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| News > 31st, 33rd RQS hone skills with JASDF partners during Cope Angel 12 |
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U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew McGuinness, 31st Rescue Squadron director of operations, pops a flare to signal a U.S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter where to land during Cope Angel 12 in Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 5, 2011. The 33rd and 31st Rescue Squadrons paired up with partners from the Japan Air Self Defense Force during Cope Angel to train on water and land rescue and triage tactics. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Maeson L. Elleman/Released)
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31st, 33rd RQS hone skills with JASDF partners during Cope Angel 12
Posted 12/14/2011 Updated 12/14/2011
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by Airman 1st Class Maeson L. Elleman
18th Wing Public Affairs
12/14/2011 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Kadena's 31st and 33rd Rescue Squadrons paired with their counterparts from the Japan Air Self Defense Force Dec. 5-8 during Cope Angel 12, an annual combat search and rescue exercise in Okinawa, Japan.
During the exercise, the different teams participated in a range of simulated rescue operations to improve overall cohesiveness in the event a real situation like the major earthquake and following tsunami that struck Honshu, Japan earlier this year could arise again in the future.
"The purpose was to increase interoperability between both nations' rescue forces," said Maj. Matthew McGuinness, 31st Rescue Squadron director of operations, who participated in the mass casualty inject Monday. "This will help us in the future; especially if [or] when we work with them during real operations like [Operation] Tomodachi. Combining U.S. and JASDF capability more than doubles our rescue readiness in case of real world situations."
A simulated earthquake incident kicked off the beginning of the week causing both JASDF and 18th Wing assets to deploy into the Pacific Ocean to save the simulated victims both in the sea and on an island just off the coast.
During the operation, McGuinness helped instruct the Japanese team leader on mass casualty control procedures and also gave a class on personnel recover (PR) planning.
"My team performed very well," said McGuinness. "We provided new tactics, techniques and procedures to the Japanese and they reciprocated with new TTPs for us. We work very well [together]. Their search and rescue skills are generally on par with ours. With the aid of interpreters, we will continue to hone each other's skills."
However, McGuinness said working with another nation's service members gives the U.S Air Force even more reach and capability throughout contingencies and operations in the future.
"We always learn from exercising with other nations' forces," said McGuinness, who's participated in Cope Angel five times since it began 12 years ago. "I've never seen an exercise with another nation in which we didn't come away with a new technique or piece of gear that was faster, lighter or stronger. This is one of the greatest benefits. Following this is the confidence that we gain in the other nation's capabilities."
Staff Sgt. Thomas Seffernick, 33rd RQS aerial gunner, said though the training went well, there were key challenges the teams had to overcome.
"I think it was a big eye-opener for everybody involved," said Seffernick. "I don't think we practice enough with the Japanese. I think it's a great experience, but trying to work with them, their controlling agencies and their teams - it's a challenge because obviously the language barrier is a huge one, but also the way we operate. They do things a certain way and we do things our way."
Seffernick, an experienced gunner who has deployed to Iraq four times and Afghanistan twice in his eight years in the Air Force, said the key struggle when training with another country's force is consistency.
"A lot of our experience comes from combat experience, deploying, doing real world MEDEVAC and CASEVAC, and we work with our teams pretty often, so we're pretty familiar with how they do things," Seffernick said. "But when we work with these other agencies, there are growing pains, and the more we can work with them, the less we'll have to deal with these growing pains and the more we'll feel comfortable working with each other."
Despite the small struggles between the forces, both Seffernick and McGuinness agree the training was useful and they'd both like to work with JASDF again.
"I would like to see more," Seffernick said. "I would like to work with those guys more just because we're in their country and we have the availability to do so.
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