An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article Display
NEWS | Feb. 8, 2017

Coast Guard Port Security Unit prepares to deploy

By Airman 1st Class Derek Seifert 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

A U.S. Coast Guard unit assigned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, participated in a week-long exercise to prepare for an upcoming deployment in support of antiterrorist force protection.

U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit 305 practiced coordinating maritime and land-based tactics, techniques and procedures Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 on the shores and waterways along the James River.

“This was a joint exercise between our shoreside assets, waterside security assets and our communications center. Essentially, what we’re looking to accomplish is to train together to effectively maintain antiterrorism force protection for our expeditionary mission,” said U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Enforcement Specialist 1st Class Matthew Ott, PSU 305 Shoreside Division lead petty officer and fire team leader. “Our unit is unique in that we can deploy in 96 hours and can be self-sustainable. Doing these types of exercises gets us all on the same page as far as our tactics, techniques and procedures to execute a safe antiterrorism force protection mission.”

The unit’s maritime assets served as the first line of defense for the shores. The crew’s techniques were tested by a simulated opposing force trying to gain access to the installation.

“My role was to help facilitate training between the waterborne division and the shoreside division,” said Boatswain Mate 1st Class Joseph Damico, PSU 305 waterborne security division operations petty officer. “Our forces practiced implementing our use of force tactics out on the water as well as working with our shoreside fire teams.”

In the event that the waterside assets were disabled, the observation post would spot the opposing vessel and ensure the battle positions located on the shore were tracking and ready to engage if necessary.

According to Ott, the four-day exercise brought PSU 305 closer together and provided teamwork and cohesion practice as the upcoming deployment approaches.

“It definitely helped us enhance communication between our waterside and shoreside assets,” said Ott. “It’s always good when we can go out and do joint training that helps us understand their tactics, terminology and brevity codes. It also helped them learn what our capabilities are.”