US Navy,
BRANI NAVAL BASE, Singapore: Members of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard combined forces to conduct visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) training with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Singaporean Police Coast Guard (PCG) July 20 at PCG headquarters on the former Brani Naval Base.
The Coast Guardsmen, attached to the Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) out of Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Sailors, embarked aboard dock-landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), are part of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2007 task group.
VBSS training has been an integral part of the CARAT landscape from the beginning of the exercise, with U.S. Coast Guardsmen and Sailors teaming up to work and train alongside their counterparts in each host nation. The training is comprehensive and essential to maritime security and interdiction.
“VBSS has become an important and vital part of our armed forces and those of other countries and piracy at sea is at an all-time high,” said Operations Specialist 2nd Class Harvey D. Sentel, one of the instructors and the assistant force protection officer on board Harpers Ferry. “There are certain hot spots that we concentrate on, but nations like Singapore are concerned about protecting their waters and making sure that the door isn’t open to terrorists and criminals.”
The training focused on active countermeasures and on a review of defensive and boarding tactics designed to improve maritime security skills, with special emphasis on VBSS techniques and force protection. But, this was just one day in a weeklong training evolution.
“During the past week, we have focused on boarding procedures and tactics, defensive tactics and planning preparation,” said Coast Guard Gunner's Mate 1st Class Juan A. Gonzalez. “Today the purpose is to freshen up on certain tactics and to identify any of the changes made since the last time we trained with the Singapore PCG. We were also able to fine-tune the tactics they use here using their state-of-the-art platform.”
To expedite the training process and to focus on specifics, trainees were separated into two groups with the Navy working with one group and the Coast Guard the other. Some of the training can easily be compared to a typical law enforcement self-defense class with many techniques, like kung fu and jujitsu, emphasizing the martial arts. Along with the strenuous physical conditioning needed in VBSS operations, mental preparation is required as well.
“I believe that you train to better yourself with a whole array of skills, whether it is physical or psychological,” said Coast Guardsman Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Marlon Cummings. “It’s not always the strongest person that wins; sometimes it’s the smartest. As the saying goes, 'The more you know, the better off you will be.'”
From empty-hand control techniques to punches, takedowns, and choke holds, trainees were sent through one challenging routine after another, with minimal breaks in between.
“We spent the morning teaching them how we approach defensive tactics, and they showed us a couple of their moves as well,” said Lt. j.g. Joshua Ray, the training officer aboard Harpers Ferry. “The afternoon consisted of a brief session covering our tactical team movements.”
A major benefit of the training is the expertise and experience that the U.S. Navy and the highly specialized Coast Guard MSST each bring to CARAT. The combined training effort has allowed both sides to share and exchange ideas unique to their respective service entities.
“All of the training is valuable,” Gonzalez said. “Due to the increased levels of terrorism all around the world, we all need to share information and be active participants against international terrorism, so that freedom and liberty are protected and preserved.”
The interaction between the armed forces of both nations and their Singapore hosts is also a testimony to the interoperability that is needed to make VBSS operations successful and productive.
“Interoperability is huge in the armed forces,” Sentel said. “It is important for us to communicate with each other, to share perspectives and to be on the same page in issues of security.”
Training cycles like this also create a sense of camaraderie between all participants, and despite the cultural differences, everyone can walk away knowing that, in some way, they contributed to the future success of CARAT.
“The training with the PCG was very productive,” Gonzalez said. “During the training we identified with them and realized that we are not that much different in terms of having the same mission and desire to accomplish that mission. I believe that in the end, we both gained something out of the training, and learned a lot from each other.”
CARAT is a sequential series of bilateral military exercises the U.S. Navy performs annually with the armed forces of several Southeast Asia nations. The exercise continues to Brunei for the finale.
