LOS ANGELES – Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles personnel will be completing their annual flight crew standardization checks from Feb. 1st through the 11^th.

Residents living near the Torrance Airport can expect to see and hear the air station’s MH-65 Dolphin helicopters more frequently during that time period.  In an effort to reduce the frequency of flights near Torrance, multiple airports are being used throughout the Los Angeles area.

Every Coast Guard air station must complete the two-week check, conducted by Coast Guard instructors from the service’s training center in Mobile, Alabama.

The purpose of the flight checks is to test a pilot’s ability to handle emergencies like an engine failure and other critical facets of being a military aviator.

The Coast Guard fully recognizes the impacts caused by the noise of the helicopters and is taking all possible steps to keep the flights as short as possible. These checks will be conducted primarily during the hours of 9 a. m. and 5 p. m.

         For high-resolution photos, click on thumbnails.

In today’s world it has become quite normal to view jobs that require using your hands or getting them dirty as undesirable. There seems to be a collective dismissing of the importance and merit of manual labor. Skilled tradesmen not only afford us basic comforts, their talents can save lives. In the world of maritime rescue and security, there are few people more valuable to have around than a Coast Guard flight mechanic.

Officially called aviation maintenance technicians (or AMTs), Coast Guard aviation mechanics keep a nation-wide fleet of airplanes and helicopters ready to execute a variety of demanding and sometimes dangerous missions.

“Without AMTs we wouldn’t be able to keep these planes up and flying,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Miguel Arellano, an aviation maintenance technician at Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles. “We make them able to go out and do those rescues.”

Coast Guard flight mechanics are charged with a wide array of responsibilities that can be grouped into two main categories.

“You have two main duties as an AMT,” explained Arellano. “You have your mechanical duties and you have your flying duties.”

When the helicopters or airplanes are not up in the sky, AMTs are working hard in the hangars, performing a multitude of tasks from metalsmithing, to conducting inspections, to changing tires, to servicing gearboxes, fuselages, wings and rotor blades. AMTs are also responsible for painting the aircraft those instantly recognizable colors of Coast Guard red, blue and white.

When the alarm sounds and Coast Guard aircraft take to the skies, AMTs become an integral part of the flight crew, serving as flight engineers. AMTs are responsible for safely lowering and retrieving Coast Guard rescue swimmers and survivors during training and actual rescue operations.

“When you’re not hoisting,” said Arellano, “you’re backing up the pilots as an extra pair of eyes, observing air traffic and making sure they’re taking the right steps.”

These duties are not taken lightly and acquiring the skill and qualifications to perform them is no easy task. Hopeful AMTs must first meet the required score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test which is taken upon military enlistment.

“Next, they’ll go through the Airman Program for four months before A-school,” explained Arellano. “They’ll go to an air station and learn about the aircraft, how to tow the aircraft in and out, and how to fuel. Then it’s off to A-school for five months.”

AMT A-School is held at the Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, NC. The curriculum is intense. Students are taught about every Coast Guard aircraft platform, including the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, the C-130 Hercules airplane, and the HC-144 Casa airplane.

“You have a test every day for five months,” remembered Arellano. “It’s tough, but not impossible.”

Coast Guardsmen endure the training and become AMTs for many different reasons. Arellano originally wanted to pursue the path of a rescue swimmer.

“I was pretty athletic, but I had no idea what the whole rate entailed,” said Arellano. “I was mechanically inclined already and thought AMT sounded more like something I would want to do.”

 It takes a lot of effort and training to become an AMT, even for those who possess a mechanical aptitude. For Arellano, however, the rewards are well worth the hard work.

“A lot of the time, it’s just work, work, work,” said Arellano, “but when you get that plane up just as the SAR alarm is going off and rescue three people off a sinking ship; that’s the true reward. We made it possible to save those lives.”

AMTs often stand humbly behind the scenes of glamorous rescues and don’t often receive the recognition their invaluable work deserves. So next time you hear the distinct sound overhead of a Coast Guard helicopter or airplane on its way to a rescue or patrolling coastal areas, think of the many skilled and distinguished men and women who keep the Coast Guard in the sky.

