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

 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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