Over the course of a 22-year career with the U.S. Coast Guard, Chet acquired critical training skillsets in Emergency Environmental Response and Incident Command Systems while on active duty and now brings his extensive all-hazard emergency management response and training experience to EMSI’s cadre of instructors.
Throughout his time with the Coast Guard, Chet gained invaluable knowledge and experience in a wide range of local, regional, and national level incidents and special events, such as the terrorist attacks on 9/11; the Columbia Shuttle Disaster; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; the floods of Houston Texas; a CSX train derailment Yazoo City, MS; and several Ricin and Anthrax incidents that occurred in our Nation’s Capital and around the country. Chet is well versed in oil spill response through a myriad of incidents that occurred throughout the Gulf Region during his time on the Coast Guard’s National Strike Team.
As an ICS instructor and “All Hazards Responder” for the U.S. Coast Guard, Chet was critical to the development, deployment, and evaluation of National Strike Force’s Gulf Strike Team’s two-week oil spill training curriculum. As one of the original six National Strike Force members to establish the Coast Guard’s first Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) Special Response Team (SRT), Chet’s systematic processes ensured the team was adequately built through needs analysis, establishment of a chain of command structure, evaluations, and re-organization of existing commands.
Operating in the cold climate of Alaska, Chet’s programmatic skills have aided Alaska Clean Seas to conduct Ohmsett and Cold Regions Research and Experimental Laboratories (CRREL) oil spill response training for agencies in the region. Currently, he provides instruction and training in ICS and spill response for oil production companies throughout the arctic region along the North Slope of Alaska, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and Valdez.
Chet holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice/Investigations from Troy State University.