KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Honolulu Fire Department pilot Terry Watanabe, above, lowered a basket Wednesday containing search-and-rescue team member Lee "Hernando" Marquez and a "victim."

The Coast Guard, Honolulu Fire Department
and other personnel train together
in ocean rescues

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

Earlier this year, Coast Guard Lt. Olav Saboe and his HH-65 twin-engine Dolphin helicopter saved two fishermen who capsized their 30-foot fishing boat off Haleiwa while trying to haul in a 300-pound marlin.

On Monday, Terry Watanabe, piloting the Honolulu Fire Department's yellow Air One rescue helicopter, plucked a hiker stranded on the Kahaluu side of the Koolaus at the 1,200-foot elevation.

It was these types of rescues that Watanabe and Saboe shared this week with the pilots and crews of the 25th Infantry Division's 68th Medical Company.

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM "Rescued" swimmer Pilo Avila, right, moved away from the basket as HFD search and rescue personnel Jefferson Lecates, left, and Marquez got ready to pick up another swimmer.

The three-day semiannual Army exercise, which ended Thursday, took place on the beach at Bellows Air Force Station and over the waters of Waimanalo Bay. Also participating are federal firefighters and city emergency medical technicians.

Watanabe, who has been flying the Fire Department's MD-520N helicopter for the past three years, said this type of interagency training is "very beneficial."

"You know what to expect, and it cuts down on a lot of anxiety" if everyone knows how each unit works in a joint operation, said Watanabe, who has also been flying with the Hawaii Army National Guard for eight years. "It's getting all these departments on the same music sheet."

Saboe, 28, agreed. "It's a great opportunity for us to come here and show the Army and the Fire Department our capabilities," he said.

The Coast Guard, whose primary mission is patrolling the ocean surrounding the islands, responds to about 200 search-and-rescue cases annually, Saboe said.

"Fifty of them, we ended up hoisting people out of the water," he said.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Chris Jordan, who piloted one of the UH-60 Black Hawks used in yesterday's water-rescue hoist exercise, said there is a need for this type of training since this is where "we try to hammer out differences."

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM An Army Black Hawk crew practiced water rescues Wednesday along with Coast Guard and Honolulu Fire Department helicopters at Bellows Air Force Station.

The biggest difficulty about this type of hoist operation is communicating with rescue personnel and the victims in the water or on land, especially when the helicopter is hovering at 250 feet, Jordan said.

Jordan said the 68th Medical Company participates in one of the most active MAST (military assistance to safety and traffic) programs, in which the Army provides free air ambulance service as long as the flight does not interfere with Army operations.

Besides helicopter familiarization classes, yesterday's training included extracting "victims" from the shallow waters of Waimanalo Bay using rescue baskets.

Amy Ares, a military spouse who volunteered to be a "victim," described her basket ride as "fun."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be much fun if it was for real," she said.