Media Availability: Coast Guard to graduate 1,000th rescue swimmer in Elizabeth City, North Carolina

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 12/19/2019 09:41 AM EST

united states coast guard 

Media Advisory  

U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712
5th District online newsroom

Coast Guard to graduate 1,000th rescue swimmer in Elizabeth City, North Carolina

WHO: Graduates of Aviation Survival Technician (AST) "A" School Class 134-20; Capt. Brian Hopkins, commanding officer of Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center Elizabeth City

WHAT: A graduation ceremony for AST Class 134-20 to celebrate the class of the 1,000th graduate of the Coast Guard's AST program

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 20, at 9 a.m. (Media are requested to arrive one hour in advance with media credentials readily available)

WHERE: Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center Fixed Wing Training Facility (Building 21), 1664 Weeksville Road, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 27909

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Media are invited to attend the AST Class 134-20 graduation ceremony, which is scheduled to graduate the 1,000th Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Dec. 20, 2019, at 9 a.m., aboard ATTC Elizabeth City at Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Today's AST rating, formerly known as the Aviation Survivalman Specialist rating, was officially created when the first class of five Coast Guardsmen graduated the program in 1985. It is one of the Coast Guard's most physically demanding courses of instruction.

Retired Lt. Cmdr. Steve Ober, the first Coast Guardsman to graduate rescue swimmer training, will be in attendance to meet the 1,000th graduate.

ASTs are highly-conditioned rescue and survival experts, as well as highly capable aviation life support equipment technicians, and are trained to operate in a variety of maritime environments. While serving as rescue swimmers, ASTs are deployed into a myriad of challenging scenarios ranging from hurricanes and cliff rescues to emergency medical evacuations from ships at sea.

Media interested in attending the ceremony are requested to RSVP no later than Thursday, Dec. 19, by contacting Coast Guard District 5 Public Affairs at 757-434-7712 or d5de@uscg.mil.

Imagery and video footage of the AST training course will be available prior to the ceremony for use.

-USCG-