Coast Guard conducts a hoist operation joint training off Sand Key, FL
Stills from USCG video.
St. Petersburg, Florida - The United Stated Coast Guard held a joint training exercise in the Gulf of Mexico, off Sand Key in Clearwater, Florida, with numerous Florida law enforcement agencies on June 7, 2023.
Agencies that participated in the training included Coast Guard Air Stations Clearwater and Sand Key, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and marine units of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices, and Venice Police Department.
The crews trained in hoist operations with a MH 60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Station Sand Key response boat and their own vessels. Hoisting a person off a vessel is one of the worst-case scenarios on the water, so it is important to train before the emergency, so that rescue boat operators will know how their vessel will respond to rotor wash and ensure that communication between the helicopter crew and vessel are streamlined.
See the video here:https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3422707/video-release-coast-guard-conducts-joint-training-exercise-off-sand-key/.
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