While watching the noon news here on the south shore of Lake Erie, I heard some news that really upsets me. The Coast Guard has had to take a back seat to local fire and LE agencies because they have better equipment that the Coast Guard.
The story: A Cleveland firefighter disappered while swimming from a boat off of Sandusky, OH. Unfortunatly, it is now a search and recover operation instead of a SAR. According to the news report, the Sandusky FD and Huron PD have better equipment to locate a body under the water. Station Marblehead was the Lead during the initial response.
This is the best news since before some jerk coined the phrase "Search and Recovery"!
Wouldn't you RATHER that locals take over the job of recovering bodies once the likelyhood of survival is past? Let our folks take a breath and wait for the next risk of life/property damage case to come up.
Locals have a lot better equipment for a lot of things. It doesn't mean we are a third world Navy, it only means our focus is different. How many locals do you know that have multimillion dollar aircraft and boats with integrated search pattern programs, rescue equipment etc.? Once it becomes a recovery mission it is passed to the locals as soon as possible.
It's not necessarily better equipment, it's appropriate equipment. I was once a volunteer EMT and we had dragging equipment. The main piece was a large metal triangle with several large treble hooks on it. Nasty stuff.
Be very glad that we don't have to fool with that sort of stuff.
While on active duty (1957-78) I had the experience of recovering bodies. It was part of the job. At that time search and rescue/recovery was at the top of our list of missions.
Originally posted by FlynnPatrick: Better equipment for a recovery is not the same as better equipment for SAR
I disagree. The same equipment can be used for both. It still make the CG look like a third world navy. It was probably too late by the time our boats arrived on scene. Should they have left because we would have just pulled a floater out instead of a sinker?
medicjm, that was the same equipment we used in the '70s. Not pretty. Better equipment is available. The CG won't get it because it's not 'Homeland Security' type equipment.
I too have seen a recovery via a strokes go wrong too, but no, equipment used to find a body under water is not the same as used to find one on the water. With our 11 mission areas we have now, we don't need to be in the bussiness of dragging for bodies.
It is intimated that PWCS and Search and Rescue will normally take precedence in cases of mission conflicts and that those two are wieghed specifically case by case. Haven't seen anything directly list them out 1-11.
The Coast Guard has had to take a back seat to local fire and LE agencies because they have better equipment that the Coast Guard.
Does that surprise you? I bet you remember back in your day, as well as my early days in the CG the way we looked for a body was to drag for it.... Fortunately I never hooked one... granted that was years ago, but our main purpose then was search & rescue.. you won't rescue many if you are draginf for them with trebble hooks.
While I was working the Air Florida crash the first divers there were the Atlantic Strike Team.. They were good, but the equipment brought in by the Navy (yes, I hate to say this) Harbor Clearing Unit was much more extensive. I venture to say they had more experience, but not positive of that....
I'd agree with MightyZ & Pat on both of their posts.....
LANT SAR Plan: • Availability of adequate resources on scene from local agencies. • Nature of the searching being done by the responsible local agencies. If in body recovery mode, the SAR aspects of the incident may be considered ended. Further Coast Guard participation may take place at the discretion of the local unit or higher authority, but only as providing non-SAR assistance to local agencies.
