Who doesn’t want to participate in a massive drill hosted by the FBI…
On Oct. 2nd, 2019 the FBI hosted their bi-annual Tri-State K9 Maritime Exercise at Liberty State Park (Jersey City, NJ) and the FDNY Training Center at Randall’s Island. The purpose of this exercise was to acclimate approximately 350 K9 teams with maritime operations, including the transfer of dogs and handlers from boat to boat in open water.
To add an additional layer of safety in the unpredictable waters of NY Harbor, the FBI requested the North Jersey Regional Task Force (which is comprised of a number of NePSD Staff members) provide divers for water rescue in the event a K9 team went in the water.
To support the operation, NePSD Staff members were stationed on a rescue boat directly behind the transfer boat (a Coast Guard Cutter), fully dressed in an 80% diver-ready status. Considering the unpredictable nature of the operation, and taking into account the fact that any of the potential victims were fully armed law enforcement officers carrying a large amount of weight, divers remained in 80% status for eight straight hours so they could deploy and submerge in less than a minute.
Following the completion of the operation, and with no victims to rescue, divers returned to the dock (without diving). All was not lost, however, when the NJ State Park Police told us that a number of metal dock planks fell off the dock a few months ago. No arms were required to be twisted and the planks were located and recovered in approximately 15 minutes by three NePSD Staff.
