Hawaii National Guard, PHL disaster response teams conducting urban search and rescue training

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 10): Hawaii National Guard, PHL disaster response teams conducting urban search and rescue training

Experts from the Hawaii National Guard and Philippine disaster response teams are currently conducting bilateral urban search and rescue training (US&R) at Camp Lapu-Lapu, Cebu.

The 10-day training program, which began on March 3, involves over 100 personnel, including members of the Hawaii National Guard, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Red Cross, the Emergency Response Unit Foundation, and the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The training, a US&R subject matter expert exchange, involves basic and advanced practical application in rope rescue, confined space operations, shoring, medical search and extraction, lifting and hauling, and breaching and breaking.

The goal of the training is to build capacity within the AFP and other Philippine first-responders for US&R operations and pre-hospital trauma medical skills.

The members of the Hawaii National Guard are expected to return during Exercise Balikatan ’14 in May for additional US&R training and a scenario-based field training exercise.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=624071