The Real ResQ Podcast

In this episode of The Real ResQ, Charles Evans joins the show. Evans is author of Helicopter Heroine: Valérie André - Surgeon, Pioneer Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire. He sits down with host Jason Quinn to provide a history lesson on Valerie André.   André is a surgeon and pioneer rescue helicopter pilot who flew 128 rescue missions from 1951 to 1953, primarily in Vietnam, during the Fre...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Simon Megaw from Northern Ireland. With over 25 years in search-and-rescue, Megaw has loads of experience as both a team member and a team leader. He is qualified in swift water rescue and rope rescue, plus he is a full-time firefighter. At a young age, Megaw became interested in search-and-rescue after his sailboat flipped over and he was rescued...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Claude Morrissey, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rescue Swimmer 537. Morrissey had an amazing time serving in the USCG and loved being a rescue swimmer. In this conversation, he recalls great times at each of his units and some of his most memorable rescues.  His first unit was in Houston, Texas. In his first 24 hours of duty after being qualified as a r...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Claude Morrissey, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rescue Swimmer 537. Morrissey had an amazing time serving in the USCG and loved being a rescue swimmer. In this conversation, he recalls great times at each of his units and some of his most memorable rescues.  His first unit was in Houston, Texas. In his first 24 hours of duty after being qualified as a r...

In this Part 2 episode of The Real ResQ, Brice Stella from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department joins the show. Stella goes over his amazing 33-year career with the LA Sheriff's Dept. With all the many paths that he took from the beginning of his career to retirement – including patrol officer, SWAT, diver, medic, to Air Rescue 5 – he has a plethora of stories to tell. He also tal...

In this Part 1 episode of The Real ResQ, Brice Stella from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department joins the show. Stella goes over his amazing 33-year career with the LA Sheriff's Dept. With all the many paths that he took from the beginning of his career to retirement – including patrol officer, SWAT, diver, medic, to Air Rescue 5 – he has a plethora of stories to tell. He also tal...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, the podcast welcomes Brad Milliken, an international disaster response coordinator. Milliken previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard and as his career progressed he enjoyed disaster response so much, he took it to the next level.    The first rescue he remembers dealing with was as the new guy in the command center. A sailboat had run aground under a bridge, and...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are announcing the launch of Vertical HeliCASTS , an exciting new podcast network from the team behind Vertical and Vertical Valor magazines.   The Real ResQ is pleased to join the Vertical HeliCASTS family, along with other industry-leading shows like The Hangar Z Podcast with host Jon Gray and The Helicopter Podcast with Halsey Schider.  Vertical HeliCASTS is...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Gabe Sage, USCG Rescue Swimmer 489.  Growing up in Santa Cruz, CA, Gabe loved surfing and spending time on the beach as a lifeguard. Then came that inevitable point when it was time to get a “real job”.  After seeing a cliff rescue on TV, he knew he had to become a USCG Rescue Swimmer.  The first rescue we talk about earned Gabe a Certificate of C...

