Coast Guardsmen at Air Station Sitka conduct search and rescue missions throughout southeast Alaska, including 12,000 miles of isolated, rugged coastline. They are, as the Coast Guard motto says, “semper paratus” — always ready — which they demonstrated in vivid fashion during a recent exercise.
Crews assigned to the station and to the Coast Guard cutter Douglas Denman teamed up with Sitka Mountain Rescue and Sitka Fire Department personnel for a weeklong search and rescue exercise.
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Participants tackled a series of simulated scenarios, including lost hunters and an avalanche. The exercise culminated with a mock mass casualty event in which multiple agencies responded to a simulated scene with 40 survivors in distress.
How “semper paratus” is your Coast Guard knowledge? Take this quiz and find out.
