Accreditation

The Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program was established by NASBLA and through the efforts of its interagency “Council of Partners.” The BOAT program is accepted by the U.S. Coast Guard as the national standard of training and certification.

These national standards were created to ensure the readiness of state, local, and federal law enforcement and emergency response boat crews throughout the country, and their ability to conduct missions on our nation’s waterways safely and effectively. With this standard and a system to assess an agency's compliance with the standard in place, the citizens of this country can be assured that an agency and its officers are trained to a United States Coast Guard and FEMA recognized standard as true force multipliers capable of seamless interagency operation within our maritime homeland security framework.

Accreditation of an agency ensures that its training curricula, policies, qualification processes and documentation for crew members, boat operators for search and rescue, and tactical operators  meets the BOAT Program’s National Standards, and allow an agency to train and qualify all of its officers internally, as well as its partners on the water. After receiving accreditation, all of an agency’s officers and trainees are automatically entered into the national database of boat crew members, boat operators for search and rescue, and tactical operators. In essence, an accredited agency is now self-sustaining and able to carry forward the BOAT Program to its officers, its region and its state.  Accreditation Overview

For more information, contact info@nasbla.org