In this episode of the Real ResQ, we are joined by Bob Watson, USCG Rescue Swimmer 273. After Bob and I take a trip down memory lane reflecting on some of our time together in Kodiak, Alaska, we get into his incredible career. There was a very long wait to even get to Rescue Swimmer school, but thanks to his wife Lori, Bob stayed the course.  After we discuss Rescue Swimmer school, we go right int...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jamie MoCrazy, world class freestyle skier who competed in Junior World Championships, X Games, and FIS Freestyle World Ski Championship. Growing up doing gymnastics and snow skiing, Jamie wanted to bring these two sports together. So that is exactly what she did! She took women's freestyle skiing to the next level. Jamie was the first female...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Darcy Guyant, pilot from the US Army and the US Coast Guard.  After flying seven years in the Army, Darcy made the change to the USCG.  His first rescue was in the USCG in the H52 where he landed in the water for a ‘platform pickup’.  His second story with us is one of his most memorable stories.  While in Port Angeles WA there was a call on Dunge...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jim Shorten (Jones) who served in the US Navy, the US Army, and the US Air Force. Jim goes down memory lane with us and recalls stories from his time in Vietnam, while he was with the Navy and the Army Special Forces.  He was with a special detachment intelligence group that required him and his teams to go “across the fence.” He takes us through...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Michael Allen from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ-DPS). Michael, who was born and raised in Arizona, started his career with the fire department.  In line to make Captain, he decided to change careers and move on to work with the Air Rescue Unit for AZ-DPS.  After a seven month academy and then another four months of Air Rescue Traini...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Bob McMahon, Delaware State Police, pilot, and volunteer firefighter. As a retired police officer of 41 years, as well as an inductee into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame, Bob has some great stories. The first story that Bob considers his most memorable is one that has never actually been told until now. During his off time, Bob and his girlfri...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Brian Fishbook, a Ski Patrol, Hoist Operator and Paramedic from Canada. Growing up around the Vancouver, Canada and Whistler area, Brian has seen some amazing things in his 26 years as a ski patroller.  He recalls several “first” rescues on the mountains, from a simple broken wrist walking to the ski patrol lodge, to a major head injury and seizur...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jay O’Donnell from the United Kingdom. He shares some of his very memorable rescues while he was in The Royal Navy as a Rescue Diver.  His first rescue is actually the reason he continued down the Search and Rescue path.  A ferry that had sank with 500 people in the water, which made for a memorable start.  The next rescue we talk about, was his f...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Nic Holmes from South Africa.  Nic recaps eleven (and we could have done more too!) that he has been involved as a rope rescue technician. We start with his first rescue of three guys who literally ran off a cliff. The news headline with this rescue was, ‘Three Rescued After Gorge Tumble’. The second story he tells us is based on the new headline,...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Matthew Fader. Matthew, originally from the United States, has lived in Sweden for the second half of his life.  Our conversation jumps right into his first rescue and why he has been in search and rescue the majority of his life. At 19 years old, he helped an unconscious surfer with a head laceration, by providing CPR to him on the beach.  After...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Dr. Ben Meadley, a flight paramedic from Australia. Ben has been working in the EMS and helicopter world for over 25 years. In January of 2023, he earned the Ambulance Service Medal for his service and for everything that he has done for Australia's medical community. As we get into our conversation, we talk about his first helicopter rescue....

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jon Bartel, USCG Pilot.  Jon started his career as a school teacher, but decided that was not what he wanted to do.  He went into construction and that is where he learned about the Coast Guard.  Jon signed up, went to boot camp, and has served ever since.  As we discuss his 26 year strong career, we talk about so many stories.  These stories incl...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Sebastian Schneider, a Hoist Instructor from Germany. With a background in the German military as a medic, Sebastian has seen quite a bit.  He tells us a story about a climber who fell 20m/60ft in a canyon that he and his crew had to rescue. Hoisting the medics into the scene, they were surprised to see the victim had only a broken leg.  Next, we...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we get a full debrief by the entire crew of USCG 6009, PIC Will Sirokman, SIC Tripp Haas, Flight Mech Joe Ivy, Flight Mech Kyle Turcotte, and RS1032 Branch Walton. These men were the crew that responded to the vessel crushed by a huge wave, capsizing the vessel and tossing the survivor around like a rag doll.  Will, Tripp, Joe, and Kyle were taking a look at weath...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Daniel Foust, former USMC pilot and founder and CEO of Corporate Aviation Security International (CASI). While working overseas, he and his crews were tasked with all sorts of different missions.  As for the mission we discussed, Daniel and crew flew out to a Forward Operating Base (FOB) to do an extraction of a few people. However, the manifest t...

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jerry Hoover USCG RS 104.  I was able to spend the first four months of my Rescue Swimmer career with Jerry in Elizabeth City, NC.  Prior to school, while I was an Airman at the shop, Jerry was one of the guys that helped prepare me for Rescue Swimmer School.  We talked about his very first rescue out of New Orleans, which just so happened to be t...