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Coastal Riverine Squadron 3 Tested on Force Protection Skills

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS130419-15
4/19/2013

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dominique Pineiro, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to Coastal Riverine Group (CORIVGRU) 1 Training and Evaluation Unit (TEU) took to the waters of San Diego Bay April 4-12 to test the Coastal Riverine Squadron (CORIVRON) 3 on their ability to deter and defend against potential waterborne threats.

The drill is part of a larger pre-deployment training cycle CORIVRON 3 is going through.

In the weeks leading up to the test, the squadron went through in-depth courses on seamanship, weapons and tactical craft operations, as well as dry fire exercises and various scenarios to test the boat crew's knowledge.

"What we're doing is preparing expeditionary Sailors to deploy. We are putting them through all these scenarios. When they get 'in country' to do these operations, they will be ready and will know exactly what they're doing," said Chief Boatswain's Mate Justin Smith, assigned to CORIVGRU 1 TEU. "What the Coastal Riverine Squadrons provide to the ships they are assigned to protect, when they're overseas and pulling into various ports, is a level of security that (ensures) we don't have tragedies (like what happened with) USS Cole ever happen again."

Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Cody Holland, tactical boat operator assigned to CORIVGRU 1 TEU, acted as the opposition force (OPFOR) during the exercise that allowed the Coastal Riverine Sailors to assess their capabilities. The exercise included a rogue or OPFOR boat trying to penetrate the squadron's defenses with unpredictable high-speed maneuvers and simulated firing from a variety of guns. The purpose of the mock attack is to add realism and to make the scenarios more challenging to the boat crews.

"I basically tried to get my boat around the CORIVRON 3 boats, which placed them in a 'blue on blue' situation forcing them to decide quickly on how and when to react," said Holland as he described the training scenario. Ultimately the training is designed to teach the boat crews how to counter an attack.

"Our force is constantly changing - we just merged with Riverine Group (with Maritime Expeditionary Security), so we're taking some of their knowledge and adapting it to what we have, and they're adapting to what we're doing," Holland added.

CORIVRON 3 is part of the Navy's Coastal Riverine Force. The squadron and her sister units form the core of U.S. Navy maritime expeditionary security and perform force protection missions on and around the littoral and inland waters, bridging the gap between traditional Navy blue water operations and land-based forces.