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Shark Tank 2010 Participants Hone Patrol Boat Operation Skills

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100825-12
8/25/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Byron C. Linder, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Reserve Sailors from Coronado, Calif.-based Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 1 honed their patrol boat operating skills Aug. 22 during the inaugural field training exercise series Shark Tank 2010 on San Clemente Island.

Six Reserve detachments from Texas and San Diego gathered for the training, which focuses on expeditionary warfare.

MSRON 1's Boat Detachment Alpha, joined by Coast Guard Port Security Unit 311, worked jointly to eliminate a target towed by a remote-control boat. Sailors used a 23-foot SeaArk patrol boat fitted with two M2HB .50-caliber machine guns mounted on the bow and rear starboard sides of the vessel, and over the course of four hours successfully engaged the target.

"We got underway to train some of our new crew," said Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Corey King, a patrol boat coxswain. "There's a pecking order on the boat. You've got your crewman, your engineer, your NAV/RTO [navigation officer and radio talker] and the coxswain. When you step up and get the new responsibilities, you have to have someone to replace you."

According to King, the opportunity for a live-fire exercise from the patrol boats is rare.

"Maybe once a year we get to do this, and we try to take full advantage of it," he said. "You train for it and you hope you don't have to use it, but if it happens, you're trained and qualified."

Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Kim McCarthy, a newly qualified .50-caliber machine gun shooter, explained the challenges of shooting from a small craft.

"While we've been here, we've shot the 50-cal from the land, and people shoot the 50-cal from the ship," she said. "When you're on a 23-foot boat and going full speed, there's so many new factors. There's the sea state, the rolling of the boat, the pitch and elevation of the weapon, so you learn the kind of adjustments you need to make."

King emphasized the importance of the patrol boat's role in successfully conducting expeditionary warfare.

"We're more or less the front line of defense," he said. "When the ships pull in and they get into narrow waters, they can't maneuver quite as well because they're constrained by the draft of the boat. If they can't maneuver, they can't use all their weapons systems, so we provide 360 degrees of protection for the high-value asset. And once they get into port, they don't have to worry about security from the water because we're out there."