JULY 1, 2025 – Belgian special forces service members attended Tactical Watercraft Rescue (TWR) training hosted by the iWaterman organization, a specialized water rescue group with a curriculum typically taught in three weeks that is condensed into only five days. The condensed curriculum was taught on the shore of Waterfront Operations and Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, MCBH, June 9 to 13, 2025.
MCBH, an installation with flat and rough water within a 25-mile radius, creates an ideal location for maritime exercises and training such as the TWR training. The collaboration between MCBH and iWaterman to teach TWR has been happening for nearly a decade, providing U.S. service members and their allies with crucial watercraft rescue techniques and operations.
iWaterman Instructor, Todd Bradley, said “it’s a real benefit for the groups we teach to train out of Kaneohe Bay.” He pointed to the ground and gestured to the sky, “…because here is everything we need.”
The iWaterman organization is comprised of local civilian watermen who continue to refine and pave the forefront of water training techniques. Bradley stated the importance of his and his team’s expertise in teaching the students, “Everybody [the instructors] is local Hawaiian, born and raised.” He continued, “We’re fishermen, surfers, sailors, and divers. We understand the language of the ocean.
The course encompasses a range of different skill sets, from basic waterman survival and ocean risk management to the proper employment of Maritime Reconnaissance Vehicles (MRV) for insertions, extractions, and rescues in high surf and over-the-beach operations.
Students learned the basic mechanics and proper maintenance techniques on the MRVs and underwent 40 hours of classroom instruction to learn about high and low tides, as well as the ocean environment, such as water texture and sea coral. After instruction, the students conducted dry runs of rescue operations on land before executing them in the water.
“We train them to understand that this [MRV] is an important tool. To take care of it as you would any piece of equipment that you may have in the military,” said Bradley.
Students who complete the 5-day TWR are now equipped with the essential skills and tools needed to adapt and maneuver extreme water conditions, sustaining mission readiness, MCBH’s ability to host this training through its facilities and services enhances forward-based, sustainable training the ensures combat readiness. The iWaterman course continues to train and equip U.S. service members and their allies with the most up-to-date tactical water training shaping efficient and strategic waterfront operations.
Story by Cpl. Jade Venegas
Marine Corps Base Hawaii