LOS ANGELES - The Coast Guard has suspended their search for a man who went missing while kayaking yesterday near Point Dume, Malibu, Calif., at approximately 4 p.m. Dec. 30, 2011.

The Coast Guard searched 110-square miles for approximately 23 hours using a 45-foot rescue boat crew and the 87-foot patrol boat Halibut.

The Coast Guard started search efforts after Baywatch Malibu located an unmanned kayak containing a paddle and a life jacket and notified Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles - Long Beach.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also assisted with search efforts including providing a helicopter at the outset of the case.

LOS ANGELES-The U.S. Coast Guard and Baywatch Malibu are searching for a missing kayaker near Malibu, Calif., Dec. 29, 2011.

The missing man was reportedly assisting another kayaker when he vanished from sight approximately 1.5 miles east of Point Dume, Malibu.

Baywatch units reportedly found an empty kayak containing a life jacket and a paddle in the search area.

The Coast Guard received the initial call from Baywatch at around 3 p.m.

Shortly after notification, a rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Los Angeles was dispatched to the  area to aid in the search.

SAN PEDRO, Calif. - The Coast Guard rescued three commercial fishermen after their 33-foot vessel became disabled and began drifting dangerously close to the rocks off of the westernmost point of San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands chain, at about 4 p.m. Sunday.

A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles hoisted the trio and flew them back to Santa Barbara, Calif., with no injuries.

The drama began when the commercial fishing boat, based out of Santa Barbara, became disabled about 100 yards from the rocks.  The men dropped an anchor but it quickly broke free and the second anchor started to drag in the direction of the shoreline.  The master radioed the Coast Guard for help at about 2:30 p.m.

Before hoisting the men, the Coast Guard directed them to set off their Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon so Command Center and environmental response personnel could keep tabs of the vessel.  The last position of the boat was roughly 35 yards from the rocks.

Coast Guard environmental response personnel are monitoring the vessel because it is reported to have about 40 gallons of fuel onboard and may come aground in an environmentally sensitive area.

A Coast Guard helicopter is scheduled to conduct an early morning flight to further inspect the vessel's position at that time.

The weather at the time of the rescue were sea swells ranging from eight to ten feet, with 20 knot winds.  Those conditions are expected to worsen over night.

LOS ANGELES - The Coast Guard hosted a special career day for four Los Angeles area high schools that participated in activities, demonstrations and learned about careers in the Coast Guard at Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, Dec. 7, 2011.

Over 300 students, mostly in their junior year, saw live demonstrations of search and rescue tactics from a helicopter and boat as well as K-9 handling. Students also toured units, response boats, a 175-foot cutter and a rescue helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles.

"Kids may experience many places to realize their dreams," said Capt. Roger Laferriere, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach. "We just want to make them aware of the Coast Guard." 

The four career-themed academies the students belong to were Earth Alert, Global Safety and Security, Global Environmental Sciences and Global Business.  The four high schools that attended were Banning, San Pedro, Carson and Barstow. 

"The teachers and advisory board are really into helping prepare these kids," said Harlene Stanley, program manager for International Trade Education Programs. "The Coast Guard is one of ITEP's most exciting partners that we have. Coast Guard reps sit on four of our academy advisory boards and are committed to providing on-campus guest speakers and industry coaches that meet with small groups of students and work with them through six months of counseling on careers, the importance of academics, the importance of college and leadership development. To the kids it is less intimidating, and it moves and encourages them."

For over four years, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach has partnered with ITEP, which fosters educational relationships between students, teachers and industry professionals.  The career day is just one part of the commitment volunteers from Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach contribute.

To learn more about ITEP, go to www.itepinc.org.

SAN PEDRO, Calif. – The Coast Guard rescued four boaters after their 26-foot boat sunk about 13 miles northeast of Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island, Calif., at about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

Coast Guard Command Center personnel heard three quick mayday calls via VHF radio channel 16, but were not given a location of the boaters in distress.  Using the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 communication system, watchstanders were able to pinpoint the origin of the radio transmission.

