Visit, board, search, and seizure

Visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS)^[1] is the term used by United States military and law enforcement agencies for maritime boarding actions and tactics. VBSS teams are designed to capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, piracy, and smuggling, and to conduct customs, safety and other inspections.

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Complacency is what gets people hurt. This particular mission you have to go execute it. Not everybody succeeds. I know that if I turn this corner my teammate will be right there. Visit, Board, Search and Seizure is a mission area comprised of a team on board the ship that allows Sailors to do other work on board to come together... they go over on a small boat to a cargo ship and they can inspect it under a United Nations Security Council Resolutions to look for contraband or... ... weapons that potentially could get in the enemy's hands. And if you do find weapons, if you do find drugs that you're not suspected of, first and foremost you integrate that from the rest of the ship and make sure they cannot be used against you. In addition we use the same teams to go fight piracy around the world, in areas when we're called, if there was a ship under attack, we would go into the area and use this team to board them and detain them. The course is nineteen training days long. Male or Female Sailors can apply and volunteer for the program. We try to throw as much information at them as we can, 'cause that's what a real boarding mission's going to give them. It's a lot of work. I mean they're taking in a lot of information. It's like trying to take a drink of water through a fire hose. They have to go through individual training... My instructors take them in and teach them all the fundamentals and tactics that they need. As a team they go through training to make sure that they work well together. And I always tell myself my teammates are there and they have my back. It's a lot of trust of the team. We're all here for one reason and that's to get the training to go out there and do this stuff for real. Make the wrong decision in a training environment, we can correct on it, we can re-train and re-set... "And when we de-conflict, de-conflict with your non firing hand." ... gives them that much more experience so that when they get in country, they get in theater, that they're gonna have the confidence to know what they have to do. It's a really exciting mission to be a part of. You can imagine being out at sea, doing your regular job, and then when we get called into an anti-piracy mission, getting in the small boat, briefing what's gonna happen, and then going out and taking care of it. It draws you out of your normal, everyday, seven day work week into, ok, what are we doing this week? Ok, we're doing a boarding. We're doing a help and comfort. Our mission is constantly changing. It's important that our students are able to go out there and provide value. VBSS isn't necessarily anti-piracy and anti-piracy only. We have a team that can go in and be a first responder. [ no voice over ] "Sir how you doin' today? USA boarding team, we're conducting a search on your vessel." Global Force For Good ties into our role as a deterrent force. We're able to stay on station. We're able to go out on the seas, and our friends and allies are re-assured by our presence. It really speaks to the diversity that is paramount to all the operations we conduct all over the world and what really does separate the American Navy from all navies across the globe.

United States Navy training

The initial training continuum includes three courses, lasting a total of eight weeks (SRF-B, SRF-A, VBSS), with some team members receiving additional follow-on training. Skills taught in VBSS training revolve around Close Quarters Battle (CQB). Training consists of proficiency in hand-to-hand combat tactics, search procedures, tactical team movements, shooting, rappelling, searching, and arrest procedures for compliant and non-compliant combatants. This aspect of the Navy plays a role in maintaining security and freedom of sea lanes worldwide. Some advanced units, known as Helicopter Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (HVBSS) teams, have been trained to fast rope aboard vessels from helicopters.

All sailors in the U.S. Navy are eligible to serve aboard a VBSS team, but those who aspire to join a team have to be approved by their ship's command. Being approved does not guarantee inclusion on a VBSS team, as it is possible (and not uncommon) for candidates to wash out of VBSS school. The attrition rate for VBSS is 25-30%, on average.

U.S. Navy VBSS teams are generally armed with M4 carbines, Mossberg 500 shotguns, and Beretta M9 pistols. The body armor is generally with kevlar ballistic plate inserts and a buoyant tactical vest that doubles as a life preserver. The majority of U.S. naval ships deploying with VBSS teams are smaller, such as destroyers, cruisers, etc. VBSS teams are used to combat illegal narcotics, arms trafficking, and piracy.

US Navy SEALs demonstrate VBSS techniques for the 2004 Joint Civilian Orientation Conference.
US Navy VBSS Team assigned to the USS Gary (FFG-51) training at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
U.S. Navy SEALs train with Special Boat Team 12 on the proper techniques of how to board gas and oil platforms from a moving vessel near Long Beach, Calif., on July 28, 2011.
VBSS Team attached to USS Whirlwind (PC-11).

United States Marine Corps

Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit conduct VBSS training

The United States Marine Corps has several units that conduct VBSS. The premier VBSS force is the ARG/MEU's Maritime Raid Force (MRF), previously known as the Maritime Special Purpose Force. Additionally the various Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams are trained to varying levels of proficiency in VBSS.

MRF

The MRF is a sub-unit of the ARG/MEU that is task-organized for each specific mission. However, it typically consists of three platoons: a Force Reconnaissance Platoon as the assault element, an Amphibious Reconnaissance Platoon as the support element, and a Battalion Landing Team infantry platoon as the security element. Together these form the backbone of the MRF and are usually augmented by explosive ordnance disposal technicians, counter-intelligence/human intelligence, joint terminal attack controllers, military information support operators, United States Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) specialists, among others as needed.

The backbone platoons and enablers are then married with the needed support assets for a particular mission, such as USN and USMC aircraft and small boats. Integral to the ARG/MEU construct, and bringing to bear the full range of ARG/MEU capabilities, the MRF is a conventional force that is capable of many 'SOF-like' missions, including opposed VBSS.

United States Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is another service that commonly conducts VBSS. The USCG belongs to the Department of Homeland Security, and not the Department of Defense, and therefore their VBSS teams act in a law enforcement capacity where the US may exercise its jurisdiction. Law enforcement boarding teams from cutters and stations are generally armed with SIG P229 pistols, Remington M870P shotguns, and rifles of the M16 rifle family, (commonly a Mk 18 or M4 carbine). Additionally, the Coast Guard has a number of specialized units, including the Maritime Security Response Teams, and Tactical Law Enforcement Teams, that have advanced boarding capabilities.

In addition to law enforcement, the USCG will often use VBSS to conduct at-sea safety inspections of civilian vessels to ensure they are abiding by applicable safety regulations and U.S. law.