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MIAMI — Fifteen members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary were honored today as the first team of Auxiliary Mass Rescue Operations Specialists to participate in a new program developed by the Coast Guard to assist in the event of major disaster involving large numbers of persons at sea.
Rear Adm. Jake Korn, commander of the Coast Guard 7th District, presented the Auxiliarists with badges and plank owner certificates signifying their completion of extensive training in areas such as search and rescue and on-scene coordination of landing sites and family reception centers. The Auxiliarists also participated in several training exercises, including one in the Bahamas in 2013.
The AMROS program, developed by Paul Culver of the Coast Guard’s D7 Passenger Vessel Safety Specialist office, is expected to be carried to other areas of the country in the near future to develop similar teams in other Coast Guard districts where the potential for major maritime disasters exists.