Helicopter training key for Fort Myers Beach Coast Guard station

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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. Friday is the 227th birthday for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The agency began on Aug. 4, 1790, when President George Washington signed an act that authorized the construction of 10 vessels to enforce federal tariff and trade laws and to prevent smuggling.

Known variously as the “revenue cutters,” the “system of cutters,” the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, the Coast Guard got its present name in 1915. About 50 years later, the Coast Guard Station on Fort Myers Beach had its humble beginnings, operating out of a house boat.

Today, the station has a fixed building, but its mission remains the same — to patrol inland and coastal waters in Southwest Florida, enforce federal laws and be at the ready for search and rescue operations.

The Coast Guard is often the lead agency when weekend boaters and swimmers are in distress. Preparedness is of the utmost importance, said Daniel Vincent, Coast Guard Boatswain Mate 2nd Class.

“It could be anytime,” he said. “You never know when somebody’s going to be in trouble.”

One of the keys to search and rescue involves helicopter ops training in the Gulf of Mexico, which personnel at the Fort Myers Beach station perform at least once a month.

“We need to know how the helicopter’s gonna pick somebody up off the disabled boat, and how we’re going to be able to communicate with them and basically work hand in hand with the helicopter,” Vincent said.

Watch the video above to see helicopter ops training in action.

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