive emergency response training, and Lessley is a former emergency medical technician. They treated the woman for heat exhaustion and attempted to escort her down the trail. The tourist became weak and disoriented, so the Sailors contacted local authorities.
Local firefighters hiked up the trail and after assessing the woman’s condition, called for an emergency medical evacuation helicopter to airlift the patient. Both Sailors waited for more than 30 minutes before a helicopter arrived. While they were waiting, they downloaded a language translator application on a smartphone to establish basic communication with the tourist.
“I’m glad to know we can make a difference, not only to the people we serve next to, but also to someone we have never met”, said Price. “When we are required to perform our job, it’s usually because something bad has happened. It’s in that moment that the training you think you’ll never use comes into action like it is second nature.”
Lessley said what started as a day off physical training for 15 of his search and rescue aircrewman, ended with a real-life practical application of their emergency medical training.
“My Sailors train hard every day, and today that training paid off; Price performed flawlessly,” said Lessley.
HSC-15, homeported at Naval Air Station North Island, California, is an active augmented squadron participating in the Rim of the Pacific 2016. Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
