Coast Guards from both sides of the border are working together to better simulate search-and-rescue exercises near St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
The national operations located at the Bay of Fundy jointly completed training scenarios on Thursday, going through all major steps that would be taken in the event of an actual emergency.
“Because we share a border so close in this area, they’ll be responding as they would normally,” Phillip Walker, Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue Preparedness Officer, explained.
“The two countries will liaise through RCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) in Boston and RCC in Halifax accordingly.”
The area is known to answer between 75 and 100 calls per year, with both sides racing to respond regardless of proximity to either border.
Working closely in real life situations means coordinating training programs has real life benefits.
“It’s vitally important,” Walker said.
“We both work under the same search-and-rescue umbrella but we each have our own way of doing things,” Dean Robinson, commanding officer of the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Westport, said. “So it’s good to see the way the US Coast Guard conducts their exercises and they get to see how we do ours.”
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