The sea is unpredictable and for a helicopter rescue swimmer the threat of serious injury, and even death, looms large. No two emergency situations are the same and so the unexpected is to be expected; it’s impossible to know exactly what will unfold during a mission.

“Any SAR case I’ve been on has tested my knowledge and skill set,” said pilot and former rescue swimmer Lieutenant Nicholas M Litchfield. “Every case is different and one doesn’t really understand what to expect until they arrive on scene.” In addition to the hazardous nature of the role, pressure runs high, with rescue swimmers working against the clock. Aside from the advanced strength, flexibility and endurance required, these highly trained specialists must be able to remain calm under stress. As you might imagine, rescue swimmer training is no walk in the park. “In the US Coast Guard (USCG), student rescue swimmers are challenged in the pool environment with ‘simulated survivors’ who are often aggressive or non-compliant,” Litchfield told AirMed&Rescue. “The instruction facilities are able to simulate rough seas and even rotor wash. This makes for a challenging environment, oftentimes tougher than a real-world mission.”

Know your limits

While preparing rescue swimmers for precarious and challenging environments, there are a myriad of skills that training aims to instill. AirMed&Rescue asked Mario Vittone, Global Product Manager at Lifesaving Systems (a provider of rescue, safety, and survival equipment for the maritime and aviation industry), who formerly taught at a USCG helicopter rescue swimmer school in North Carolina, about these skills. “What we sought to nurture most in helicopter rescue swimmers in the US Coast Guard was confidence in the water and with understanding their limitations,” he stated. “In school, students are pushed to their limits in the water so that they truly understand where those limits are. This, along with the confidence in the water they gained during training, allows them to operate more safely and to make better decisions when things get difficult.”

In a real-life mission, a rescue swimmer will be tested to their limit and, by knowing what they can endure, they will be best placed to remain calm and collected. Cody Wright was a helicopter rescue swimmer in the USCG and is currently an active duty rescue swimmer stationed in northern California. He is co-owner of Rescue Swimmer Mindset, which helps individuals push their physical boundaries either recreationally, professionally or to succeed in elite military programs such as helicopter rescue swimmer school, Basic Underwater Demolition/Navy SEAL (BUD/S) training, and pararescue jumper (PJ) selection.

I’m constantly searching for ways to improve my decision-making and ability to take input and feedback from peers and crewmembers during training and apply them to real cases

“While there are many skills that make up a competent rescue swimmer, I’m constantly searching for ways to improve my decision-making and ability to take input and feedback from peers and crewmembers during training and apply them to real cases,” asserted Wright. “These skills are a bit nuanced in nature but they break down into figuring out ways to add and keep current training fresh in order to grow a bank of knowledge and good habits to fall back on in critical moments. Absorbing feedback requires you to objectively go over training without trying to defend poor actions or getting your ego involved. If you can constantly develop those two skills, I believe you’re on the right track!”

Indeed, there is no room for ego in a life or death situation; priorities shift and there is a single goal: saving lives.

Learning from the experts

Training is both intensive and high risk, but there are measures in place to mitigate this risk. For example, learning is done gradually, slowly building up skills. “Safe learning is achieved the same way you learn to run (crawl, walk, run),” Wright confirmed. “You need to start by learning the basic skills your role requires in a safe environment where you can receive real-time feedback. Crawl phase could be reading your manual, talking with instructors and  asking questions. Walk phase is going out on training events that simulate missions you could go out on. On these training missions, you want to have the right mix of experience – from pilots to aircrew –  that will allow for good discussion based on past events. You can’t have a brand new crew training together and expect them to elevate their knowledge without input from experienced crewmembers/pilots.”

Risks are mitigated by high instructor-to-student ratios. The highest risk training events are done with one student being supervised by at least three instructors

Vittone is in agreement that exposure to, and feedback from, experienced team members is critical. “Risks are mitigated by high instructor-to-student ratios. The highest risk training events are done with one student being supervised by at least three instructors. Those instructors are well trained in recognizing true distress and students have the ability to stop the training if they feel unable to safely achieve the training objective,” he highlighted. “While some of the training and qualification testing appears very intense to the outsider, it is very manageable when done deliberately by a trained instructional staff.”

Jason Schelin was formerly a helicopter rescue swimmer with the USCG for 15 years and is now Director of Training for Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR), which provides SAR and tactical training. He pointed out that established protocols are followed: “Safe learning can be achieved through strict adherence to established training standards and practices, prioritizing the instructor’s and trainee’s safety.”

Not only does gradual, intentional learning help ensure safety, it also enhances retention, as Cody Berg pointed out. Berg recently retired from 24 years with the US Navy as a rescue swimmer. During this time, he experienced various locations around the world in SH-60B, MH-60R and 60S airframes and held multiple roles, including search and rescue standardization, flight standardization, and Weapons and Tactics Training Program Manager, and accumulated 3,900 flight hours. “Adding too much too quickly will overwhelm your intended student, and while they may retain some of the lessons, they won’t retain it all,” he commented. “Trying to teach basic and complex concepts simultaneously is terrible for retention of learning.”