Command Center personnel also received an electronic notification from an emergency personal locator beacon that the owner of the boat was wearing.  Using the registered contact information, the boater’s wife was able to provide the Coast Guard with a description of the men and boat, route, and destination of the group.

A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles was launched and located the four men floating in the water, rescuing three.  A 45-foot Response Boat Medium from Station Los Angeles-Long arrived and rescued the fourth boater and picked up the helicopter rescue swimmer.

A 25-foot response boat from Maritime Safety and Security Team Los Angeles-Long Beach and the 87-footer Coast Guard cutter Blackfin were diverted to assist in the search for vessel debris.  Avalon Baywatch was called and assisted in the search efforts as well.

The Coast Guard wants to commend these boaters for greatly increasing their own chances of survival, which allowed rescuers to reach them by:

• Telling a friend or family member the departure location, route and destination of trip
• Having and using a marine radio
• Owning and registering a Personal Locator Beacon
• All four boaters were wearing lifejackets
• All four boaters were wearing cold water survival suits

The men were evaluated by emergency medical technicians and found to be suffering from only minor hypothermia and were released.

Rescue 21 is the Coast Guard’s advanced command, control and communications system. Created to improve the ability to assist mariners in distress and save lives and property at sea, the system is currently being installed in stages across the United States.

To learn more about Rescue 21, click http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/rescue21/default.asp

SAN PEDRO, Calif. – As the winter holidays draw near and shoppers search for gift ideas, the Coast Guard would like to recommend a few gifts that could save a loved one’s life.

If you know someone who spends time on the water, either in motor boats or paddle boats, some great gift ideas are safety gear.

A boater’s wish list should contain the following gifts to be in compliance with California boating laws: 

• Lifejackets: Every person on any boat or kayak must wear a Coast Guard-approved lifejacket.  For motor boats over 16 feet, the law requires an extra throwable floatation device. 
• Sound Producing Devices: Every motor boat or paddle boat must have some means of producing an effective sound signal.  
• EPIRB: An Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon’s are a tool that sends out a signal so the Coast Guard can pinpoint the location of a boat in trouble, drastically reducing search time. 
• Marine Radio:  Buying a marine radio for someone will allow us to communicate with them if they are ever in trouble in the water. 
• GPS: A GPS will allow boaters to find their way safely at sea and in the case of an emergency it will let them accurately tell us where they are. 
• Signaling Devices: Flare guns, pencil flares, mirrors, parachute flares are all great ways for your loved one to get the attention of other boaters or the Coast Guard if they run into trouble on the water.  These devices are only required by law in boat’s less than 16 feet and paddle boats when operating between sunrise and sunset.
• Fire Extinguishers:  the old ones expire; make sure they’re up to date to fight a fire.

 For more information on boating safety, please visit http://www.uscgboating.org/

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — The Coast Guard conducted a medevac of a 50-year-old male from Catalina Island due to medical concerns, Nov. 20, 2011.

A MH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles, joined by a Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic, transported the man from Catalina Island to Torrance Memorial Medical Center, where he is receiving further medical attention. 

Although the nature of distress in this case was not maritime-related, this operation highlights the Coast Guard's ability to assist partner agencies to help those in need, no matter the situation. 

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach hosted a symposium Nov. 14, 2011, designed to provide southern California dive boat captains and crew coordinated information, rescue protocols and best practices to follow should a diving accident occur.

The symposium provided a face-to-face opportunity for dive boat operators to ask questions and share professional concerns with industry and rescue personnel.

Major topics covered were dive gear and breathing air systems, dive emergencies and Baywatch, hyperbaric evaluations and utilization, post-accident equipment handling, transition from First Aid to the Correct Advanced Medical, marine casualty reporting and investigations.

A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew demonstrated the equipment and procedures that would be used during a helicopter rescue.

The event was hosted by the Sector LA/LB Dive Casualty Investigation team. Contributing to the symposium's success were subject matter experts from the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguard Rescue Boat Section, University of Southern California Hyperbaric Facility Catalina, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department and a physician specializing in submarine and hyperbaric medicine.

Click HERE for photo.