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.
(442 Transport and Rescue Squadron)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."
(442 Transport and Rescue Squadron)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.
(442 Transport and Rescue Squadron)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order
Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
It's opening day for the $34B Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
Wednesday marks the official start date of the long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.