By Scott Gourley
Eureka Times Standard (California)
Copyright 2006 Times - Standard
All Rights Reserved
There’s something incongruous about using idyllic settings to prepare for horrific possibilities. But that’s exactly what happened earlier this week when a dozen U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumpers camped along the Trinity River near Hawkins Bar to learn specialized emergency response techniques from local whitewater and emergency medicine experts.
The “PJs” were from the Air Force’s 131st Pararescue Team, a reserve unit based at Moffett Field. With a total of approximately 30 airmen, the 131st is one of nine similar Air Force teams whose members deploy in response to the needs of special operations forces and other Department of Defense commitments -- including Space Shuttle launch support — around the world.
Members of the 131st recently completed a six-month deployment to support military operations in Afghanistan.
The Trinity River training was coordinated by Bill Wing, founder and president of Arcata-based Wing Inflatables. In addition to drawing on his own whitewater expertise, Wing was joined by lead instructors Gary Kibbee, a retired Navy SEAL and South San Francisco Fire Department Paramedic, and Court Boice, founder of Medford-based Boice Jet Boats.
Kibbee said that he based his portion of the instruction on a modification of standard “swift water rescue training.”
“The first half day of standard technical training usually goes over tying knots, basic anchoring systems, self-equalizing, multi-directional anchors,” he said. “But these guys all know that stuff. So we spent our first day on Tyrolean traverse rigs and simple ways to create rope friction to lower guys out of buildings or to move people through ships or between ships. For work in this environment we also talked about building emergency anchors in the sand to pull a boat off the river.”
The second day involved river swimming and initial work with small boats.
“Again they had the knowledge and experience so we did an intro swim of the rapids and then turned them loose to swim with victims, work throw-bag rescues, and start working with small boats,” Kibbee added.
Wednesday’s instruction focused on jet boat operations in small whitewater settings.
“Because of their uncertain operational requirements around the world, it’s important for this group to get serious river training in small boats,” Kibbee said. “Once they get that under their belt we’ll put them in their own big boat and see what their operational capabilities really are.”
The PJs have previously operated their own jet boat, dubbed “Black Pearl,” a 23-foot jet boat from Northwind Marine equipped with Wing tubes on large bay waters, but the Trinity River provided their first experience in smaller whitewater situations.
Standing on top of Black Pearl, Wing and Boice opened with a class they called “Jet Boat 101.” The instruction covered topics ranging from onboard equipment inventories and proper anchor line ratios to whitewater “rules of the road.”
Along with the Black Pearl, the PJs also brought a pair of jet skis that might be employed in selected military or civil rescue operations.
The military platforms were supplemented by additional jet boats provided by Wing and Boice.
After developing some familiarity with the peculiarities of the jet boats in that river setting, the PJs were provided with several swimmer rescue situations in open water and along cliff faces.
Thursday’s instruction moved up near the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon rivers where the PJs were required to establish a Tyrolean traverse rope network high above the river before lowering a rescuer to a victim in an anchored boat bouncing in whitewater below.
Friday’s class graduation event was an all-night exercise requiring the PJs to apply all of their newly developed skills to seek and rescue a “downed pilot” injured in a crash.