By Adam Crisp
Chattanooga Times Free Press

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A crowd of about 100 spectators was doused with water Thursday during a simulated U.S. Coast Guard rescue on the Tennessee River.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., was in town a day before the locl Armed Forces Day parade, which kicks off today at 10:30 a.m. The Coast Guard is the honored military branch for the day's events.

The HH-60 Jayhawk search and rescue helicopter sat on display in Coolidge Park for several hours before taking to the air at 4 p.m. Once airborne, it dropped a crew member in the Tennessee River. Then the crew showed onlookers how to rescue someone stranded in the water.

"It was really cool," said Corey Billings, 12, in town from Michigan with his family. "I liked how fast the helicopter flew and how it blew water on everybody."

Still, a Coast Guard rescue on the Tennessee would be almost impossible since they don't patrol the river, said Master Chief Petty Officer Gary W. Petty, commander over the local Chattanooga installation. The nearest Coast Guard station that performs rescues is in Mobile or perhaps New Orleans, Chief Petty said.

Chattanooga's Coast Guard station is "an aid to navigation," Chief Petty said. "They repair buoys and monitor barge traffic, but we don't do rescues here," he said.

The rescue demonstration Thursday was part goodwill, just making a show in advance of the parade, but it also had a recruiting element, said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Vislay, the helicopter's pilot.

"We just want these kids to see the opportunities out there," he said. "They can fly planes and jump out of them if they want to."

Among U.S. military forces, the Coast Guard is the smallest branch, but it gets so many recruits, there is a six- to nine-month wait for those who want to enlist, Chief Petty said.

Copyright 2008 Chattanooga Publishing Company