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Anti-terror team jumps into training By
William Cole
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The big Marine Corps CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter was doing its best to remain stationary above.
The Pearl Harbor-based frigate Crommelin couldn't do a thing about the rolling waves 70 feet below.
Between the two dangled a rope that some Coast Guard personnel used to practice rappelling insertions as part of a recent joint training exercise for a Coast Guard anti-terrorism team.
U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, helped commission the 76-member Maritime Safety and Security Team at Ford Island in 2004. Similar Coast Guard teams are in place around the country.
The MSSTs were created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and are a part of the Department of Homeland Security's strategy for protecting seaports and waterways.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Luke Clayton said the Coast Guard in Honolulu recently began a partnership with the Marine Corps and Navy to boost the Coast Guard team's effectiveness.
The Coast Guard has its own HH-65C Dolphin helicopters, but the limited space inside the smaller chopper doesn't allow for the insertion of a full security team onto a suspicious ship.
That's where the cavernous Marine Corps Sea Stallions came in.
The speed of a helicopter makes it possible to arrive over a ship quickly, and rappelling down provides an equally fast method of getting on board.
Such a boarding method also would be beneficial in rough water.
"It can be really dangerous trying to get a boat next to another boat in high seas and trying to climb up a 70-foot ladder, Clayton said.
In September, members of the MSST trained with the Marines at Kane'ohe Bay. The regimen included dunk-tank training in the pool simulating a helicopter water landing and roll-over, and rappelling from a 50-foot tower.
The three services are working on an agreement that would make it possible for military helicopters to be available on short notice to the Coast Guard anti-terrorism team.
"As of right now, there's nothing really set in stone," Clayton said. "But it's in the works where the Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard are trying to get something together where there could be that option."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.
