The MSRT (Maritime Security Response Team) is coming up on its 10-year anniversary. Few people know much about this branch of the US Coast Guard that is tasked with counterterrorism training and operation in a maritime environment. MSRT bridges both military service and law enforcement. We recently checked in with the group, and our Editorial Director Frank Borelli drove down to tour the facilities in Norfolk, Virginia.
A few more acronyms to add to your collection
Shortly after 9/11, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 divided up the Coast Guard’s eleven missions between homeland security and non-homeland security. When this happened, the Act earmarked America’s ports, waterways and coasts (PWCs) as the first line of defense. This is MSRT’s stomping grounds. On ferries, beaches and boats the team trains to go up against would-be terrorists, active shooters and chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear threats. They are also well-versed in search and rescue missions and commonly called to assist in any type of national security event.
Commander Michelle Forrester, Operations Officer of the Coast Guard says, “We’ve worked for DOD units; we have teams that deploy overseas and provide that Coast Guard expertise and boarding experience in maritime law enforcement. It’s a high-end capability in the maritime law enforcement realm where they’re capable of interdicting, boarding, and verifying threats, and engaging offensive situations against hostile enemies.”
Think of the team as SWAT on steroids—and on the water.
Forrester says everyone is active duty Coast Guard and quite a few have completed prior service in Navy, Air Force, Army or Marine Corps. MSRT is billeted for 200 people; of those about 75 percent are operations specialists. The rest do logistics and training. Everyone is a critical part of the team.
Maritime enforcement specialists are assigned a six-year tour of duty. Most people stay the entire time, and try to stay longer.
On-task, all the time
The group’s mission is really all about readiness and as such, the screening process is thorough. When new recruits come over it typically takes about a year to complete training. Firearms training is a big part of it. Each team members carries a Mark 18, with a .40 cal pistol as their secondary sidearm. They learn how to move quickly in groups, and how to clear rooms and spaces effectively and without injury to themselves or others. They spend a lot of time on the range—outside shooting at targets or inside shoot houses or small rooms. Commander Forrester says, “They’re at the range every day. We’re fortunate to be near some great facilities…on the base, down South, working on those skills. They have to be precise and ready to handle weapons malfunctions…transition quickly and be able to segue to their secondary weapon and still get the job done. There’s always something that’s going to break or jam up when you need it, seems like…so they train for those situations.”
In the beginning counterterrorism was the top priority, and it continues to be. However as time goes on the unit’s reputation is gaining. “What has changed over the years is the caliber of the people coming in,” says Forrester. “The word is getting out; we’ve been marketing what the MSRT is about and trying to select the right people for the job. It’s not something that everyone is able to do or may want to do; it’s high risk just by the nature of the mission and it’s a lot of hard work just staying ready.”
While the East Coast is the primary locale for training and deployment, a West Coast unit is in the works.
Equipment and resources
Forrester says their equipment is top of the line. They take their time doing research when it comes to new gear, and then they take excellent care of it. This includes specialized body armor for the maritime environment (level IV) which has swimmer cut plates. The armor is cut to the body a little more, with more curvatures, so as to be slightly less cumbersome when wearers move around and climb ladders, board boats, and navigate engine rooms. “That’s not what we started with, so we’ve come a long way in 10 years,” says Forrester.
Water survival is part of the job. “If someone falls off a ladder, or gets shot and falls off a ship…a number of things could happen,” says Forrester. Imagine falling from a helicopter when something goes awry—now all of a sudden you find yourself in the water with 70 pounds of gear on. Luckily MSRT accouterment includes an inflatable flotation device around the waist. Says Forrester: “Part of getting qualified to wear that gear is getting into the water and understanding how it works, and what happens if it doesn’t work, and how to take it off pretty quickly before you run out of air so you can get back up to the surface.”
The team is always on the hunt for smart upgrades. “We’re always testing something new to see if we can get it lighter. It’s a physical job…so if we can lighten the load that’s what we’ll try to do and still provide the same protection and effectiveness,” says Forrester.
In addition to armor, everyone is outfitted with a radio or two to converse with each other via headset or to respond back to the mission commander.
Gaining access
There are a number of impressive things MSRT guardsmen and women use for safety, but there is also plenty in place just to get the job done. Like a regular SWAT team, MSRT practices breaching metal doors on ships and utilizing breaching tools, saws, torches—most times on confined boats or ferries. The team has six boats for training and operation with highly specialized drivers.
Forrester recalls a couple years back when MSRT trained in New York on the Staten Island Ferry for an active shooter scenario. “How does LE response/get on-board to handle that situation? There are a variety of ways you can do it. When we were up there…our tactical delivery team used a technique where they hooked a ladder up on one of the rails. They can do it on both sides or a variety of different places and the team climbs up those ladder and gets aboard the ship pretty quick. It’s intense. Officers go ‘direct to threat’ to neutralize the threat and isolate it from the bodies on-board.”
MSRT often works and trains with local agencies. “Every time we go up to New York for training or to support an operation, we’re working in conjunction with NYPD…to share best practices, understand their capabilities and ours, and decide how best we would integrate [if called to respond to a threat],” says Forrester.
Sniffing out (and snuffing out) explosives
These teams also train heavily in CBRNE threats. Say, for example, someone has a questionable device on board. MSRT guardsmen train wearing the protective equipment they would don in each situation, depending on the perceive threat. They climb up ladders in dry suit and protective mask. “A lot of training goes into, ‘How are we going to carry all this gear with us and still do the job and get the mission accomplished in the safest manner?’” says Forrester. Single-purpose K-9s on the team sniff out explosives and on occasion are hoisted from helicopters and boats.
Eric Gibson, Ops Sr. Chief at MSRT says they are constantly upgrading CBRNE equipment. “There’s a requirement in the Coast Guard for any boarding officer and anyone doing any kind of law enforcement to carry at least a rad pager, which is a basic radiation and chemical detection pager. [In our unit] we can locate triage and decon to a certain level on-scene, while conducting direct action.”
He says it’s critical to keep up their preventative maintenance schedule, and when new technology comes to the fore that may prove beneficial, they undergo a laborious process to try and get it injected into their stock system. “Operational assessment and evaluation is a little bit quicker in our unit because we have some forward thinking folks who are always trying to reduce the size, weight and complication of new equipment. We’re always on the lookout for something that’s newer or better or ground-breaking.”
Still, Gibson points out, innovation does not trump personalization. “In my opinion, technology can’t fix heart. As much as we love gear, what really matters as far as we’re concerned is the person who’s wielding that technology. The technology should be there to make not life, but the job, a little easier for these folks.”
Family ties
Commander Forrester and Senior Chief Gibson agree the team resembles a big family more than anything. Says Gibson: “[We] take care of each other. When guys are deployed the other teams pick up the slack and take care of their spouses and children. We just had a situation where someone had something happen to their house…something broke down…and within an hour they had 20 dudes out there rebuilding.” A deployment typically lasts a few weeks at a time, and usually these are for training and known events. MSRT personnel do a six-month deployment every six months.
Forrester agrees the people make the job: “It’s exciting just to be a part of the team here. There’s not a day I come to work that I don’t walk into either a [great] discussion or get to go out and watch some training, or go underway.
“A lot of stuff happens in a short period of time around here. But it’s good…it keeps you hopping.” ■
