Rescue swimmer The term rescue swimmer may be applied to any number of water rescue professionals , in coast guards and militaries operating around the world . Many coast guards train helicopter air - sea rescue swimmers and boat based rescue swimmers to enter the water to assist survivors in distress , whereas military rescue swimmers , sometimes referred to as " SAR Wet Crewman " ( or CSAR Wet Crewmen ) , do most of their work from aircraft carriers . Rescue swimmer programs by country . Canada . Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force serve as rescue swimmers , as they fill the capacity of a Search and Rescue Technician ( SAR TECHs ) . From some of the harshest and most remote areas of Canada . They are military aircrew who deploy from rotary or fixed wing aircraft in any environment or climactic condition . They will locate and penetrate the site , treat and evacuate casualties . Qualified SAR TECHs have the opportunities for advanced training and promotion . SAR TECHs who demonstrate the required knowledge , experience and leadership skills may also be selected as an Instructor at the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue ( CFSSAR ) , at 19 Wing Comox , British Columbia . The Basic SAR TECH course is 11 months in duration , based at 19 Wing Comox , British Columbia . The SAR TECH course includes the following phases : ground phase , medical phase , winter operations phase , arctic operations phase , dive phase , sea operations phase , parachuting operations phase , mountain operations phase , and operational / consolidation phase . The final operational phase is used to evaluate the individual ' s ability to use all previously learned skills and will be the deciding factor in awarding the qualification to Wings Standard . Denmark . Most rescue swimmers in Denmark are Danish Air Force personnel from the Danish Transport and Rescue Squadron ( " Squadron 722 " or in Danish " Eskadrille 722 " ) , and operate from AgustaWestland EH101 helicopters . These rescue swimmers have to be fully qualified as helicopter technicians before they start a 4 week course at the Danish Frogman Corps , followed by a 2 week first aid / PHTLS course . Other rescue swimmers are members of the Danish Navy and operate from Westland Lynx Mk 90B helicopters based on a Thetis - class ocean patrol vessels in the waters around Greenland , Faroe Islands and sometimes also Iceland . These swimmers are generally recruited from the diver - corps ( which has a 6 – 10 weeks diving course from the Danish Navy Diving School ) and receive basic helicopter crash survival training . Finally some coast - based rescue swimmers with high - speed boats are stationed around the coasts of Denmark . These are trained by either the Danish national guard or " Danish Maritime Safety Administration " ( Danish : " Farvandsvæsnet " ) . United States of America . In the USA there are several large divisions of the military organized by land , air , and sea operations , plus a separate coast guard division . Each of these divisions has their own training and deployment programs for rescue swimmers . US military rescue swimmers are considered part of the Special Operations community . U . S . Air Force . The United States Air Force rescue swimmers are called Pararescue men , and perform not only sea based but also land based rescues as well . The most comprehensive component of America ' s rescue arsenal are the United States Air Force Pararescue men , although the " rescue swimmer " portion of their duties is sparsely used . Pararescue is a notoriously rigorous CSAR ( Combat search and rescue ) unit , with nine out of every ten candidates failing the indoctrination course . This gives PJs the highest attrition rate of any Special Operations Force . PJs are an elite special operations component , engaging in combat search and rescue . They are trained as combatants and paramedics , operating on air , sea , and land and are considered , along with Air Force combat controllers . During war they rescue downed pilots , special operations troops left behind , and other stranded military men and women . Pararescuemen are also active in peacetime , retrieving NASA space equipment , but also performing rescues in all types of natural disasters , though they get much less recognition for this role due to the small numbers of people rescued . The PJs are often sought out for use by other branches of the military , because of their high - quality training and versatility . For example , Air Force pararescuemen can be attached to elite units to provide their expertise for various operations . U . S . Coast Guard . The United States Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician ( AST ) / rescue swimmer school in Elizabeth City , North Carolina is 18 weeks long , along with four required weeks at the Coast Guard ' s Emergency Medical Technician ( EMT ) in Petaluma , California , where ASTs learn to be qualified EMTs . Rescue swimmers at Coast Guard Air Station Sitka , Alaska must maintain EMT II level of proficiency due to the remoteness of their operational area and the number of medevacs performed by that unit each year . The Coast Guard rescue swimmer training program is very challenging . Reportedly , only 75 – 100 Coast Guard personnel attend the school each year . The attrition rate in some years has been as high as 80 % , though the 10 year average is just over 54 % . There is a four - to six - month build - up training at an operational air station prior to attending to AST " A " School . Prospective U . S . Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers are physically conditioned to meet certain physical standards . About half of prospective candidates actually make it to AST " A " School . The Coast Guard also holds a one week Advanced Helicopter Rescue school ( formerly known as Advanced Helicopter Rescue swimmer School ) at Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment , Washington , which is host to PJs and Navy rescue swimmers as well . U . S . Navy / Marine Corps . United States Navy and Marine Corps rescue swimmer candidates attend a four week long Aircrew School followed by the five week long Aviation Rescue Swimmer School in Pensacola , Florida . After graduating rescue swimmer school students go on to their respective ' A ' School also in Pensacola , Florida . Navy air rescue swimmers were recently split into two separate rates . Which rate a rescue swimmer attains depends on what type of helicopter they are to become qualified in . Once a Navy rescue swimmer has graduated ' A ' School they will go on to their respective Fleet Replacement Squadron ( FRS ) . Here Crewman learn the various systems in the helicopter they will be flying in . They are also expected to know various in - flight procedures such as hoist operating procedures and in - flight trouble - shooting . This syllabus can take from six to twelve months . The last stop for a Navy rescue swimmer