The Real ResQ Podcast

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Steve Farris and Danny Casanova from Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.  They bring us through a rescue that happened a week before the recording.  They were responding to a missing person call of a man who had fallen out of a canoe and tried to walk back home.  However, when he got himself lost in thick woods, it turned into a search for a missing...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Kenneth Smith, USN Rescue Swimmer. From the very start of Rescue Swimmer school, even though he was cracked in the face and was bleeding in the pool, Ken knew that this was the job for him!  He shared  amazing stories from throughout his entire career.  Cases highlighted included being deployed to the water to look for an aircraft part that may ha...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Ashton Levarek, USCG RS 533 and Air Force PJ.  Ashton talks about his first rescue as a USCG Rescue Swimmer, which was an overdue vessel where a boat was stuck in the mud and slinging a shotgun over the shoulder.  He talks about getting called out for a patient that was hit in the face by a crowbar. He and his crew were launched out for a helicopt...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Harry Knight, US Navy Rescue Swimmer.  With a long twenty year career in the Navy, Harry was stationed all over the world.  The first half of his career was working in helicopters and the second half was working in airplanes.  A few rescues he talks about were the basics of people jumping or falling off the ship after they left port.  However, the...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Gonzalo Valderrama (aka Fonzy), a pilot from Peru. Fonzy served for years in the Peruvian Navy.  He talks about a tough night rescue where three people on a fishing boat were taking on water.  Fonzy tells about getting launched to a case where a plane crashed off the coast of Peru with a full group of people on board.  As they were flying the coas...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by French Navy pilot Jean-Baptiste (JB).  He walks us through an incredible story that he and his crew were called out for.  In 8 meter/25 foot waves and 60 knot winds, a sailing vessel was in distress and made the call for help.  JB and his crew arrived on scene to find six people needing to be rescued.  With a crazy turn of events, a broken cable a...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by the entire crew of a unique rescue mission completed by the USCG.  Pilot Curt Snodgrass, Pilot David Gomez, Flight Mechanic Ernie Ortegon, Rescue Swimmer Marty Nelson, and Boatswain Mate Dempsey Logue.  The crew gives us an inside look at a very unique South Texas rescue from the vessel, The Don Enrique.  They take us through this incredible story...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Marty Nelson USCG RS 251.  Marty starts out by talking about his first case out of Cape Cod, MA. He was sent out to help a 27 year-old who was having a heart attack on a fishing vessel. Next, we get into some of his cases while he was in the Coast Guard. The cases vary and with a long career, quite numerous.  We talk about a torn carotid artery, a...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Danny Huisman, prior Air Force Fuel Technician from Holland.  Danny tells us of how his career started while he was in the Air Force. As he watched SAR teams get called out on rescues, he knew that he wanted to be a part of it. After going to a ground simulator course and passing all the requirements, he thought he was guaranteed to get on the Air...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Eric Williamson, retired USN Rescue Swimmer.  Eric brings us through his incredible 30 year career with the Navy. He talks about a memorable experience that made such an impact on him.  He watched the SAR alarm go off, the on-duty crew took off, and returned later with a family that they had saved.  From that day forward, there was no quitting!  W...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Bill Moss, aka Red Dogg, retired USN Rescue Swimmer.  Red Dogg brings us back to 1963 when he graduated high school and came to his dad to say, “I want to join the Navy.” From there, began a life of adventure and service. He talks about his deployments all over the world and the adventures had at each of his assignments.  We get into some of his v...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Flight Nurse Kevin Kissner and Flight Paramedic Mike Abbott from Virginia State Police MedFlight Program.  Their normal operations consist of scene call and hospital to hospital transports. On the days when they’re dispatched on a SAR call, the level of rescue is elevated to the next level. Kevin tells of his first SAR call in the Appalachian Moun...

