The Real ResQ Podcast

Episode 162 Will Johnson USCG Pilot

In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by Will Johnson, a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Pilot.

Johnson grew up in Central Valley California. At 12 years old, he started hanging around the fire department next to his school.  This is where his passion for Search and Rescue (SAR) began to develop.  

Wanting to be a pilot, Johnson applied to the USCG Academy but was denied, twice.  He applied to Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was picked up. Still dreaming of being a pilot, he applied and was denied for flight school. However, Johnson wanted to fly and he wasn't going to take “NO” for an answer.

The first SAR case that Johnson remembers as a Pilot In Command (PIC) is going out for a standard search.  It was a great learning experience as a PIC, making sure he delegated the right job to the right person in the crew.

The next few rescues that stand out to Johnson were amazing.  He tells us about a time when three people were in the water and he only had enough fuel to be on scene for five minutes! Then we talk about a rescue of an F15 fighter pilot who had to eject out of his plane when it malfunctioned.  Our next rescue story earned him a Letter of Commendation while he was stationed in North Bend (Coos Bay), Oregon.  Another rescue “attempt” while he was in North Bend was for an injured firefighter in the mountains.  The last rescue Johnson tells us about was a MEDEVAC to a remote island in Alaska. Enjoy!

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Episode 161 Martha LaGuardia-Kotite Ret. USCG Captain and Award Winning Author

In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by Martha LaGuardia-Kotite, a retired U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Captain.  

Growing up in Destin, Florida, she loved being on the water. Around graduation, her dad mentioned the USCG, “because he wasn’t paying for college.” That was all the coercion she needed. With the idea of helping save lives, she was in! 

The first rescue effort she remembers happened while she was still a cadet. LaGuardia-Kotite was assigned to a ship in Key West, Florida, for a patrol around the southeast area of U.S. waters. While out on patrol, her ship came upon a Haitian ship trying to immigrate to the U.S.  

Later in the conversation, she tells about her experience as one of the first female officers to serve aboard two Coast Guard cutters with all male crews. On those deployments they patrolled the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

LaGuardia-Kotite also speaks about how she came to write five books, including the award-winning So Others May Live – Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Saving Lives, Defying Death – which Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher used for their roles in the movie, The Guardian. Two of her other books are titled, My Name is Old Glory and Changing the Rules of Engagement. 

The conversation concludes by talking about the “hobby” she has now. LaGuardia-Kotite is driving Zodiac MK6s for the Seabourn cruise ship company, bringing passengers right up to glaciers and around humpback whales and Orcas. For her, it's a great way to spend retirement. Enjoy!

 

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Episode 160 Nick Yates and Spencer Payne from Brotallion

In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn speaks with Spencer Payne and Nick Yates from Brotallion. 

Both Payne and Yates were U.S. Army pilots for many years. They both also have unique stories as to how they came into the Army and started their flying career. Additionally, they provide the full story as to how and why Brotallion started.  

Payne then speaks about his rescue mission while he was in Afghanistan. It just so happened it was his crew's rotation time to be on the medevac team. He and his crew were launched out to another area after multiple people had been injured and they were called in to help get them out.

Yates tells some of his medevac stories about guys having field accidents and he and his crew had to respond. His first one was for a dehydrated soldier out in the field. The mission was successful, but for Yates, it came with so many lessons learned for the next one. Another medevac that stands out to him was when he was called out for a soldier that had a major eye injury.

The discussion concludes by debriefing a few key points. They also discuss the Brotallion Blue Skies Foundation and what they are doing to provide post-mishap support to those gold star aviation families. Enjoy!

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Episode 159 Liz Booker USCG Pilot

In this episode of The Real ResQ, Liz Booker joins the show. 

Booker is a former U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) pilot. It wasn’t in the plan to join the USCG. After trying to join the other services with no success, one of the recruiters set Booker up with an appointment with the USCG, and the rest is history. 

Her first rescue was while she was stationed on a USCG buoy tender. The ship was called to respond to a sailboat dead in the water and unable to sail. After a long and ‘sickening’ couple days to get to the scene, they were able to help the survivors on board and get them back to land safely.

Booker spoke with host Jason Quinn about her tour on the USCG cutter Seneca, helping assist with Haitian and Cuban operations. One of the rescues  she remembers is coming upon a vessel that had over 400 people crammed onto it.  

