Senior Physician Speaker Series
Curated and hosted by Sam Yared, MD
Topic: U. S. Coast Guard’ s Noble Mission: Protect, Defend and Save Lives
Guest Speaker: Chris Leon U. S. Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician
At the September meeting of the Senior Physicians Committee, Dr. Sam Yared, chair, introduced Chris Leon, U. S. Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician. For him,“ Always Ready” is more than the motto of the U. S. Coast Guard. It is a way of life.
Dr. Yared mentioned that the U. S. Coast Guard responsibilities includes the following:
» Control U. S. borders and Maritime approaches. » Protect American ports and waterways. » Conduct military operations to defend the nation. » Enforce federal law. » Lead in national emergencies and rescue operation. » Maintain flow of Maritime commerce.
Leon, who joined the Coast Guard in 2009, recently shared his experiences as a rescue swimmer with physicians and medical professionals during the Greater Louisville Medical Society Senior Speakers Series. His story offered a firsthand look at what it means to prepare for moments when circumstances are unpredictable, pressure is high and someone’ s life depends on your ability to respond.
Leon did not begin his career as an obvious candidate for the demanding rescue swimmer program. Growing up, he surfed but admitted he did not even know how to swim laps in a pool.
“ When I swam, it was just all arms,” he recalled.
That quickly had to change. Rescue swimmers rely heavily on their legs while wearing large fins, and Leon spent two years training before advancing through the Coast Guard’ s airman program and eventually attending rescue swimmer school in 2010.
The training was intentionally difficult. Of the 16 people who began his class, instructors worked from the outset to determine who could withstand the physical and mental demands of the job.
For Leon, one lesson was simple: show up and keep working.
“ You just keep your head down, you show up every day and you work hard,” he said.“ You just show up. That’ s all it takes.”
During the 22-week rescue swimmer school, trainees repeatedly encountered stressful situations designed to simulate the uncertainty and intensity of real rescues. They trained in darkness, with waves in the pool, water spraying and other distractions. They climbed towers that simulated looking out of a helicopter door and were called individually into situations where they did not know what would happen next.
The repetition was deliberate.
“ We do that over and over and over again throughout the 22 weeks of school, so that in real life, when we get called out on a real-life case, it becomes second nature,” Leon explained.“ You’ re not thinking, you’ re not second-guessing yourself. You’ re just ready to show up and do what we do.”
For physicians, the concept is familiar. Clinical training similarly relies on repetition, simulation and preparation so that when an emergency arrives, clinicians can draw on practiced skills rather than becoming overwhelmed by the moment.
Leon described that preparation as particularly important because rescue calls rarely unfold exactly as expected.
One of his most memorable rescues occurred in 2014. Leon was awakened after midnight by a search-and-rescue alarm reporting a possible vessel in distress approximately 70 miles offshore from Monterey Bay. The conditions were severe: 20- to 25-foot seas, 40-knot winds and virtually no visibility.
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