Ready to train: Coast Guard stages water-rescue drill for Navy Reserve Sailors

Kara Dry, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Jul. 19—"Arrgg! You'll be walking the plank!" said Staff Sgt. Paul Hauschen, of the New York Naval Militia, to the first group of Navy Reserve sailors preparing to jump off the boat, role-playing a water rescue on a rainy Monday morning.

The U.S. Coast Guard hosted a group of Navy Reserve sailors along with members of the New York Naval Militia for an abandon-ship training scenario on the St. Lawrence River at the Alexandria Bay Coast Guard Station.

Corpsmen from across the country have come together for the Navy Medical Readiness and Training Command — or NMRTC — based in Portsmouth, Va., and since traveled to the north country to execute Operation Commanding Force, a two-week training program hosted primarily at Fort Drum.

Within that time, the group of corpsmen aims to sharpen skills and learn new ones through extensive hands-on medical training. Drills like Monday's abandon-ship scenario, or even a live-fire situation which they experienced at Fort Drum last week, emphasize the advantages of collaboration between branches of the military, capitalizing on strengths at sea and on land.

"The more practice we get doing our real-life jobs and the more we get to operate with other agencies across the state — whether it's federal, military, state, county — the better we are," said Rear Adm. Lawrence Weill, of the New York Naval Militia, which contributed 12 servicemen and two watercraft to assist in the training Monday.

Not to mention the decades of experience the group brought.

The New York Naval Militia is the naval component of the New York State defense forces and operates the NYS Military Emergency Boat Service. As part of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, the Naval Militia complements the Army and Air National Guard programs, as well as the New York State Guard

The Latham-based company of about 2,700 servicemembers is mainly composed of federal reserve forces from the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard — some full-time paid but mostly volunteer.

But Monday's drill was a team effort across the board having been in the planning process for nearly a year with the cooperation of three separate agencies.

"I'm not a very strong swimmer," one NMRTC corpsman said during the drill brief at the Alexandria Bay Coast Guard Station.

It was met with friendly laughter.

"For today's event, no one needs to know how to swim," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Peter M. Nelson, the station's commanding officer. "You just need to know how to float with a life jacket."

Which also got a laugh from participants.