Multi-person crews and teams learn, retain, and comprehend more when they participate actively as complete, coordinated groups, making their analyses and decisions together in real time.

Auxiliary operational manpower in District Northeast-Southern Region includes approximately 65 Aviation, 150 Communication, and 200 Surface crews.

A longstanding issue that continues to frustrate many of these operational crews is maintaining their critical and perishable SAR and associated emergency response skills in a ready state between assignments to duty.

During early testing of potential Hudson River ice patrol profiles that included real-time position reporting, several visiting TCOs asked whether they could practice taking the radio guard during these experimental position reports from an adjacent communications/plotting room, where they could track and record these facilities' progress until closing their guard at their destinations, since they don't get many opportunities to practice these important tasks.

Following up on these newly expressed concerns and desires from those visiting TCOs, the SPG scheduled three proof-of-concept exercises in which representatives from all three sections of the Auxiliary's operational triad (air, communications, and surface) were invited to participate as a single operational group, supporting one another in real time across multiple hypothetical scenarios.

While no one can predict which combinations of Coast Guard and/or Auxiliary operational sections may operate together in some future event, these simple, all-inclusive exercises have proven successful in helping operational crews from all three sections maintain their perishable skills by offering periodic, No-Risk/High Gain exercise opportunities for anyone wishing to maintain and practice those few, but perishable, skills and proficiencies they may be called upon to use at a moment's notice.

These exercises enabled participants to practice everything from a simple search for an overdue boat or aircraft to complex scenarios, fostering stronger partnerships, clearer roles and responsibilities, and improved overall readiness for real-world incidents, including maritime surge and backfill responses to natural or man-made disasters and search-and-rescue missions.

These No-Risk/High-Gain activities also enhanced interoperability and coordination, improved communication among participants in these emergency response exercises, and supported the development and validation of several new and updated plans and procedures.

An equally valuable by-product of these three early experiments was the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of some current plans and procedures in a simulated crisis, providing feedback for future investments and capability growth planning, as well as data to validate future operational and training needs.