They Had to Go Out

Susan Ludwig, President of the Coast Guard Foundation, talks the herculean efforts of the nonprofit to aid Coast Guard members and their families in …

RADM Donna Cottrell talks the launch of three helicopters to save a foundering commercial fishing vessel off Atlantic City, leading the response to a medical evacuation as an enlisted BM and coxswain, and commanding the …

Former Maritime Enforcement Specialist Miguel Calderon talks a tense standoff with a well armed boat at the southern border, how hijinks at a station likely inspired a scene in the movie Jackass, and how once you’ve …

Recorded live on the Waterfront Stage at the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan - Marine Science Technician Zac Edwards talks his wedding and the rescue of a victim trapped in an Alabama rip current. …

Recorded live on the Waterfront Stage at the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan - Phil & National Coast Guard Museum Communications Director Drew Forester talk with Boatswains Mate Chuck Vogel about his …

Former Storekeeper Shawnle Jones talks candidly about the challenges and struggles of being one of the first women to enlist after the Coast Guard opened all assignments to women in 1978, her first tour of duty as a …

CWO Steve Hathaway (Ret.) talks the first years of the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Program and what it took to prove swimmers could save …

Lieutenant Chris O’Brien (Ret.) talks circumnavigating the Earth on a High Endurance Cutter, interdicting suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden, and …

Former Coast Guardsman Joe Peterson talks the unexpected arrival of the Russian fishing fleet off the Oregon coast in the late ‘60s and how his ability to read and speak Russian put him in the middle of high profile …

From our first live show at the Escape Hatch in E City - Commander Brian Boland talks his first command as an Ensign, flying the mighty C-130 …

From our first live show at the Escape Hatch in E City - Master Chief Aviation Survival Technician Don Murray (Ret.) talks the rescue of a fishing …

Former Fire Control Technician Adrian Campbell talks running cannons at GQ-1 in hostile waters, earning the Cutterman insignia, and celebrating line …

Maritime Enforcement Specialist and former Aviation Survival Technicial Chad Carlson (Ret.) talks an all volunteer mission into the worst of a …

Former Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Cody Wright talks with us again, this time getting specific about the physical and mental aspects of preparing for …

Chief Boatswains Mate Jeremy Gourde (Ret) talks exceeding operational limits to send a towline to a disabled fishing boat threatening an Atlantic City bridge and the punishing response to save a jet ski’s operator who …

Former Lieutenant Michael Carr talks diving on the wreck of the Cutter Blackthorn in the immediate aftermath of her deadly collision on Tampa Bay and …

Episode 21: Former Special Agent Chris Huntington of the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) talks sailing to war as a Fire Control Technician …

Chief Aviation Survival Technician Pepe Carire ( Ret.) talks life and death decisions in the surf off Puerto Rico during one of his first missions as a helicopter rescue swimmer, and the lessons learned from an …

Special Episode: In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month we’re releasing this special episode to further the conversation. Former …

Former Surfman John Kopp talks what it takes to pass an underway checkride and certify to lead boat crews in the surf, and how he’s helping to keep the lessons learned from a 1997 tragedy alive in the hopes they prevent …

Conversation with Susan J. Curtin, Chair of the Coast Guard Museum Association, who talks her father’s service in the Antarctic and how a former Port Security Specialist is now leading the charge to build the National …

Former Maritime Enforcement Specialist Kyle Kinser talks his personal struggles to transition from an active maritime tactical unit to a slower paced assignment and later civilian life. Surviving suicide attempts and a …

Chief Warrant Officer Mario Vittone (Ret.) talks a response to a distressed vessel off the Georgia coast that turned near catastrophic, with a rescue swimmer left alone in a liferaft hundreds of miles from shore and a …

On the mission’s 25th anniversary, Boatswain’s Mate Timothy Montowski (Ret.) talks deploying to Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy and the unique …

Former Operations Systems Specialist Glen Holt talks the response to a sinking tall ship and the levels of responsibility placed on even the most …

Boatswain’s Mate Dwight Crumpacker talks a nighttime tow with an expecting mother in big swells off the Oregon coast and running some of the last …

Boatswain (Ret.) Sean McCarthy talks a rescue and medevac in breaking seas off Fire Island, NY and how leaders are forged through experience.

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Former Radarman Tom Ellis talks the response to a tanker fire in Seattle and icebreaking operations at both ends of the Earth.

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Senior Chief (Ret.) Mark Engle talks the tragic loss of a tanker off the Maryland coast, the final words of her captain, and the lessons on duty and attention to detail he’s carried ever since.

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Charles ‘Tex’ McDonald Holt talks a Texas flood that left him in a fight for survival after his boat capsized, and the friend who defied orders to …

AST1 (Ret.) Matt Crow talks a boat that broke up in the surf off Puerto Rico and the Herculean effort to get all nine survivors out of the water and …

Episode 9: Aviation Survival Technician Cody Wright talks a deadly boat collision on the Great Lakes and how seemingly minor lessons from the …

Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) Todd Fletcher talks a man overboard during a security boarding off the South Carolina coast, the MEDEVAC that followed, …

Episode 7: Maritime Enforcement Specialist Chief (Ret.) Carlos Perez talks how the 9/11 attacks played out in view of his boat crew, the maritime evacuation of lower Manhattan, and dealing with the realization that we …

Boatswain (Ret.) Bob Downs talks a real fast night time tow into Oregon’s Chetco River, a search of a boat for an armed suspect, and a migrant interdiction off the Texas coast.

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The Lunkleys talk a Coast Guard Medal case that ended in the successful rescue a victim trapped in a capsized boat and the lifelong relationships …

Senior Chief (Ret.) Tom Rooks talks a helicopter crash on the flight deck of an underway cutter and the intense levels of the responsibility the USCG places on even its most junior personnel.

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Boatswain (Ret.) Tim Woody talks a night time surf case at the mouth of California’s Noyo River and the dangers of the “press to respond” that all rescuers feel.

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Our hosts introduce the podcast and tell the first sea stories.

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