During training, there is a keen eye on quality, and mistakes are expected to be minimal, as Litchfield highlighted: “Learning is achieved through practice, repetition and applied stress. In the intermediate stages of learning specific skills, errors other than the minor type in training are not allowed, which helps reinforce high standards.”

Crucial to the learning is simulation, both virtual and physical, said Schelin. “The use of simulations is important, as it allows trainees to experience an operational environment in a controlled and safe manner,” he told AirMed&Rescue. “This control and safety are achieved through wave generators, wind turbines, hoist procedure towers and sound systems, further enhancing the learning experience.”

Practice makes perfect

In order to be effective, training and simulation need to closely mimic real-life environments. “Simulation and training are an important part of preparing any rescuer or first responder for challenges,” commented Berg. “Training fidelity – making the training as realistic as possible – is crucial to effective training. Simulators and training devices are a good way to train tasks in a relatively low-cost and low-consequence environment compared to live training with an aircraft and personnel.”

Many agencies have developed training programs and simulated environments to prepare individuals mentally and physically, and provide them with the essential skills to become ‘ab initio’ rescue swimmers

Schelin agreed that simulation is an invaluable tool for rescue swimmer training. “It’s a crucial training method in the aviation industry, particularly for crewmembers who aspire to become rescue swimmers,” he stated. “Many agencies have developed training programs and simulated environments to prepare individuals mentally and physically, and provide them with the essential skills to become ‘ab initio’ rescue swimmers. Virtual simulators, such as our Advanced Aircrew Mission Simulator (AAMS), are excellent tools for providing comprehensive ‘whole-task’ training environments and demonstrating the required tactics for missions.”

Use it or lose it

It’s not enough to learn skills, endurance and limits. All of this knowledge, confidence and ability must be retained, and simulation can help with this. “It allows rescue crews to stop and talk about best practices, repeat a task or series of tasks, change conditions, and test what works and doesn’t work without burning flight hours or risk to equipment and personnel,” said Berg. “Crews can work on basic to complex scenarios to stay sharp and retain their learned skills through repetition.”

Schelin concurred: “Simulation is becoming increasingly important in skill retention. It offers unique advantages as there are no time constraints and trainers can pause or reset a training session with the push of a button. These strategic pauses or resets can be utilized for remediation or instructional purposes to ensure the training objectives are met.”

Another key element of skills retention is repetition. “Routine training in the real world helps maintain proficiency for when a real SAR case arises,” Litchfield remarked.

Indeed, there’s no end date to training, as it needs to be kept up to date and skills sharpened. As such, there are minimum requirements that must be maintained. “Each rescue swimmer or any other aviation professional in the USCG is required to maintain a minimum set of semi-annual or annual training requirements,” Litchfield highlighted. “These are just the minimum to maintain proficiency and many times members exceed these.”

Professionals reading this know that training flights or exercises can become monotonous. Trying to stay out of that mindset and focusing on what you will learn during the mission is key to retaining skills

Repetition means practice, and significant time is dedicated to this. “Ocean rescue swimmers are – and must be – given time to train,” said Vittone. “The same skills taught in school are practiced at least monthly, and that practice is part of a recurrent training plan that includes annual standardization exams and currency requirements. It is not enough to train the skills once – no one wants to go on a mission with a pilot who graduated top of their class in flight school, but hadn’t practiced hovering the helicopter in the last five years. Like almost everything else, ‘use it or lose it’ applies.”

Wright also believes in the power of repetition, along with an open mind, “and treating every training flight with the expectation that you’ll get something out of it”. “Professionals reading this know that training flights or exercises can become monotonous,” he remarked. “Trying to stay out of that mindset and focusing on what you will learn during the mission is key to retaining skills.”

Training limitations

Despite its value and merits, Schelin warned that it’s important not to rely solely on simulation as it’s only one part of a bigger picture. “While simulation can provide a safe, standardized and controlled training environment, and ab initio training is essential to building a robust foundational skill set, real-life situations can present challenges that cannot be replicated in a sterile training environment,” he reflected. “Therefore, it is necessary to note that these milestones are just the beginning, and the accurate measure of a rescue swimmer’s abilities lies in practical or in-flight training, which is necessary to complete the qualification process.”

Berg agreed that it’s difficult to simulate or train a full mission profile. “There is no substitute for training in the real world and real time, but we’re getting there with the different simulators able to produce very realistic training scenarios for individual and crew tasks,” he stated.

Training does not prepare rescue swimmers; adequate training and constant reinforcement of skills prepares a rescue swimmer,

Ultimately, it’s not simply training that prepares rescue swimmers for real-life missions. “Training does not prepare rescue swimmers; adequate training and constant reinforcement of skills prepares a rescue swimmer,” Vittone elaborated. “How much is enough? What is adequate training? Now, there’s a debate I won’t see settled in my lifetime.”

It seems there is no limit to the training required to become, and continue to be, a helicopter rescue swimmer. With such high stakes, it is no surprise that limitless high-level, high-quality training and simulation is necessary to nurture skilled, dedicated rescue swimmers who remain steadfast in the eye of the storm.