Video

Video by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Jackson

Hawaii National Guard Search and Rescue Soldiers and Airmen join Armed Forces of the Philippines Counter Parts.

State of Hawaii, Department of Defense, Public Affairs Office

May 13, 2017 | 4:38

170514-Z-IX631-001
Package

RT: 00:04:38:09

Audio Stereo - Split

Hawaii Nation Guard’s Partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines showcased during Balikatan 2017

Hawaii’s Partnership with the Philippines through the National Guards State Partnership Program shows is purpose and potential during the latest Balikatan.

One of the key themes of the 2017 iteration of Balikatan the annual U.S.-Philippine military bilateral training event was Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR). The Hawaii National Guard’s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Explosive (CBRNE) - Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) Search and Extraction team has been participating in Balikatan since 2011 working along side the Armed Forces of the Philippines 525th Engineering Battalion growing each others mastery of search and rescue techniques through Subject Matter Exchanges. This longstanding relationship has helped grow each forces competency in disaster recovery.

00:00:45:04 - Major James Kanoholani, Commander Hawaii National Guard CERFP

Every year both forces bring what new techniques they have learned over the past twelve months to share with each other. Once this knowledge is reviewed and discussed and the skills are then demonstrated. They then in-turn demonstrate those rescue techniques for the other AFP units in attendance. Establishing a base line skill set. All of the events are very hands on with very limited lecture. This year soldiers from the AFP’s 2nd, 7th, and 9th infantry divisions along with Sailors, Airmen and Marines from through out the AFP participated in the HA/DR search and extraction exercise at Fort Magsaysay in north of Manila. The Training site this year was an dis-used hospital site, perfect for standing in as a collapsed structure.

The HING brought 26 Soldiers and 3 Airmen while over 170 members of the AFP participated in exchanging skills such as rope rescue, collapsed structure shoring, manual lifting and hauling techniques, breaching and breaking, and medical treatment of victims. This year there was a growing focus on the medical treatment aspect as well, a course that was added to the curriculum and was taught by three Hawaii Air Guardsmen from the 154th Wings - Detachment 1 a unit that is the medical treatment arm the the HINGS CERFP team.

00:02:32:18 - Master Sgt. Jared Mina, 154th Wing - Detachment 1, Search and Extraction Rescue Operations.

The exercise was conducted in a round robin format with small groups spending a day in each of the rescue skill stations performing skill checks for the rescue experts from the 525th and the HING. The next day on-to another skill.

Disaster recovery in Hawaii is the mission of the states National Guard and the CERFP is at the center of that effort spending months each year training and maintaining individual proficiency while preparing to respond to an eventual disaster.

The Hawaii National Guard is a force with two sets of missions national security their federal mission and disaster recovery their state mission. All the while Hawaii and the Philippines share in their vulnerabilities to certain types of natural disasters namely hurricanes or typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis. They also have similar climates and many members of the HING are of filipino decent making the partnership more like a close friendship.

00:04:02:01 - Sgt. Kage Fergerstrom, Hawaii CERFP.

The closing days of the week long SMEE was followed by a media day where over seventy journalists from international and local media where invited to witness the types of HA/DR techniques that had been rehearsed during the 2017 iteration of Balikatan. (U.S. Air Force Video by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Jackson)

Up Next

Now Playing

Hawaii National Guard Search and Rescue Soldiers and Airmen join Armed Forces of the Philippines Counter Parts.

1:56

Philippine, U.S. Air Force Engineers Construct Omaya Elementary School Classroom

1:50

Closing Ceremony for Balikatan 2012 held at Fort Magsaysay (With Titles)

1:50

Closing Ceremony for Balikatan 2012 held at Fort Magsaysay (No Titles)

DOD Videos

Tags

Up Next

916th ARW Videos