Vancouver Island military search and rescue crews train with U.S. Coast Guard
Crews from 19 Wing Comox are back on the ground after attending a week of specialized training in the United States, learning special techniques to get in and out of extreme ocean waves.
"It was awesome to be able to train in a more realistic environment, out of our normal rules," said Master-Cpl. Carl Mozienko of Comox's 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron.
Three pilots, two flight engineers and three search and rescue technicians, spent five days training with members of the U.S. Coast Guard down in Astoria, Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
The location was chosen because of its rough seas, according to Brad Pigage, a chief aviation survival technician for the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School .
"Cape Disappointment is known for being the graveyard of the Pacific, so a lot of big waves, heavy surf, bad weather, low visibility, all that stuff you can expect right there," he said.
"At the school we pride ourselves at putting these air crew and rescue swimmers and SAR techs through a higher intensity situation, high-risk training, and we mitigate the risk by having more ground party and safety measures in place," said Pigage.
Cpt. Joseph Jacques was one of the Cormorant pilots taking part in the training.
"The U.S. Coast Guard, they’re the subject matter expert in terms of high-surf training, and that school specifically, so we definitely learned a lot from them," he said.
While the SAR techs were the ones diving into the cold ocean, the pilots and crew members onboard the helicopter had their own tasks to master.
Jacques says the Cormorant typically hovers around 1.5 metres to three metres above the water but had to stay higher due to the high waves and breaking surf.
"We had to adjust our procedure to stay higher and look at the waves, count the waves, communicate between the crew members as to how low it’s safe to descend, and then timing the exit for the SAR-tech to jump on the crest of the waves," Jacques said.
While the crews regularly practice their techniques around the Comox Valley, they do so in fresh water environments avoiding salt water, which is much harder on the aircraft.
"We don’t really typically do it, so it’s only going to be in operations," said Mozienko.
"So we can end up being in that situation without really realistic training," he said. "But going down there gave us that opportunity to swim in big waves."
The course also included vertical cliff rescues, urban search and rescue, as well as cave rescues.
"You learn how to enter the cave and going out of the cave and learn how to use the helicopter to get yourself out of it as well, because the currents are going to be different and you don’t want to be stuck inside," Mozienko said.
While the American rescue crews use smaller helicopters than the Cormorant, working alongside their southern counterparts gave the crew from Comox the chance to share techniques.
"They’re flying the MH60 and the 65, the J-Hawk and the Dolphin, which are way smaller," said Jacques.
"They don’t have the same drown draft on their helicopter, don’t have the same weight and references, so we have to tweak the techniques a little bit," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
The Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for the life of the country's prime minister, who was shot multiple times after a political event Wednesday afternoon.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION If you think you can’t focus for long, you’re right: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.