The conversation continues with stories from her time as an officer and a pilot in Port Angeles, Washington; San Francisco, California; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, and in the country of Barbados.The conversation concludes by talking about what Booker is doing now with Literary Avatrix, and taking a book club to a whole new level!  Enjoy!  

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Episode 158 Jeremy Bersin - Emergency Disaster Response

In this episode of The Real ResQ, Jeremy Bersin joins the show. 

Bersin previously worked in emergency medical services (EMS) and is currently with emergency disaster response. At a young age, Bersin started working in the hospital, seeing and experiencing the medical world. When he went through his emergency medical technician (EMT) course, he fell in love with the job.  

Bersin tells us of a few memorable callouts while he was working in Hartford, Connecticut. His first call was for an elderly woman who went into a full cardiac arrest.  Next, we talk about a man who was more than just stabbed across his abdomen.  Bersin tells another great story of when the ambulance was stuck in the mud. We talk a little more about working in your hometown, and having to see and care for people you know.  

From Hartford, our conversation transitions to his work in Boston. We talk a little bit about the Boston Marathon bombing and how he and his team assisted behind the scenes and for weeks after the incident. He is also reminded of and tells us about a drive-by shooting he was called to. 

We finish our conversation with what he is doing now with emergency disaster response. From helping a few people that have been displaced due to a home fire to a full-on hurricane relief effort, the stories are incredible. Enjoy!

 

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Episode 157 The Story of Valerie Andre, Presented by Charles Evans

In this episode of The Real ResQ, Charles Evans joins the show. Evans is author of Helicopter Heroine: Valérie André - Surgeon, Pioneer Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire. He sits down with host Jason Quinn to provide a history lesson on Valerie André.  

André is a surgeon and pioneer rescue helicopter pilot who flew 128 rescue missions from 1951 to 1953, primarily in Vietnam, during the French-Indochina War. She saved the lives of 168 wounded French soldiers.

During the war, André volunteered to be an airdropped medic, parachuting into remote French outposts. On one mission she parachuted into Laos, where she not only treated French soldiers, but also native Lao people, and captured enemy Viet Minh soldiers. She became known as “the woman who came from the sky” by the Lao people who knew her.

André also served as both a rescue helicopter pilot and chief medical officer during the French war in Algeria.

She was also a major force in bringing gender equality to the French military medical corps in the 1960s and 1970s. She was promoted to the rank of brigadier general (U.S. equivalent) in 1975 and full general in 1981, the first woman in the French Army to attain that rank. 

She also became a force for change in the French military by addressing the lack of women in the French Army’s medical corps (Service de Santé). She worked tirelessly within the French military system and through the French legislature to increase the number of females in the service.

André celebrated her 100th birthday on April 21, 2022. The civilian heliport that serves the entire region of Paris was named in her honor on March 8, 2022, which was also International Women’s Day. She lives in Issy-les-Moulneaux, which has been her home for over 50 years. Enjoy!

 

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Episode 156 Simon Megaw from Northern Ireland

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Simon Megaw from Northern Ireland. With over 25 years in search-and-rescue, Megaw has loads of experience as both a team member and a team leader. He is qualified in swift water rescue and rope rescue, plus he is a full-time firefighter.

At a young age, Megaw became interested in search-and-rescue after his sailboat flipped over and he was rescued. From there, he got into working with power boats and volunteered with the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). 

His first memorable rescue was a woman hit in the head by the boom of a sailboat and knocked into the water. She sustained a significant head injury, and to get her into the rescue boat they had to deflate one of the sponsons and float her onto it.

Another high-profile rescue that stands out to Megaw is when a young boy fell into the water. They searched for him for three and a half weeks. From that event, Megaw connected with a couple other guys and they created their own rescue team in Belfast. 

Megaw recalls a rescue as a young firefighter. A girl was trapped waist-deep in the mud at low tide. Someone asked if he could use items they had in the truck to make the rescue. His response was, “yes!” We had an opportunity to debrief this scenario a bit further after the story, too.

Next, when Megaw was teaching a class, one of his students had what seemed to be an allergic reaction. After two EpiPens and a call for a helicopter evacuation, they were able to get her to hospital. They later found out she was diagnosed with pleurisy. His last story is about the biggest fire job he has ever been called to: A huge, six-storey building engulfed in flames in downtown Belfast. Enjoy! 

