Air-sea Rescue - Rescue Swimmer

Rescue Swimmer

Rescue swimmers have been used for air-sea rescue work to assist in picking up survivors who are not able to reach the rescue craft, especially those incapacitated by exposure to cold water. Since the mid-1980s when standards were set down for their instruction and implementation, rescue swimmers have deployed from rescue helicopters or rescue boats and have been trained to extricate downed airmen from fouled parachute lines and ejection seats. Rescue swimmers must meet a number of difficult requirements: their physical conditioning must be kept at a high level, they must be expert in first aid treatment methods, and they are often highly trained technicians crucial to the operation of the rescue craft.