U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force practice airlift ops near Tybee Island

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. — Members of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Air Force spent Thursday morning together practicing airlift rescue techniques near Tybee Island.

The joint-service training is a collaboration between the partner agencies to share knowledge and alternative methods for conducting similar operations.

The session began with rescue basket training on the stern of Station Tybee Island's 41-foot Utlity Boat. Crewmembers practiced receiving the basket from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga., MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and guiding it back up using three different methods. A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Air Station Savannah and two Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue technicians from 424 (Search and Rescue/Transport) Squadron, based in Trenton, Ontario, were aboard the UTB to witness the evolutions.

Following the basket drills, the rescue swimmer and the SAR techs entered the water together and conducted multiple hoists from the water into the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. A Canadian Air Force helicopter crew watched the hoists from a safe distance aboard the Canadian aircraft.

The SAR techs are halfway through their two-week visit to Air Station Savannah and will conduct several more exercises with U.S. Coast Guardsmen before returning to Canada.

Friday's practice also fulfills several training requirements for the Coast Guard air and boat crews, which must train frequently to remain proficient at their crafts and to be prepared to respond to maritime emergencies.