JIATF West IMS Team trains Philippine Coast Guard, PNP Special Boat Unit members on maritime law enforcement skills

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal | Members of the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine National Police Maritime Group secure a jacob's ladder prior to boarding a vessel during a boat inspection training scenario as part of the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West exercise Aug. 5, 2014, in Palawan, Philippines. Philippine Coast Guardsmen and Maritime Police Officers worked together to board and search simulated vessels while ensuring the safety of team members. The participants received training instruction from members of the JIATF West Integrated Maritime Skills team. The work of JIATF West supports counterdrug efforts of partner nation law enforcement and military units with law enforcement or border security responsibilities. The work of JIATF West supports counterdrug efforts of partner nation law enforcement and military units with law enforcement or border security responsibilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal)  

PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINES

08.05.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal 

DMA Pacific - Hawaii Media Bureau   

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines - Thirty two Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group Special Boat Unit and Philippine Coast Guard members sharpened their skills while conducting boat boarding drills instructed by members of the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West Integrated Maritime Skills (IMS) Team Aug. 4 to 7.

The scenarios tested participants in efficiency at boarding, searching, and if necessary, restraining simulated foreign crew members as a culmination of nearly a month of law enforcement training.

"The JIATF West IMS Team is a traveling training team that provides skills and maintenance familiarization within the Pacific Command area of responsibility (AOR)," said Boatswains Mate 1st Class Steve Miller, JIATF West IMS Team instructor. "We start by crawling, and then we walk and eventually hit that running point. Every class we have leads to the next and then to the next and finally at the end we have these culmination exercises where they put it all together."

PNP Maritime Group Police Officer One Ferdinand Garniel of the Special Boat Unit, explained his experience training with the IMS Team.

"The scenario is all about vessel boarding and how to deal with a compliant and non-compliant suspect," Garniel said. "We check for the complete equipment such as fire extinguishers, life jackets and paper documents and if the crew is complete. It is good training. On our first day we did not know as much with minor knowledge on it but when the instructors came to teach us we gained a lot of knowledge, experience and skills."

The IMS Team familiarized Philippine Coast Guardsmen and PNP Maritime Group police officers on how to search a vessel and utilize law enforcement equipment with an emphasis on safety.

"Mostly we've tried to emphasize officer safety, such as not getting caught in a corner or get unnecessarily hurt using proper techniques and self awareness," Miller said. "They picked up everything so quickly and applied it. They are actually really quick learners."

The opportunity for the Philippine Coast Guard and PNP to train alongside each other proved beneficial.

"The partnership of the Philippine Special Boat Unit and Philippine Coast Guard together with the U.S. helps us a lot," said Philippine Coast Guard Lt. (Junior Grade) Angela M. Naval, Field Station Palawan commander. "Though we have different roles within the AOR of Palawan those different roles justify our common goal to implement maritime law enforcement here in Palawan."

Naval intends to share the knowledge and skills learned during the training received by the JIATF West IMS Team.

"I'm so proud of my troops of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Special Boat Unit because we learned the standards and procedures [when confonted with] non-compliant vessel crews," Naval said. "This really helps us a lot. We realize that we have to also share this information with our troops so they will know the standards and procedures when they also board vessels."

JIATF West is a subordinate joint task force of United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) that serves as its executive agent for countering drug related transnational crimes in the Asia-Pacific. The work of JIATF West supports counterdrug efforts of partner nation law enforcement and military units with law enforcement or border security responsibilities.

• Date Taken: 08.05.2014
• Date Posted: 08.12.2014 15:02
• Story ID: 139119
• Location: PUERTO PRINCESA, PH