Coast Guard leads radiologic threat exercise, encourages collaboration among agencies
BOSTON - The Coast Guard and its Port of Boston partners regularly engage in drills and training. Whether the exercise involves defending against an attack, rescuing someone in the water or containing an environmental threat, the Coast Guard prides itself on its preparation.
Its motto: semper paratus means "always prepared." A three-day exercise now underway in Boston Harbor is giving other agencies to join them in preparing for the possibility of a radiological threat.
First responders from 13 agencies are joining the Coast Guard for the biggest exercise of its kind in years. A "local industry" coordinated with the FBI to provide safe sources of radiation for the training.
On Day One, first responders broke into groups to test their hand-held detection devices. Massport Police Captain Jonathan Lent showed WBZ's Lisa Hughes and photographer Terry McNamara how the device works—detecting more intense levels of radiation closer to a source in plain sight.
The drill offers an opportunity to test equipment that isn't part of everyday training. It also gives FBI Special Agent Josh Canter a chance to share expertise and meet any first responders in the group whom he doesn't know.
Canter and other leaders say the collaboration between agencies is key. It creates familiarity and builds trust. As the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing proved, inter-agency training pays dividends when there is a real crisis. Canter applauds the emphasis on interacting and building relationships.
"One of my mentors once told me, 'The first time they meet you shouldn't be when you're standing in a parking lot outside an incident,'" Canter said.
Canter explained that first responders are more likely to—immediately--call him to check it out a potential threat if they know him. The sooner his investigation starts, the better the outcome if there is a danger.
In the shadow of jets overhead and a towering cruise ship, the second exercise for participating first responders required the use of more sophisticated equipment to find a hidden source of radiation at Conley Terminal. Local, state and federal agencies may use different equipment, training and tactics in their work. But through Thursday, they will be working together—in mixed groups—in scenarios that involve everything from stolen radiation to a threat on a ferry.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Kailie Benson calls the interaction and collaboration "human skills" that, combined with regular training, can serve as a deterrent. In theory, if "bad actors" are aware of large-scale training and cohesion between the groups they may be discouraged from striking the Port of Boston.