The Dicey Art of Extreme Rescue

"Usually, we get the call during harsh storms when commercial planes can't fly," explains AST Second Class Jason Schelin. "We have low-vis GPS routes that we fly low and slow, feeling our way blind if we have to."
To put it mildly, things were different when I was a rescue swimmer in the mid-1980s aboard the USCGC Storis (a 61-year-old cutter now known as the Queen of the Fleet). We wore little more than a neoprene survival suit with a harness and a rope. Today's dry suit is Mojave-like compared to the old leaky "gumby" one I wore, and the Trisar harness -- which rescue swimmers use to attach themselves to the hoist cable -- singlehandedly accomplishes what used to require two separate harnesses and a flotation device. Other modern amenities on their equipment list include a Uniden HH 940 waterproof radio, night vision goggles and a Benchmade switchblade that's particularly useful for one-handed line cutting.



The art and science of cliff rescues is also far more evolved than when I was in the business. After several hours of open-water training, in which swimmers repeatedly jump out of the hovering helo and traverse 50 meters of ocean to "save" me, we fly to a nearby cliff to practice rescuing a stranded dummy known as Oscar. AST Third Class Michael Browning makes the first attempt, securing a hand and foot in the rock face before signaling us to fly forward, which pushes him snugly against the cliff. He then slowly advances toward Oscar -- not so easy in full gear with the Jayhawk screaming overhead -- eventually securing him in a dual harness. Both are hoisted aboard. Mission accomplished.



Browning makes it look easy, but most rescues in Sitka's 300-mile mission radius are far more intricate and dangerous. Supporting the physical efforts of the helicopter crew -- two pilots, a flight mechanic and the rescue swimmer -- is a suite of high-tech gear that includes night-vision-compatible avionics for nighttime searching, a weather and surface radar, a forward-looking infrared sensor, GPS and inertial navigation systems, and an ultrapowerful Nightsun searchlight that must always point away from the helo lest it blister the paint. My hosts won't even permit me to switch it on; instead, we rely on two small searchlights near the nose.