BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Wednesday, 22 November 2017 – The Naval Surface Action Group (NAVSAG), led by Lieutenant Pg Mohd Faren bin Pg Md Noor, RBN successfully executed a combined Search and Rescue Exercise, dubbed ‘Exercise Harapan’ which was conducted and organised by the Brunei Fire and Rescue Department (BFRD) in preparation for the Golden Jubilee Regatta 2017 in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee Celebration of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam’s Accession to the Throne.
The exercise, which involved the Police Marine (POLMAR) of the Royal Brunei Police Force, Emergency Medical Ambulance Services (EMAS) Brunei Darussalam and the RBN NAVSAG was aimed at closing gaps identified between interagency capabilities to execute an effective Search and Rescue (SAR) Operation. Several scenarios were played out such as the capsizing of a 25-man race boat as well as a collapsed jetty which required several casualties as well as drowning victims to be rescued.
The NAVSAG rescue unit called the Aviation Rescue Unit Swimmers or ARUS were able to demonstrate their capabilities as first responders, safely and according to standard procedures during the exercise. The ARUS team are trained to respond to any surface rescue incidents by deploying surface rescue swimmers to aid survivors as well as casualties in the water. In this exercise casualties are carried away on the Ambulance Boats and subsequently treated at the EMAS Casualty Marshalling Area (CMA).
‘Exercise Harapan’ was deactivated by the Deputy Director of BFRD, Lim Hock Guan and had proven a success as the intergovernmental agencies were able to achieve their objectives.
