About Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers

[mike_s]

Both. DUI is the vendor for their drysuits. When I was in the USCG in the 80's, we called them "Gumby" suits.

http://www.dui-online.com/dry_military.html

Looks like that's changing. USIA just won a huge contract to provide dry suits to the US Coast Guard

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=160496

 

[letterboy]

anybody see in the last shots of the two guys in the locker room the DUI bag on top of the lockers?? Just thought that was excellent product placement

 

[skinerd]

HAHAHA YES!! I started howling with laughter and got more than a few strange looks from other in the theater. Not sure why I found it so funny.

 

[Gary D.]

Looks like that's changing. USIA just won a huge contract to provide dry suits to the US Coast Guard

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=160496

We are returning to USIA suits as well. Their customer service is hard to beat as well as the cost of the suits.

Gary D.

 

[Xizang]

just saw the movie here in the Philippines this weekend and read over the internet some interesting stuff about rescue swimmers. the "quiet professional"...

there is suppose to be only more or less 300 of them. I wonder if its because the training is tough as they say it is or there is just no need for more than the number they are now.

 

[tedwhiteva]

just saw the movie here in the Philippines this weekend and read over the internet some interesting stuff about rescue swimmers. the "quiet professional"...

there is suppose to be only more or less 300 of them. I wonder if its because the training is tough as they say it is or there is just no need for more than the number they are now.

The answer is "both of the above".

Regarding weight belts, the answer is none. The mission is not to go underwater but do their thing on the surface - albeit in really crudy sea conditions.

Note the below extract from the RS Manual:

(2) Water Deployment Ensemble. Water ensembles include the following. - Wet suit (water temperature above 55 F.) or - Dry suit (water temperature 55 F. and below) - RS harness - Fins - Mask, and snorkel. To increase visibility, the RS shall wear a wet/dry suit hood or surf-cap (with SOLAS grade retro-reflective tape) during all night opera-tions, regardless of water/air temperature. A protective helmet (with SOLAS grade retro-reflective tape) shall be worn during operations conducted in surf or whitewater areas. Water Ensembles are not specifically designed for flame resistance and can cause heat stress to the RS. Aircraft commanders must consider the risks of performance degradation and lack of flame protection vs. practicality when per-mitting the RS to wear a water ensemble for longer than 30 minutes.

Every month they pass the following PT exam

(3) Screen Exam Standards:
Exercise Minimum Standard
Shoulder Width Pushups 50
Sit-ups 60
Pull-ups 5
Chin-ups 5
500 Yard Crawl Swim Completed within 12 Minutes
25 Yard Underwater Swim Repeat 4 Times
Buddy Tow 200 Yds. (RS shall use cross chest carry or equipment tow.)

By the way, the authorized equipment list is:

Wet Suit Ensemble Neoprene 5/3 Long jumpsuit Henderson Aquatics Warm Water Ensembles, Neoprene 3/2 Shorty 3/2 Long Jump suit Henderson Aquatics Dry suit Ensembles DUI P/N G-USCG-3
(water temps 55 F or less
24 months

 

[Yotsie]

The answer is "both of the above".

Regarding weight belts, the answer is none. The mission is not to go underwater but do their thing on the surface - albeit in really crudy sea conditions.

Note the below extract from the RS Manual:

(2) Water Deployment Ensemble. Water ensembles include the following. - Wet suit (water temperature above 55 F.) or - Dry suit (water temperature 55 F. and below) - RS harness - Fins - Mask, and snorkel. To increase visibility, the RS shall wear a wet/dry suit hood or surf-cap (with SOLAS grade retro-reflective tape) during all night opera-tions, regardless of water/air temperature. A protective helmet (with SOLAS grade retro-reflective tape) shall be worn during operations conducted in surf or whitewater areas. Water Ensembles are not specifically designed for flame resistance and can cause heat stress to the RS. Aircraft commanders must consider the risks of performance degradation and lack of flame protection vs. practicality when per-mitting the RS to wear a water ensemble for longer than 30 minutes.

Every month they pass the following PT exam

(3) Screen Exam Standards:
Exercise Minimum Standard
Shoulder Width Pushups 50
Sit-ups 60
Pull-ups 5
Chin-ups 5
500 Yard Crawl Swim Completed within 12 Minutes
25 Yard Underwater Swim Repeat 4 Times
Buddy Tow 200 Yds. (RS shall use cross chest carry or equipment tow.)

By the way, the authorized equipment list is:

Wet Suit Ensemble Neoprene 5/3 Long jumpsuit Henderson Aquatics Warm Water Ensembles, Neoprene 3/2 Shorty 3/2 Long Jump suit Henderson Aquatics Dry suit Ensembles DUI P/N G-USCG-3
(water temps 55 F or less
24 months

Excellent info!!! Now I want to see Kevin Cosner do it.

 

[Xizang]

you can download the RS manual here actually

http://www.uscg.mil/ccs/cit/cim/directives/CIM/CIM_3710_4B.pdf

the panic diver release techniques and towing is excellent information

 

[Hoyden]

Excellent info!!! Now I want to see Kevin Cosner do it.

I doubt he can do it, but Ashton Kutcher could - he trained for months to be able to pass the test. Now if they'd just make a movie about Air Force Pararescuemen - these guys do rescue swimmer type training - Pararescue and Combat Control Indoctrination course (similar to what was shown in the Guardian) (10 wks), plus US Army Airborne School (3wks), US Army Combat Divers School (4 wks), US Navy Underwater Egress Training (1 day), US Air Force Basic Survival School (2.5 wks), US Army Military Freefall Parachutist School (5 wks), Special Operations Combat Medic Course (24 wks), Pararescue Recovery Specialist Course (20 wks) - that's just over 16 months (not allowing for holidays) of school - OC and rebreather training - then rescuing downed airmen in any environment- now that's a movie.

 

[Thalassamania]

With a bit of practice to develop a good surface dive you can get down to twenty feet with a full suit (wet or dry) and no weight belt.