The Naval Support Activity Norfolk Annex in Chesapeake, Va., was host to a pilot course now known as The Non-Compliant Boarding Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (NCB VBSS) course.
With the NCB VBSS course, Sailors train under a tougher, more in-depth training course to carry out maritime boarding missions.
“A lot has changed over the years,” said Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (COMNAVSURFLANT) Global War on Terrorism Action Officer Lt. Cmdr. Ray Hartman. "The Navy has re-focused the VBSS course to meet those changes and make the Naval Surface Force more flexible and efficient.”
VBSS teams are used to board suspicious vessels that may be trafficking drugs or harboring terrorists. In the past, a VBSS team member could expect to complete a basic two-week course on boarding and searching compliant vessels. If a vessel appeared to be non-compliant or hostile, the Navy used special operations forces for the job.
The revised basic course is eight weeks long and trains non-special operations Sailors how to gain control of a ship that becomes hostile after boarding.
“VBSS teams under the new program are not specifically designed to board vessels that are obviously hostile and opposed to a boarding,” said Hartman. “But you can’t always turn around and go back if a vessel’s crew becomes hostile, so our Sailors will be ready to regain control when necessary.”
One of the main focuses of the training is teaching Sailors how to safely board and search cargo vessels with proper climbing and rappelling methods.
The new course also incorporates a wide range of special operations maneuvering collected from all branches of the service. Sailors learn the basics of long gun control and small arms handling. Training also includes day and night defensive tactics, mission planning, shipboard team close quarters combat (CQC), and insertion and extraction techniques.
At one stage of training, Sailors board a three-story training vessel, known as the “Ship in a Box.” Inside the square building is a Hollywood-style set of a foreign merchant vessel with the sights, sounds and even smells of a real vessel. Instructors can include pop-up targets and program a number of added problems and distractions during training to add realism.
In a final segment of training, Sailors actually board a vessel both at night and during the day to hone their skills.
The program is mentally and physically demanding and is not for everyone, one NCB VBSS instructor said. Physical preparation is necessary, and commands are urged to take under consideration the importance of physical fitness and discipline when choosing Sailors to attend the training.
“Sailors who have graduated the course are now deployed on ships throughout the fleet with VBSS teams,” said Hartman. “We are in constant communication with those commands to monitor the effectiveness of the training and the need for revisions.”
The course began in Chesapeake and is also offered at the Centers for Anti-Terrorism and Navy Security Forces in Mayport, Fla., Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and San Diego.
