FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team conducts training in Charleston
Last week a Black Hawk helicopter and surf-rescue were at work in the Charleston harbor and intracoastal waterways around Charleston. It looked like they were saving distressed victims from drowning.
They were not.
No this wasn’t a real accident or a Hollywood movie.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was in town last week and conducted a four-day maritime exercise in and around the Charleston. During the exercise, special agents based in Quantico, Virginia, conducted specialized search and rescue training in the Charleston Harbor, the Intracoastal Waterway and off the coasts of Kiawah Island and Sullivan's Island, the FBI said in a press release.
Specially trained agents honed their rescue skills by deploying from a Black Hawk helicopter, as well as surf-rescue jet skis to rescue role players who simulated distressed, drowning, and injured victims.
“Charleston is the perfect location for the FBI’s specialty teams to train,” said FBI Columbia Special Agent in Charge, Susan Forensic. “It is important that we continue to partner with other agencies and organizations so that we are all prepared and work cohesively in times of crisis.”
The FBI has previously deployed specially trained personnel to support disaster relief efforts in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Puerto Rico.
The overall safety and success of this exercise relied heavily on both the support and participation from the following federal, state, and local public safety agencies, as well as private organizations:
FBI - Columbia Field Office
United States Air Force 1st Combat Camera Squadron
United States Air Force 4th Combat Camera Squadron
United States Coast Guard - Station Charleston
National Park Service
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston County Sheriff's Office
Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch
Charleston County Volunteer Rescue Squad
Charleston Police Department
Charleston Fire Department
Mount Pleasant Police Department
North Charleston Police Department
North Charleston Fire Department
St. Johns Fire Department
Charleston Branch Pilots Association
Barrier Island Ocean Rescue
Priority 1 Air Rescue
Town of Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island Golf Resort