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Volume 116, Issue 1
Operation: HikeAIR
By Linda Skvarla ADSO-PB - District Fifth Northern
He was scared, but the young hiker still knew what to do when he got lost during a wilderness outing in the New
Jersey Pine Barrens: He remembered the three priorities: shelter, fire, and ... signal. The hiker was prepared and
had packed an orange distress flag and a roll of orange surveyor’s ribbon before venturing out. In a clearing he
constructed a visual distress signal to attract help. Later in the day he heard the sound of an airplane in the sky. He
craned his neck up toward the direction of the sound and sighted a Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft circling
overhead, dipping its wings right & left several times to let the hiker know "Gotcha, don't worry, I see where you
are located."
That was the scenario members of Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 08 (5NR) and the district's Air Program
(AUXAIR) participated in training exercises in July that could help save a life. Auxiliarists Joseph Giannattasio
DSO-AV, Aircraft Commander Howard Davis, Bill Fithian ADSO-AV-Training, and Joe Lee IPFC 08-07
developed the exercise, assigned the mission name Operation HikeAir, to practice ways to handle emergency
search situations in the woods. This is the first documented operation of this type in District Fifth Northern.
"Most of the time, getting 'lost' on land is a matter of becoming temporarily disoriented. Some people become so
disoriented that they need to be rescued," explained Lee. "Having multiple effective ways to signal for help can
make all the difference in a survival situation where outside help is warranted. Signaling is one of the most under-
practiced and under-emphasized survival skill sets that most outdoor enthusiasts consider."
Their proposal to the district’s operations training officer (OTO) and the Order Issuing Authority (OIA) USCG
Air Station Atlantic City included the following mission overview: Auxiliarist Joe Lee deploys an orange distress
signal flag surrounded by a triangle of orange surveyor's tape in a clearing within his wooded farmland in
Cumberland County, NJ. After a mission pre-brief among the air crew, an Auxiliary aircraft is dispatched to the
general area of the farm and conducts a Victor-Sierra search pattern attempting to establish a visual of the distress
signal until sighting is confirmed. Secondary evolutions involve monitoring the effectiveness of various Visual
Distress Signals.
The primary goal of the mission was to determine and photo-document the practical challenges of locating a
distress signal in a wilderness environment and determining location coordinates for rescue units. The findings
may also prove useful in focusing practical survival information to hikers, hunters and outdoors enthusiasts, and
develop practical wilderness SAR exercises for Auxiliary Air Program personnel.
“We strive to incorporate realistic challenges and scenarios in our search and rescue exercises,” said Giannattasio.
“Plus offer practical experiences for air crews to learn, broaden their skillsets, and share their knowledge with
others."
Operation HikeAir creates a realistic training scenario for District 5NR's air program which demonstrates their
operational abilities and also highlights how to expand proficiency for actual wilderness search and rescue
missions.
Aerial view of Corson's Inlet, NJ.
Coast Guard Auxiliary photo by Joseph Giannattasio.