Coast Guard auxiliarists volunteered and stood watch during Hurricane Harvey an average of 350 hours per member and logged more than 10,000 total hours in support of hurricane response operations within Texas.
Tag: texas
On May 1, Coast Guard aircrews took to the sky to search for two downed Navy pilots whose plane had crashed somewhere off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas. Fortunately, a rescue helicopter crew found and rescued them. Both men were later released from Spohn Shoreline Memorial Hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.But what happened to their plane? Someone needed to recover it.
450 search and rescue cases. 591 people in distress. 83 saved lives. Sound like a lot to handle? These numbers are just a snap shot of the annual missions carried out by personnel assigned to Air Station Corpus Christi. With this level of responsibility, it is only fitting that the air station recently received their first HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft, the newest aircraft in the Coast Guard fleet.
Last week, Coast Guard aircrews conducted rescue training in San Luis Pass at the southwestern end of Galveston Island, Texas. From morning to afternoon, the crewmembers hoisted mock survivors to MH-65 Dolphin helicopters in many different ways to simulate the various scenarios they could face on any given day.
Paws down, snout up and ready for landing; Bert, an explosive detection dog from Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Galveston, and his handler, Petty Officer 2nd Class Chandler Nuttal, approached the deck of the training boat. They hovered over it, almost effortlessly, along with a whirlwind of freezing-cold saltwater. The confidence of Nuttal and his fury friend Bert, a 5-year-old German shepherd was evident as they were lowered more than 30 feet out of a Houston-based Coast Guard rescue helicopter to the deck of the boat.
Danger happens anywhere and at anytime. For a dedicated Coast Guardsman who’s internalized Semper Paratus, Always Ready, responding doesn’t just happen on the job, but during off-duty hours as well.
For many, the morning commute to work involves traffic delays, routine routes and mile upon mile of repetition. But for one Coast Guard member, a morning commute turned into a moment to save a life.
In late September, Hurricane Ingrid prompted a fleet of 179 Mexican shrimp boats to request shelter in the port of Brownsville until it was safe to return to Mexican waters. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection crews boarded each of the vessels, taking account of crew numbers and any pollution concerns that could adversely effect the port. This process took approximately 18 hours.
Weather conditions, crew responsiveness, incoming hazards and myriad meters, gauges and measurements. These are just a few of the things a pilot has to be wary of when flying an aircraft. A new concern is affecting Coast Guard pilots from Cape Cod, to Hawaii, from Puerto Rico to Seattle. Every air station in the Coast Guard is on the lookout for a simple beam of light.
Click on the photo to watch a video of Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur on a security patrol of the Sabine-Neches Channel. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard Brahm. The global supply chain, including America’s ports and waterways, is an interconnected powerful engine of commerce, jobs and prosperity. Consumers, businesses and