SWEDISH COAST GUARD RESPONSE TRAINING PROGRAM
ABSTRACT The efficiency of an oil spill response operation depends very much on the response commander's knowledge, experience, and possibilities of analyzing and reviewing the situation. Decisions must be made quickly and under great pressure. All officers in the Swedish Coast Guard (CG) have the same basic training in response preparedness. During service they will utilize their knowledge on board in real operations and in exercises (local, regional, national, and international). Through different senior courses, some of them will be authorized to be on-scene commanders and finally response commanders. The possibilities for training response commanders under “real” conditions are limited. Weak points in the organization, decision procedures, command centers, and such are usually found during actual operations, however. The Swedish Coast Guard has decided on a strategy to train the response commander and his staff in their normal workplaces, with their normal tools, and with the people they are used to working with. To accomplish this, the Coast Guard has developed a portable computerized exercise support system providing the command with necessary data and images to run an exercise.