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British, U.S. Navies Conduct Joint Rescue Training in Baltic Sea

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090618-19
Release Date: 6/18/2009 8:02:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Gary Keen, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa/Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs

USS FOREST SHERMAN, At Sea (NNS) -- British Royal Navy ship HMS St. Albans (F 83) conducted joint rescue assistance training June 11 with U.S. Sailors from USS Forest Sherman (DDG 98) during the 2009 Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise.

The training included St. Albans acting as a flagged cable-laying merchant vessel that was requesting assistance following a fire in the ship's cable room.

Forest Sherman Sailors participated in the exercise by maneuvering in two small boats to St. Albans to meet her request and provide assistance.

After receiving a safety brief aboard the mock cable-laying vessel, Sailors engaged the fire in the cable room, said British Royal Navy Petty Officer Tyler Helm, a St. Albans' marine engineer.

"You have to help; you have to help; we are on fire," yelled Helm, while waving his arms and jumping to show distress. "People are hurt please, please, follow me."

Forest Sherman Sailors quickly followed Helm through a series of ladders and passageways that ended in a space filled with smoke.

"I didn't really know what to expect," said Sherman Damage Controlman 2nd Class (SW) Chris Pagonis. "I have participated in damage control training all over the world, but this was completely different because we had to come to another ship and use someone else's equipment."

After assessing the scene, six Sailors put on St. Albans' firefighting equipment while the rest administered medical treatment to the mock casualties laying about the area.

"They came straight over to me and started giving me proper treatment," said British Royal Navy Leading Engineering Technician Let Simpson, one of the mock casualties. "They kept reassuring me that everything was going be alright."

The medical team from Forest Sherman included three hospital corpsmen, who moved all the casualties to a secure location to administer medical treatment.

The firefighting team then moved into position and was ready to confront the fire with a few suggestions from St. Albans' staff.

"On our ship we use only one hose team with a second hose team on standby if we need it," said Damage Controlman Fireman Camila Landeros, hose team leader aboard Sherman. "Albans showed us how to combat a fire with two hose teams. One hose team opens a ten-foot disk of water creating a 'water wall,' while the other hose team combats from behind the water wall."

The two hose teams finished the exercise by walking through the smoke-filled space with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) checking for casualties.

"The TIC was different from the naval firefighting thermal imager I'm used to using on the Sherman," said Landeros. "It took me a couple of moments to figure it out, but really it was very similar."

The exercise ended with a short debrief by British Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Pete Viney, a logistics officer aboard St. Albans, who applauded Sherman Sailors' professionalism and enthusiasm.

"Although you were using equipment that was alien to you, you adapted successfully and extinguished the fire," said Viney, addressing the firefighting team. "In sum, this was an excellent team effort which illustrated the professionalism and dedication of this specialist team."

BALTOPS is comprised of forces from 12 countries and is the largest multinational naval exercise this year in the Baltic Sea. The exercise aims to improve maritime security through increased interoperability and cooperation among regional allies.