Dive team, JAWS aid Black Hawk recovery mission

Erica Howard

Divers from FSU Panama City’s Underwater Crime Scene Investigation program with additional members of the Joint Agency in-Water Strike (JAWS) Team put their training to the test after a military Black Hawk helicopter crashed into waters about 8:30 p.m. March 10 near Eglin Air Force Base.

Their mission: “bring the boys back.” The seven Marines and four from the Army National Guard who were aboard the craft were missing.

The team immediately went into action after receiving the call at 4 a.m. March 11. They arrived at the crash site by 9:30 a.m., saving time because equipment was loaded for a criminal investigation planned that day.

Members of the JAWS team took the lead for the in-water component of the search with two divers from FSU Panama City, two from Dive Lab, two from the Panama City Fire Department and nine from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

On site, recovery efforts were hindered by dense fog, which some attributed as a possible cause of the crash during the routine training mission. “It was just like being in a white cloud,” FSU Panama City dive instructor and Dive Locker technician Darren DeDario said of the conditions.

To combat low visibility in the murky water, the team used a DIDSON dual-frequency identification sonar, which displays sonar-generated images in a diver’s mask. With an Army diver at his shoulder, a JAWS diver used the images to identify areas likely to have crash debris and victims.

The team also used full face masks and a surface supply system that had been donated by Dive Lab just weeks before. With recent training on the new equipment, the team could work efficiently and quickly to canvas the area. Divers worked hours to search the 150- by 150-foot designated crash site, swimming through sharp, mangled metal from the helicopter and 1,600 pounds of toxic fuel left in the water after the crash.

The search was suspended about 6:30 p.m.

By the end of the day, JAWS divers had found the downed helicopter, which was pancaked into the muddy seafloor, and recovered five of the 11 victims. Four victims were found on the water’s surface, and the other two victims were recovered two days later when the wreckage was pulled from the water.

“This was the largest-scale call out we have had to date, and we all were very pleased with the fluidity the situation gave and kept everyone safe,” FWC Officer Nick Price said.

In all, 35 teams with more than 200 personnel aided the mission.

“We were one team that worked collectively with all the teams present to complete a difficult mission,” said Mike Zinszer, director of FSU Panama City’s Advanced Science Dive program and Public Safety and Security faculty. “From Incident Command to in-water dive operation, it was very well-organized.”

The JAWS agreement was signed May 30, 2013, to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of diving team agencies. Its goal was to reduce cost and response time by minimizing cross agency duplication of resources.

Through the agreement, FSU Panama City dive instructors have trained the FWC team and given them access to equipment, which kickstarted the organization’s now-thriving dive program.

 

“We took a team that did not exist a year ago, and it became a very proficient and capable team,” Zinszer said. “FSU and the JAWS initiative is constantly called out — not as a secondary thought, but as a first thought — because we really are the leaders in this field.”

When an incident occurs, the collaboration of divers from the FWC, the Panama City Fire Department and FSU Panama City helps save time and resources, Price said.

“The JAWS agreement has been wonderful in implementing multiple agencies with training and call outs,” he said. “Since we are all spread thin … it allows us to pull manpower from several agencies to give us a team whenever a call comes.”

“Every agency brings something distinct and irreplaceable,” said Panama City fire fighter Jerome Fleeman, who also is an adjunct dive instructor at FSU Panama City. “Without that agreement, there’s no way we could get that number of personnel, resources, equipment and expertise to something like that.”

FSU Panama City has also trained divers for the military, FBI, New York and Jacksonville police departments, and other professional Public Safety Diver programs throughout the nation.

“At Florida State University Panama City, we are very proud to be able to work with the FWC and other law enforcement departments through our JAWS team in support of not only local or regional issues, but issues of national concern,” FSU Panama City Associate Dean Gary Bliss said. “With the support of Sen. Don Gaetz, FSU Panama City is working with FWC in an attempt to expand our ability to respond to disasters through the state of Florida.”

Although dive teams have less funding and visibility than law enforcement programs such as SWAT, they are essential to the community, Zinszer said, assisting in boating accidents, missing persons cases and criminal investigations.

Recovery missions like the Black Hawk case, however, bring a sense of pride, DeDario noted.

“At the time, when you’re working, you’re doing a job and you’re doing what you need to do,” he said. “After the fact … you finally can say these are people with families and we allowed those families to bury their loved ones. They’re not still out there lost or missing.”

“Until it’s someone you care about that has to be brought back, no one thinks about it. It’s when the need arises that they realize how important it is to have a team ready to respond,” Fleeman said. “Even if it’s not a rescue, there’s a closure that comes to a family.”

The fallen Marines all were from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command and were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They included Capt. Stanford Henry Shaw III of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Master Sgt. Thomas Saunders of Camp Lejeune; Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn of Queens, New York; Staff Sgt. Trevor P. Blaylock of Lake Orion, Michigan; Staff Sgt. Kerry Michael Kemp of Port Washington, Wisconsin; Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif of Holland, Michigan; and Staff Sgt. Marcus Bawol from Warren, Michigan.

The four Army National Guardsmen served with the Louisiana National Guard. They were Chief Warrant Officer 4 George Wayne Griffin Jr. of Delhi, Louisiana; Chief Warrant Officer 4 George David Strother of Alexandria, Louisiana; Staff Sgt. Lance Bergeron of Thibodaux, Louisiana; and Staff Sgt. Thomas Florich of Fairfax County, Virginia.