The United States (US) Africa Command in collaboration with the US Embassy in Mauritius and the Government of Mauritius is organizing a three-day Urban Search and Rescue Exchange for 30 Officers from the Special Mobile Force (SMF), the Police Helicopter Squadron, and the Maritime Air Squadron of the National Coast Guard.
The instructors are namely two US para-jumpers and one rotary search and rescue pilot from the US Air Force’s 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. This team has vast experiences in conducting missions out of Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
In that context, a demonstration for search and rescue techniques following the passage of a calamity/ disaster in confined spaces and collapse structures was held, yesterday, at the SMF quarters in Vacoas. High-ranking officers of the SMF, together with the US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Mr Satrajit Sardar, and US Lieutenant Commander Matthew Kohlmann were present for the occasion.
In a statement following the demonstration, the Officer in Charge of the Disaster Response Unit of the SMF, Major Rajiv Durbarry, explained that the sharing of knowledge and ideas with the American instructors would contribute to consolidate the search and rescue techniques of officers in collapsed places and areas where access was difficult in both urban and rural settings. He added that the Officers would be able to better respond to request from the public in times of calamities or natural disasters.
According to Major Durbarry, the exchange programme would also enable the SMF, the Police Helicopter Squadron, and the Maritime Air Squadron to coordinate efforts on the ground more effectively since they were often called to work together during various interventions.
For his part, the US Chargé d’affaires saluted this exchange initiative which, he affirmed, reflected the partnership between the two countries. Mr Satrajit Sardar underlined that with the impacts of climate change, it was critical for countries and for the security and safety of their population to share and improve best practices to cope efficaciously with these shared challenges. He reiterated the US support for such collaborative endeavours and wished for more long-term exchange programme.
