ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Nine Coast Guardsmen, from Maritime Safety and Security Team San Francisco 91105, returned home this weekend from a 16-day deployment to Haiti.

The unit, based on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, sent nine members of its crew to assist in the aftermath of an earthquake that hit the nation of Haiti Jan. 12, 2010.

The unit acted in several capacities during their deployment to Haiti including providing security for the:

• American Embassy
• Diplomatic Security Service
• Senior military officers and the  U.S. Secretary of State
• Federal Communication Commission
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti Seaport Pier as part of a Joint Security Team with the 82nd Airborne

"We witnessed total devastation of outlying villages, collapsed buildings, a lack of  infrastructure, very little running pottable water, very little food for the people and limited medical staff and supplies," said Chief Petty Officer Clifford Fuller of MSST San Francisco 91105.

The unit was on-call 24/7 for the first nine days of their deployment and averaged 12-16 hour days during their deployment.

"Our training for intra-control points was vital in our ability to plan on the move during our many security details and during crowd control,"said Fuller. "Our trained emergency medical technicians provided quick assessments and quicker medevacs." The unit was staffed with two combat lifesavers and one EMT.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cory McDermott, an EMT assigned to MSST San Francsico 91105, who was instrumental in assessing injuries and arranging numerous medevacs for injured Haitians, commented on the importance of teamwork within his unit. He said, "Petty Officer 1st Class Marcel LeRoy, our interpreter from MSST Miami, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Edwards, our Corpsman from New Orleans, made life a lot easier on us and they were instrumental in our successful mission."

The MSST unit was part of a multi-agency and multi-national strike force that had the resources and opportunity to help the people of Haiti in their time of need.

###

WHO:  Cmdr. Samuel Creech, commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco

WHAT:  The newly installed aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) deluge system will have an operational test run.  The fire suppression system was installed to protect crewmembers and aircraft in the 69-year-old hanger, which houses all four of the station's MH-65C Dolphin helicopters.

The deluge system is designed to extinguish aircraft fires by filling the large hanger with 3 feet of foam in under 4 minutes.  San Francisco International Airport Fire and Police departments will be on hand to observe the testing of the new system.

After the system test, the AFFF chemical will be cleaned up and disposed of without contaminating the environment. 

Cmdr. Samuel Creech will be available to conduct interviews regarding the new AFFF system.

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 29, 2010, 10:45 a.m.

WHERE: Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, SFO International Airport Bldg 1020

To gain access on base, members of the media please contact Lt. j.g. Matt Kroll (415) 279-3403.

###

###

SAMOA, Calif. – A crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay rescued two men and a dog from the waters off of Fields Landing in Humboldt Bay, Calif., Saturday morning.

At 5:37 a.m., the California Highway Patrol transferred a 911 emergency call to the Coast Guard.  Two men were hunting duck onboard a 14-foot aluminum boat when their vessel flipped after burying its bow into a wave.  One of the men on the vessel was able to place the 911 call before his cell phone became inoperable.  Immediately, a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat from Station Humboldt Bay was dispatched from Samoa, Calif., to the scene.

The 47-foot Motor Lifeboat arrived in the area and joined Humboldt County Sheriff personnel who were searching the waters from the shoreline.  The Coast Guard boat spotted the men in the water when one of the hunters signaled the Coast Guard with a flashlight.  The rescue boat maneuvered into position and pulled the two men and their dog onboard.  The dog and one of the two men were wearing lifejackets.

The motor lifeboat transferred the men and dog to emergency medical service personnel at the Fields Landing pier.  Both men were suffering from exposure due to having been immersed in the 50-degree water temperature of Humboldt Bay.  The hunter who was not wearing a lifejacket was described as “extremely hypothermic” by Petty Officer Second Class John Duncan, the coxswain of the motor lifeboat.

“We provided them blankets and used a hypothermic recovery suit to start bringing the survivor’s core temperature up while we brought them to Fields Landing,” said Petty Officer First Class Jeremiah Wolf, who was on board providing first aid to the survivors.

After transferring the survivors to EMS, the motor lifeboat returned to Station Humboldt Bay.

The Coast Guard strongly recommends that all mariners, especially those on smaller vessels, wear lifejackets and have access to a waterproof marine VHF radios when underway.  In coastal waters, a marine VHF radio is the most efficient and reliable method to contact the Coast Guard.

###

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Crewmembers of Coast Guard smallboat stations along the coast of Northern California maintained a vigilant watch during a period of extreme weather in the last two weeks. Coast Guard Smallboat Stations Montery, Bodega Bay, and Golden Gate continued to train and conduct search and rescue operations despite the harsh weather and provided the public with saftey information and weather updates.

 VIDEO:

Station Bodega Bay 47-ft motor lifeboat trains in the surf 

Station Golden Gate responds to distress call  

Station Monterey 47-foot motor lifeboats 

Station Monterey heavy weather boat training 

B-Roll winter storms in Northern California 

PHOTO:

Station Bodega Bay trains in the surf 

Station Bodega Bay trains in the surf 

###