is SERE School ( Survival , Evasion , Resistance , and Escape ) . Upon graduation from the brutal two week course they will go to the fleet as operational rescue swimmers . They will only be considered qualified Aircrewmen once they complete an additional 18 month PQS in their new squadron . Once they are qualified , they are eligible to wear Naval Aircrew wings . Navy Surface Rescue Swimmers attend the four week Surface Rescue Swimmer School in Jacksonville , Florida . Female rescue swimmers . The Coast Guard and Navy are the only branches that allow women to serve as rescue swimmers . However , only three women are presently qualified in the Coast Guard , and women must meet the same physical , endurance , and performance standards as men in order to earn a qualification as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer . They , along with those who qualify as Navy divers , and EOD technicians , are currently the only women allowed in the United States military ' s maritime Special Operations forces . The first female Navy rescue swimmer was Catherine Elliott ( Rizzo ) HMC ( AC ) USN Ret . she was also the very first woman to graduate from Helicopter Anti - submarine Squadron in Jacksonville , Fl . and become a rescue swimmer on . The first US Navy female rescue swimmer was at HSL - 31 , NAS North Island in 1977 . The first female Coast Guard rescue swimmer was Kelly Mogk ( later Larson ) , who joined the Coast Guard in 1984 and later became the first woman to complete Navy Rescue Swimmer School on . On May 2013 , the first woman to be advanced to chief petty officer in the rate of aviation survival technician since women were integrated into Coast Guard active duty service in 1973 , is Karen Voorhees Rescue swimmers in the media . The release of the 2006 motion picture " The Guardian " , starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher , introduced people to this small group of elite rescue workers . A rescue jumper / swimmer needs to jump from the helicopter because the victims are not able to get into the basket due to wave action . A rescue swimmer saves Tom Cruise ' s character Maverick in " Top Gun " . The rescue Swimmer ' s name is John Baker , a former Navy SAR School Instructor at NAS North Island in the early 1980s . On the History Channel reality show Top Shot one of the marksman is US Navy Rescue Swimmer Jamie Franks . U . S . Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers attracted international attention most recently during the rescue operations following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans , Louisiana and the surrounding areas . It was reported that in the first five days following Katrina , Coast Guard crews performed more than 33 , 500 rescue and hoist operations of Katrina victims stranded on rooftops and in flood water . This was reportedly more than the Coast Guard had rescued worldwide in over 50 years . President George W . Bush awarded participating members of the Coast Guard a Presidential Unit Citation and ribbon for their response to Hurricane Katrina . While Katrina brought domestic and international news coverage to Coast Guard rescue swimmers and their crews , their story was first shown on television in a series of 1999 specials on Discovery Channel , " Coast Guard : Rescue Swimmers " and " Coast Guard : Helicopters to the Rescue " . Along with covering the history and the demanding training rescue swimmers must complete , the specials also feature dramatic on - scene footage of several heroic rescues . The most viewed rescue swimming event in the media was a marine rescue done by rescue swimmers during the " Webtel . mobi Intercontinental Challenge " on 25 November 2009 . The " Webtel . mobi Intercontinental Challenge " was the first attempted intercontinental flight between Africa and Europe by man using jetwings , and it was broadcast live worldwide on television . Swiss pilot Yves Rossy , the person who had accepted the Webtel . mobi Intercontinental Challenge , had to ditch into the North Atlantic ocean midway through the 30 mile flight from Morocco to Spain , after his wing was destabilized by a large cumulonimbus cloud . After being located , an emergency marine rescue was undertaken by rescue swimmers live on television , with the Associated Press reporting that more than two billion people had viewed the rescue worldwide on the day of broadcast . The rescue swimmers for this event were Stuart Sterzel and Garth Eloff , both former Special Operators from Special Forces . Stuart Sterzel was also the CEO of Webtel . mobi , the company staging the event . A third standby rescue swimmer was John Brokaar , also a former Special Operator from Special Forces . The rescue took place in extremely dangerous conditions in the North Atlantic , with the downed pilot being located in less than 15 minutes after his ditched entry into the ocean , in an area where the average time for locating a person in the water is four hours . Once located , he was extracted from the water in a flawless marine rescue . The success of the rescue was credited to the rescue rehearsal carried out on the day before the event , which was also televised worldwide as it happened . The rehearsal took place during a rough sea state and high winds , and was done to confirm that the rescue swimmers would be able to carry out an effective rescue in the dangerous conditions in the area , which include very strong rip currents , high swells and the cold water temperature in the North Atlantic . On the day of the rehearsal the rough sea state and high winds forced Sterzel and Eloff to exit into the North Atlantic ocean from the skid of a Bell helicopter at a height of over 40 feet , which causes significant water entry shock on entry . The water entry shock was reduced only by their succeeding in entering the water at an optimal entry angle despite the high wind and an unstable exit platform . This was attributed to their previous training and experience . Water entry shock . The movement of titanium / nickel rotor blades used in many military helicopters through the air generates static electricity which is then accumulated in the aircraft during flight . Prior to conducting operations such as in - flight refueling , vertical cargo replenishment , or shipboard passenger hook - ups , the rescue hoist is grounded with a grounding hook , as the presence of this high electrostatic potential energy represents various hazards , such as shock , fire or explosions in the presence of personnel , fuel and ordinance . The standard operating procedure for rescue swimmers entering the water at night , during poor visibility or when in the presence of crash debris or other hazards in the water , is via the rescue hoist . When the rescue swimmer contacts the water during a controlled entry using the rescue hoist they are shocked every time . When entering the water by jumping from the aircraft , the rescue swimmer does not receive this jolt .