 

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Episode 155 [Part 2] Claude Morrissey USCG RS 537

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Claude Morrissey, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rescue Swimmer 537. Morrissey had an amazing time serving in the USCG and loved being a rescue swimmer. In this conversation, he recalls great times at each of his units and some of his most memorable rescues. 

His first unit was in Houston, Texas. In his first 24 hours of duty after being qualified as a rescue swimmer, he was called out for two people missing, then a medevac and then a boat on fire. That's a busy first day of duty! Morrissey took us through a few more rescues that stood out to him in Houston. He earned an Accommodation Medal, as well as earning the CG Foundation Award, alongside his crew. This was a rescue of four people hanging onto a boat that was almost completely sunk. He shares another story in which he rescued two guys in a raft with sharks swimming under them.

Next, we talk about a couple rescues out of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While there, he earned a Sikorsky award for getting guys out of yet another raft.  The next story is where he earned an Air Medal for a rescue 245 nautical miles offshore. From Cape Cod, we transitioned our conversation over to Kodiak, Alaska, where Morrissey had two memorable rescues. One was of a boat that ran aground; the other found him on the edge of an extremely steep slope. 

Lastly, we go down to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where we talk about five rescues. One of these stories was the assistance of a sailboat in distress, which required a landing on the USS Cole. Next, Morrissey talks about a critical patient rescued off a cruise ship. Then we discuss a rescue where they later found out that one of the persons involved was a billionaire. We also get to hear about the wild story of two pilots having to eject out of their plane after a mid-air collision. We finish our conversation discussing Morrissey’s very last rescue. Enjoy!

 

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Episode 155 [Part 1] Claude Morrissey USCG RS 537

In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Claude Morrissey, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rescue Swimmer 537. Morrissey had an amazing time serving in the USCG and loved being a rescue swimmer. In this conversation, he recalls great times at each of his units and some of his most memorable rescues. 

His first unit was in Houston, Texas. In his first 24 hours of duty after being qualified as a rescue swimmer, he was called out for two people missing, then a medevac and then a boat on fire. That's a busy first day of duty! Morrissey took us through a few more rescues that stood out to him in Houston. He earned an Accommodation Medal, as well as earning the CG Foundation Award, alongside his crew. This was a rescue of four people hanging onto a boat that was almost completely sunk. He shares another story in which he rescued two guys in a raft with sharks swimming under them.

Next, we talk about a couple rescues out of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While there, he earned a Sikorsky award for getting guys out of yet another raft. The next story is where he earned an Air Medal for a rescue 245 nautical miles offshore. From Cape Cod, we transitioned our conversation over to Kodiak, Alaska, where Morrissey had two memorable rescues. One was of a boat that ran aground; the other found him on the edge of an extremely steep slope. 

Lastly, we go down to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where we talk about five rescues. One of these stories was the assistance of a sailboat in distress, which required a landing on the USS Cole. Next, Morrissey talks about a critical patient rescued off a cruise ship. Then we discuss a rescue where they later found out that one of the persons involved was a billionaire.  We also get to hear about the wild story of two pilots having to eject out of their plane after a mid-air collision. We finish our conversation discussing Morrissey’s very last rescue. Enjoy!

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Episode 154 [Part 2] Brice Stella - Los Angeles County Sheriff

In this Part 2 episode of The Real ResQ, Brice Stella from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department joins the show. Stella goes over his amazing 33-year career with the LA Sheriff's Dept. With all the many paths that he took from the beginning of his career to retirement – including patrol officer, SWAT, diver, medic, to Air Rescue 5 – he has a plethora of stories to tell. He also talks about his first day in SWAT, where he had two events happen on the same day! He was called to assist on a shooting and then called out to a bank robbery in progress. As a scuba diver for the department, one of his memories was when he helped recover a Cessna airplane crash from 200 feet underwater. Then we get into his stories from the time he was at Air Rescue 5.  He has a long list of stories that stand out to him while he was working there. These rescues include a car crash, a man stuck on a cliff, and a woman who needed medical attention. Thankfully for that story, his partner that day was the best person to be there for the woman in need. Stella also tells us about a kid under the influence who was going to jump off a cliff, and also a story about a bad motorcycle crash. A few more stories include being on vacation and helping someone who fell and tore a tendon, a rescue of people and puppies stuck in the middle of a river, and a woman he caught in mid-air as she was sliding down a hillside, and more. Enjoy!

 

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