Friday, March 29, 2019

Supplemental USCG Operations End
in Bering Sea

By Karen Robes Meeks

The aircrews of US Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak ended their supplemental seasonal coverage of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Chain earlier this month when crew members demobilized forward operating locations in St. Paul and Cold Bay.

Aircrews had been on two-week rotations to respond to the Bering Sea fishing fleet during busier maritime activity.

During their forward-deployment, St. Paul MH-60 aircrews handled two cases, which resulted in one life saved and five helped. “This has been a great Bering Sea deployment season, and as the fleet shifted further north, it was an all-hands-on-deck evolution to mobilize our crews and reopen our facility in St. Paul mid-season,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tom Huntley, Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk assistant operations officer. “This shift allowed us to maintain our search and rescue posture and protect our critical fishing industry, and it allowed us to be ready and responsive when called upon.”