ABOVE RIGHT: HAI/DAN SWEET; BELOW LEFT: COURTESY THE USCG
Portrait of a Rescue Swimmer:
AST1 Rob Sullivan Aviation Survival Technician Petty Officer First Class (AST1) Rob Sullivan did not plan to join the US Coast Guard. He was deciding between the Navy SEALs and the Air Force Pararescue specialists, knowing that both service branches depended heavily on those teams during wartime. When he joined up, however, no war or conflict was occurring, so he chose the Coast Guard because it was conducting missions regularly instead of just training every day. “I thought I’d be in for a few years, but it’s been so much fun I’ve stuck around,” Sullivan says. Sullivan has served for 24 years and been a rescue swimmer for 21. He is now preparing to transition to the civilian sector. Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, he learned about Coast Guard rescue swimmers through library books. He says he had to drive more than an hour to find a recruiter because “they weren’t going to come to me.” Training to be a rescue swimmer takes 16 weeks over 6 months. Rescues along the Oregon coast usually involve hoisting survivors or recovering bodies from the ocean, but Sullivan is also trained for other environments, including deserts, forests, and cliffs. The breadth of knowledge needed for this work makes the job incredibly challenging, as does the fact that the rescue swimmer is required to work independently once out of the helicopter. “You have to be able to function on your own,” Sullivan explains. “We deploy alone, so you have to be able to take charge
of a situation and be prepared to do everything by yourself, and just push through any obstacles you might encounter, to complete the mission.” The Oregon coast where Sullivan does much of his work is about 50% cliffs. “A lot of people take pictures of the sunset or coastline, and they fall off the rocks and injure themselves,” he says. Because the ocean water is never warm, hypothermia is always a risk for the people needing rescue as well as the rescue swimmer. While Coast Guard crews routinely wear Mustang Suits when flying, the rescue swimmer’s options are more limited: either a wetsuit or a dry suit. “I’ve always got to keep hypothermia on my mind. I definitely check patients for signs of hypothermia,” says Sullivan. “The water is a bit shocking when you enter. You notice it, but it’s not bad because of the protective gear we’re wearing. But after a while, you start to feel some cold. But there are worse places to be.” For the record, Sullivan says that Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, was his coldest duty station. “That’s where you’re floating around in ice chunks.” As he nears retirement, Sullivan says he will miss his job. “My
A US Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin aircrew member looks at USCGC Steadfast (WMEC 623) during a search-and-rescue exercise in the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 27, 2021. The Coast Guard conducts these exercises frequently to stay proficient in marine weather environments.
favorite jobs are the daytime hoisting flights on a nice, beautiful day. I just went out this morning and did it. It was a beautiful day, and I was thinking, ‘This is great. I’m getting paid to do this. It’s so fun.’ ”
DECEMBER 2022 ROTOR 31
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