On July 23, 2019, members from Station Cortez and Sector St. Petersburg received the Manatee County Sheriff’s Commendation Award for their assistance in saving the life of an individual June 9, 2019. From left: Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Carty, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie Bland, Petty Officer 2nd Class Clayton Beatty, Petty Officer 3rd Class Whitney Drake, Chief Petty Officer Daniel Heredia, and Lt.j.g. Jonathan Roth. Station Cortez’s integrated crew responds as a team Story and photos by Cmdr. John Fitzgerald and Lt.j.g. Jonathan Roth One measure of our organizational success is when you cannot tell the active from reserve; they seamlessly integrate and execute the mission. The crew of Station Cortez embodied that success in a recent rescue that took place off the coast of Sarasota, Fla., in June. The crew had just tied up their 29-foot boat after a patrol of the Intercoastal Waterway when they were requested to assist local government partners in response to a report of a person in the water, along with a lifeguard who had attempted an initial rescue but who now also needed assistance. Coxswain Petty Officer 3rd Class Whitney Drake, an active duty member, got underway with her crew consisting of active duty member Lt.j.g. Jonathan Roth and reservists Chief Petty Officer Raniel Heredia, Petty Officers 2nd Class Christopher Carty and Clayton Beatty, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Jaime Bland. As the rescue boat proceeded under Longboat Pass Bridge toward the open Gulf of Mexico, the sea state rapidly increased to four- and five-foot seas. The crew plotted a course to the incident location while rocking back and forth in the churned waters as sea spray splattered the windshield. During the transit, the crew learned that the person in the water was being combative and resisting rescue. Roth and Heredia, the crew’s law enforcement team, instructed them to take extra safety and security precautions. Once on scene, the crew saw a man treading water next to a surfboard-equipped beach lifeguard and several Manatee 12 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2019 County rescue boats. As Drake navigated the rescue boat closer to the panicked man, Heredia called out to the individual and engaged him in conversation, using calming and de- escalating techniques honed from years serving as a police officer for the City of Clearwater, Fla. As the small boat closed the distance, the exhausted survivor was lifted out of the water and brought safely aboard. Heredia placed a life jacket on the survivor and helped him lay down, and Beatty rolled his uniform shirt and placed it under the man’s head. Drake began the transit to meet paramedics at the Coquina Beach boat ramp, navigating the quickest route with the best ride through the building seas. Despite a thunderstorm pelting the crew with stinging rain, the crew continued to carry out the mission. Drake navigated the vessel in restricted visibility conditions, while Beatty managed radio communications. At the boat ramp, paramedics boarded the vessel and worked with the crew to place the survivor on a backboard to enable a safe transfer to the waiting ambulance. In recognition of their service, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office awarded the Sheriff’s Commendation Award to the crew for their support of Manatee County emergency crews in saving the life of the distressed individual. This rescue highlights the benefits of seamless integration, strong training programs, and operational partnerships with outside agencies resulting in mission success.
