South Texas Coast Guard Receives Response Boat
U.S. Coast Guard crews at Station South Padre Island have completed the qualification and trial run process, Tuesday, for the new 45-foot-Response Boat-Medium that was delivered to the station in late February. The training focused on acclimating the crews to the boat's advanced response capabilities. With twin diesel engines using water-jet propulsion, the RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size and has a top speed in excess of 40 knots. It has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is extremely maneuverable and is better suited to respond to mariners in distress and law enforcement operations.
First Multiagency Beach Rescue Exercise off South Padre Island
More than 50 people from three response agencies simulated a joint agency response to an incident involving 12 people off popular South Padre Island beaches, Texas, on Wednesday, August 28. The Coast Guard, City of South Padre Island Beach Rescue and Cameron County Beach Rescue joined together in the Beach Rescue Interagency Team Exercise, or BRITE, to evaluate communication and coordination between the agencies as they managed recovery, triage and transportation for all the victims at one time.