Explanation of the USCG Retired Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Wings
The elements of the Retired Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Wings represent different aspects of this aircrew position.
The Wings:
Based on the aircrew wings, and later the Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Wings, these represent our time flying in the different rotor wing aircraft in the CG inventory, during our time of service, and depending at what unit.
We started in the HH-52 and the HH-3F. Later, the HH-65 and the HH-60J came along, extending our range, weather capabilities, and further challenging our physical abilities as our community learned to respond to a larger spectrum of emergencies.
The Skull and red Bandanna:
These symbols represent the aspects of hands-on emergency rescue that many of us dealt with during our time as AST's/Rescue Swimmers.
Injury and loss of life occur during the emergency events we responded to, and to ignore that is to deprive the responder of the respect due for doing a job that few will take on, and they'll have to carry these injuries and memories. Many of us carry physical scars that are a result of events that happened inside and outside of the helicopter, in the gym or on the grinder.
The Blue Star of Life:
From the original image, this represents the ongoing medical training necessary to provide essential basic lifesaving medical services to those we assisted.
The Inverted Fins:
This represents that we’ve ‘hung up’ our fins’, no longer to deploy from a helicopter in the dark and stormy. It is an irony that many of those that served in this capacity, find a way to return to a line of work that somewhat parallels the rescue swimmer life.
The Wreath:
This represents a job well done. It represents the time we spent mentoring the younger swimmers with hands-on examples, trying to help them avoid some of the hard learned lessons we inflicted on ourselves.
About the Aircrew Position and Rate:
The population outside of this community often are often unaware that ‘Helicopter Rescue Swimmer’ is an aircrew position, that can only be held by only one out of all the ratings in the USCG.
The Aviation Survival Technician. Once known as an ‘Aviation Survivalman’, they carry the load of maintaining every piece of life support equipment worn by rotor and fixed wing aircrew, at every USCG aviation unit in the world.
Equipment that HAS TO WORK when everything else fails. When the multi-million dollar aircraft will no longer fly, nor will it return home, the equipment worn and carried by these aviators must work in any environment they may find themselves in.
Life vests and rafts MUST inflate. Emergency location transmitters must transmit locations and distances to satellites that no one can see. This equipment must give the crew the confidence to push into conditions that may require it.
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