Maj. Shawn Hebert, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll provost marshal, is the first U.S. Soldier to complete the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Search Planning course. Right, U.S. Coast Guard Commander K.L. Garran, chief of National Search and Rescue School, congr...

U.S. ARMY KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - One of our own made history as the first U.S. Army Soldier to complete the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Search Planning course in Yorktown, Va. Maj. Shawn Hebert, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll provost marshal, attended and completed the course March 2.

The course is an almost four-week training designed to educate U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force personnel, as well as international students (officers and enlisted) who perform Maritime Search Planning in the coastal and oceanic environments.

"I took four written exams, four computer-based drift simulator and planner exams, and one practical exercise in which I was required to plan and direct the execution of a SAR mission based on the variables provided by role players," Hebert said.

He continued, saying, "It was one of the best courses I have ever been to, but also a bit challenging for a land-lover like me."

Hebert acted as the search and rescue mission coordinator for the recent search and rescue exercise conducted at USAKA March 16.