ASG is proud to have expanded its close training partnership with Irish Coast Guard (IRCG), Ireland’s SAR and Maritime Safety Agency. They have recently developed, and successfully delivered, the organisation’s first recurrent training programme for Watch Officers engaged in Search & Rescue (SAR) aircraft tasking.

The partnership with Irish Coast Guard began almost five years ago when ASG began working closely with their team on the development of a bespoke Search & Rescue Tasking and Coordination (SATAC) training course for their personnel.

Since the development of this initial course, they have successfully delivered this specialised training course to over 100 Watch Officers across 11 two-week courses. They have also welcomed visiting course participants from a variety of external agencies including the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the UK HM Coast Guard, and the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU).

Participants in this recurrent training course had previously completed the full SATAC course and this new course was specifically designed to refresh participant knowledge. The course included Operational Risk Management, Emergency Response Planning, Meteorology, Navigation and map-reading, Flight Planning, Air Law, Communications, SAR operating procedures, Flight Time Limitations, Human Factors and Crew Resource Management (CRM).

As one of Ireland’s frontline “blue light” service, the IRCG’s mission is to deliver a world-class SAR, maritime casualty, and pollution response service to the Irish coastline – ASG are proud to support them with this safety-critical training as they deliver on their mission to co-ordinate all Search & Rescue services in Ireland, 24 hours per day and 365 days per year.

Source: Flying in Ireland