Hawaii Airmen practice river rescue with Coast Guard, regional partners

Photo By Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz | Hawaii, Nevada, and California Air National Guard Airmen practice group traversing of swift water conditions during Swift Water Rescue Training held Jun. 8, 2022 on the Truckee River, Calif. The course focused on the fundamentals of survival in moving water, swift water swimming, shore, boat, and in-water rescue. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz)  

LAKE TAHOE, CA, UNITED STATES

08.25.2022

Story by Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz 

154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard

With its mountainous terrain and varying bodies of water, the Lake Tahoe topography proved more than a match at challenging the joint team as they hiked in elevation, braved white water rapids, and endured high speed boat maneuvers, all in the name of honing skills needed for medical treatment and rescue.

From June 7-9, Lake Tahoeʻs challenging landscape was the scene of joint training as Hawaii Air National Guard medical professionals converged with the U.S. Coast Guard - a first for the Hawaii medical Airmen - and FEMA partners to learn new skills, hone existing ones, and create lasting connections in training scenarios that would test professional skills as well as physical endurance.

"This training is important because it is an opportunity to collaborate with our FEMA Region IX partners from Nevada and California and to continuously train our skill sets to be operationally effective," said Lt. Col. Ian Beltran, 154th Medical Group Detachment 1 commander. "Also, our exercise planners coordinated training with the U.S. Coast Guard to cross-train and to share expertise, this is truly an event of sharing and collaboration."

A large geographic area, FEMA Region IX encompasses the states of Hawaii, Arizona, California, and Nevada and has a multitude of landscapes. As regional partners, should one state become overwhelmed and in need of help during times of disaster, partner states could lend assistance, essentially ʻbeefing upʻ response efforts.

A key to this interoperability is a clear understanding of the challenges that different regional environs can pose. While the three-day exercise had the Airmen split into two separate training tracks, both groups had ample opportunities to learn new skills and put them into play.

At Coast Guard Station Lake Tahoe, a morning Field Training Exercise(FTX) provided opportunities to practice and exchange knowledge on various trauma care skill sets. The FTX also saw Airmen and Coast Guardsmen hiking through the surrounding mountains, where exercise planners staged several medical rescue scenarios challenging the joint team to respond.

"The training on the Tahoe Rim Trail was particularly valuable I feel, as it was both realistic and challenging," Beltran said. "The hike had the effect of physically taxing the rescuers while providing an element of unpredictability, which could be experienced in real-world rescues."

On day two, the joint team took their skills to the waters of Lake Tahoe. With Coast Guardsmen taking the lead, the team worked through various water rescue situations and engaged in high speed boat maneuvers to execute rescues in an effort to bring simulated victims to shore where they could be treated and triaged.

"It was excellent to see the group integrating," said Beltran. "This is only the beginning of our partnership with the Coast Guard, and hopefully, weʻll be able to develop this relationship further cause I feel it brings value to both groups."

While Airmen toiled on Lake Tahoeʻs waters and shorelines, several miles away, another group of HIANG Airmen braved white water rapids on the Truckee River as they teamed up with counterparts from the California and Nevada Air National Guards for Swift Water Rescue training.

The course focused on the fundamentals of survival in moving water, swift water swimming, shore, boat, and in-water rescue.

"When I joined the Hawaii Air National Guard, I never thought Iʻd be learning any sort of water rescue,” said Staff Sgt. Daniellejordan Demello, 154th Medical Group medic. “It wasnʻt even on my radar when I joined, truthfully. We had the opportunity to take the course a couple of years ago, so this is a recertification class for me, and I'm happy to be doing this cause it's a skill-set that you can easily see would be valuable back home."

Though Hawaii medical Airmen primarily focus on land-borne operations, learning new skills was a vital theme of the three-day training exercise.

For Beltran, the training is part of a larger effort to enhance the medical unit's capabilities.

"I foresee our operation will provide a full spectrum of medical response in support of not only domestic operations, but to also support the USAF ACE Concept with medical support during contingency operations." Beltran said.

• Date Taken: 08.25.2022
• Date Posted: 08.26.2022 04:21
• Story ID: 428087
• Location: LAKE TAHOE, CA, US