In this episode of the Real ResQ, we are joined by Brian Dickinson, USN RS, mountaineer and author of the book, The Blind Descent. After six years and two deployments in the Navy, Brian decided to move on to the next chapter of his life.  He talks about how the training at the US Navy Rescue Swimmer school set him up for success when it came to tackling the tallest mountain on every continent. Wit...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Phoenix Bean, Flight Paramedic from South Africa.  For Phoenix, her story begins with a CPR class and a crazy incident at her home that led to her meeting her Paramedic mentor.  She tells about an array of crazy calls that she has seen working throughout many different countries.  As an “observer” at her first call, she assisted in responding to a...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Steve Ober, USCG RS 01.  This conversation was a blast for me. It was so much fun talking our way through Steve's crazy cool career! He begins by talking about how the road that led him to be a Rescue Swimmer. We talked about him getting through ASM “A” School before they had Rescue Swimmers. He tells us stories from his first AIr Station in...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jason Vaughn, US Navy Rescue Swimmer.  We had a wicked fun conversation beginning with a story about a rescue he had while serving in the Navy.  Jason talks about a vessel that was trying to dump their cargo to prevent getting detained for the illegal items on board. In this case, he volunteered to be deployed to help retrieve “contraband” out of...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Stephanie Hyatt, Mechanical Engineer and volunteer rescue emergency response member. She was told early in her career, “If there's not someone that looks like you in a position that you want, be that person.” Well, that's exactly what she has done! She tells us that she wasn't going to take no for an answer when it came to being par...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Scott Holway USCG RS 387.  He talks about some of his incredible rescues that earned him The Coast Guard Achievement Medal for saving four guys on a sinking ship. Two separate Air Medals, the first for assisting two people off a sailing vessel off Cape Cod, MA and the second for his efforts during Hurricane Katrina. We also talk about a few more m...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Keith Carolan, Winchman, Winch Operator and Paramedic for CHC and the Irish Coast Guard.  As a guy who didn't even want to pursue Search and Rescue, he has both loved and embraced it, beginning with the Irish Defense Forces, to the Fire Brigade, to his present position with the CHC Irish Coast Guard.  He tells us of his first case, which turn...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Tyler Gaenzle USCG RS 797.  His stories from being a Rescue Swimmer are incredible. His first case, with a victim who fell down a cliff, landed in a tree and had a broken back and shattered ankle. Ty brings us through everything he did in that case which earned him a Coast Guard Commendation Medal.  The second case was another tough one.  He deplo...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Retired EMS Battalion Captain Marc Segal.  In his 41 years of EMS, Fire and Rescue, he has some stories to share.  We get into a handful of them in this episode.  Some of Marc’s stories include an invention that he helped create that has gone worldwide, a major incident with a plane crash at LAX, and being called to the zoo and having to go into t...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jason Orsborn, USCG RS #280.  Throughout our conversation, he takes us through some incredible rescues during his time as a Rescue Swimmer.  After he joined the Coast Guard at the young age of 17, he was at a small boat station where he experienced a few SAR cases.  It was at that point in his career where he realized that he wanted to go to the n...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Chief Crewman Simon Kremser, currently working with Wiking Helicopters in Germany. When you have your family in the Search and Rescue world, it seemed fitting that Simon would follow.  At a very young age he was a volunteer helping out in rescues.  He tells about a woman that fell on her head on a mountain and he and his team had to run up and ski...

In the episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Todd Davis USCG RS #453. Dr. Todd Davis, a current university professor,and I take a trip down memory lane where he tells us about a quote that has stayed with him since Swimmer school. His instructor, Thor Wentz, would tell his students, “Keep your composure and finish the job.”  This has stuck with Todd through everything that he has accomplished...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Sam Fielder, Aircrewman from Australia.  Sam has been working since 2007 and has had a wild career.  He brings us through two very memorable events while flying.  We recap his first big incident while on a case, where the cable parted due to an entanglement and he fell to the deck. We review this case and the major importance of pilots' refer...