Coast Guard Vaccine Mandates Forcing Rescue Swimmers Into Retirement

Coast Guard Vaccine Mandates Forcing Rescue Swimmers Into Retirement
U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer is lowered from a helicopter onto a submerged vehicle stuck in rushing rapids just yards from American Falls, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Wed., Dec. 8, 2021. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP Photo
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One of the many times that Coast Guard rescue swimmer James faced death was when rough weather caused him to swing full-speed from a helicopter straight at a crab boat’s steel superstructure.

“I was swinging at that thing so fast. I just knew I was gonna hit it, and I was gonna die,” he said. “But at the last minute, I just barely cleared it, and I could feel it going right underneath [me].”