An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | July 29, 2016

Pacific Partnership 2016 Completes First Live SAR Field Training Exercise in Vietnam

By Pacific Partnership 2016 Public Affairs

DA NANG, Vietnam (NNS) -- Pacific Partnership service members from New Zealand, the U.S. and Australia supported a Da Nang border guard-led Search and Rescue Field Training Exercise (SAR FTX) July 26 that began on the Han River and concluded aboard Vietnam people's navy hospital ship Khanh Hoa and USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).

The FTX was the result of several months of planning between the Da Nang People's Committee, the Da Nang border guard, the Da Nang 115 Emergency Center and the Pacific Partnership Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) team. The exercise aimed to enhance the command, leadership and incident management capacity of local government agencies involved in disaster management and SAR operations, and allow partner nations the opportunity to integrate their skill sets as required. In all, more than 120 civilian and military personnel participated in the exercise.

"The FTX was considered a capstone event across the HADR focus area and incorporated a joint interagency exercise led by the Da Nang border guard command," said Maj. Andrew Brooks, New Zealand defense force and Pacific Partnership 2016 HADR lead for Vietnam events. "Pacific Partnership provided direct support to Da Nang border guard to ensure the SAR FTX was a successful event and achieved the border guard's aims and objectives safely and effectively."

The exercise consisted of two scenarios, which simulated the after effects of a devastating typhoon in Da Nang. Exercise participants responded to a ship with a simulated inoperable engine that was drifting with survivors aboard, and local fisherman in the water requiring rescue and medical care. The second scenario required participants to respond to a burning vessel with injured crew members aboard and in the water.

In both instances the responses were facilitated by the combined efforts of Da Nang border guard SAR boats working alongside Mercy rescue boats -- a first for Pacific Partnership -- and delivered Vietnamese personnel ashore to joint U.S. and Vietnamese casualty stations to receive and treat the injured. In some cases the injured were transported by land or water to Khanh Hoa or Mercy to receive additional medical care. Aboard Mercy, Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) Squadron 21 operated an SH-60S helicopter to emulate rotary wing medical evacuations of patients from shore to ship.

"The border guard's aim of this exercise was to safely rescue and provide medical treatment for victims of a natural disaster within the maritime environment," said Brooks. "This was successfully achieved by a collaborative effort to coordinate the safe rescue of affected mariners and to ensure that they received timely and appropriate medical treatment."

Pacific Partnership departed Da Nang July 28 for another mission stop in Malaysia, and tank landing ship JS Shimokita (LST 4002) will head to Palau to carry out medical, engineering and HADR subject matter expert exchanges and cooperative health engagements alongside military and civilian counterparts in each nation.
CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,188
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
The Pentagon Transfers Authority to the Navy to Ensure the Safe Closure of Red Hill
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 28, 2024 - The Department of Defense announced today that the Joint Task Force-Red Hill has completed its defueling mission at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai’i and shifted command and control of the facility to the...

U.S. Marines, Sailors arrive in Darwin for 13th iteration of MRF-D
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, right, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, shakes hands with Royal Australian Navy Capt. Mitchell Livingstone, the commanding officer of Headquarters Northern Command at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, NT, Australia, March 24, 2024. MRF-D 24.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and Allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. Mulvihill is a native of New York. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Cristian L. Bestul)
March 28, 2024 - A new group of Marines and Sailors arrived in the Northern Territory to begin the 13th annual iteration of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin...

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford Concludes Visit to Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 27, 2024 - Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout...

DIU Partners With AUKUS Pillar II for International Prize Challenge
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 26, 2024 - The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is launching the first trilateral prize challenge through AUKUS Pillar II— a defense and security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (U.S.)— to...