“So others may live”
What is a Rescue Swimmer?
A Naval Aviation Rescue Swimmer is known as a jack of all trades with the motto of “so others may live.” Although they don’t fly the helicopters, they are able to do a lot of tasks in the back of the aircraft. They are the crew chiefs, rescue swimmers, medical first responder, door gunners, and systems operators!
How do you become a Rescue Swimmer?
After completing bootcamp, you will be sent to Pensacola, Florida for several months of training. First, you will go to rescue swimmer school. This is approximately a six week course where you will learn search and rescue tactics both on land and in water. Your physical strength and mental fortitude are also put to the test with plenty of time spent in the pool.
Next, you will head to aircrew school for 6 weeks. There you will learn the basics of naval aviation flight management. You will attend classes where you will learn physiology and water survival training. During this training, you will also go through the helo dunker to simulate underwater problem solving in the event of an over-water mishap.
After completing aircrew school, you head to “A” School. This course lasts anywhere from 4-8 weeks and it is an introduction to the equipment on board the aircraft, such as radar and sonar.
Next, you will head to a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for approximately 8 months. There are a couple different locations for the FRS- San Diego or Norfolk (Sierra Helicopter community) or San Diego or Jacksonville (Romeo Helicopter community). At the FRS, you will learn how to pre-flight the helicopter and do your first set of flights.
When they are able to get you in, you will head to SERE School for 2 weeks. For this course, you will be sent to either San Diego or New Hampshire. SERE stands for Survive Evade Resist Escape. The first 4 days are spent in the classroom and the next 7 days are spent in the field putting into practice all the skills you learned, such as evading captors, surviving in harsh outdoor conditions, and living in POW conditions.
After all this training, you will finally head to your first squadron!
Where can we be stationed?
There are duty stations all over the US and even a couple OCONUS (over seas). Orders for rescue swimmers tend to be for about 3 years and they rotate between sea duty (being deployable) and shore duty (not deployable).
What will deployments look like?
Deployments can look different depending on the duty station and type of squadron in which your spouse is stationed. If your significant other’s squadron is attached to a carrier, then the deployments can be anywhere from 6-10 months long. However, you are given a little more notice with these deployments and there are a lot of work-ups and TDY’s beforehand. If your spouse’s squadron is not attached to the carrier, then their deployments will most likely be detachments with other commands. These deployments usually are 4-12 month long. Sometimes you get a lot of notice, but other times they can be last minute.
Thoughts from a WAF:
If this is a career that you or your spouse choose to pursue, know that there will definitely be hard seasons (deployments, trainings, time apart, physically demanding, etc..), but there will also be very rewarding seasons too! The rescue swimmer community is a very close-knit community and feels like a big family. It is not a huge community, which has allowed us to be stationed with some families more than once, which has been a huge blessing! It makes a new duty station feel more like a home when you have familiar faces there!
As with any job in the military there are always unknowns and not much that can actually prepare you for this life as a WAF. I truly believe that in the military, every duty station, season, deployment, job, etc.. is what you make it. There have been some duty stations where my husband hasn’t been home a lot and others where he has been home for dinner most nights! My attitude and mindset during these seasons has been the biggest game changer. I learned early on as a WAF that if I have a negative attitude and always point out the bad in my circumstances, then I won’t enjoy something and miss out on a lot of opportunities. If I go in with a positive mindset and actively try to find joy in every circumstance, then I have a much joy-filled experience! Every duty station is what YOU choose to make it!
Meet Emily
My name is Emily Kasnick. I have been a military spouse for a little over 11 years. My husband and I have 3 daughters and although we are Midwesterners at heart, we haven’t lived in the Midwest in almost 12 years. I own a small business, Thriving Homefront, where I make and sell accessories (find me on Instagram). We are currently stationed in Pensacola, FL where my husband is an instructor, but we will be PCSing this summer!
