In this episode of The Real ResQ, we do our first-ever Vertical HeliCASTS mashup! Host Jason Quinn is joined by fellow Vertical HeliCASTS podcasters, Halsey Schider from The Helicopter Podcast and Jon Gray from The Hangar Z Podcast. In this captivating episode, they delve deep into crew resource management, sharing personal experiences and invaluable insights that offer a unique perspective on this critical aspect of the industry. With the three hosts’ diverse backgrounds, they provide wonderful...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by Dakota Meyer, Former U.S. Marine, Sniper, Medal of Honor Recipient, current Firefighter and EMT. Throughout our conversation, Meyer shares his experiences in both the military and as a firefighter. He discusses his decision to join the Marine Corps and the values that drove him to serve. Meyer recounts the events of a few heroic missions in Afghanistan and one that led to him receiving the Medal of Honor. We talk about another missi...
Jan 03, 2024•53 min
In Part 2 of this two-part episode, host Jason Quinn of The Real ResQ sits down with Bobby O'Donnell, author, runner and a critical care paramedic with Boston MedFlight. O’Donnell shares his background and experiences in emergency medicine. Here, O’Donnell discusses his experience in Haiti. He had an opportunity to volunteer his time to fly on the Haiti Life Flight helicopter. In his short time there, he was called out to some wild medevacs that he was able to share about. They finish their conv...
Dec 28, 2023•50 min
In Part 1 of this two-part episode, host Jason Quinn of The Real ResQ sits down with Bobby O'Donnell, author, runner and a critical care paramedic with Boston MedFlight. O’Donnell shares his background and emergency medicine experiences. O’Donnell recounts his first rescue at the age of 15, where he saved his friend from drowning in a lake. This life-saving event inspired Bobby to pursue a career in emergency medicine. He also discusses the emotional connection he made with the mother of a drown...
Dec 27, 2023•1 hr 28 min
In this part 2 episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by three Riverside County Sheriff Officers to discuss some of their amazing recent rescues. Mike Calhoun, Manny Romero, and Travis Lloyd bring us step-by-step through what they are doing to help rescue those in need in Riverside County, California. Then we introduce the first ever Real ResQ Roundup, where audience-submitted questions are answered by our guests. We learn all about the Riverside County Sheriff operations and learn...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 4 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by three Riverside County Sheriff Officers to discuss some of their amazing recent rescues. Mike Calhoun, Manny Romero, and Travis Lloyd bring us step-by-step through what they are doing to help rescue those in need in Riverside County, California. Then we introduce the first ever Real ResQ Roundup, where audience-submitted questions are answered by our guests. We learn all about the Riverside County Sheriff operations and learn the de...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 34 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, host Jason Quinn is joined by Ben Willams. Williams is a passionate former Naval officer, award-winning entrepreneur and technologist, leading the commercialization of Exyn’s core technologies. He is the chief operating officer of Exyn Technologies, an autonomous drone technology stack leading the industry in unstructured environment and GPS-denied navigation. Utilizing the knowledge he gained in the Navy, Williams is helping Exyn promote its 3D mapping software...
Dec 13, 2023•57 min
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 applie...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 22 min
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, Flo...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 30 min
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...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 43 min
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 g...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 44 min
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 wo...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 14 min
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 volunteer...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 32 min
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 ...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 33 min
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...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 20 min
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...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 30 min
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 s...
Oct 13, 2023•1 hr 6 min
In this Part 1 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 s...
Oct 11, 2023•1 hr 33 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, the podcast welcomes Brad Milliken, an international disaster response coordinator. Milliken previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard and as his career progressed he enjoyed disaster response so much, he took it to the next level. The first rescue he remembers dealing with was as the new guy in the command center. A sailboat had run aground under a bridge, and was trying to get someone's attention. The sailors' tactics worked, because when the phone call came i...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 7 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are announcing the launch of Vertical HeliCASTS , an exciting new podcast network from the team behind Vertical and Vertical Valor magazines. The Real ResQ is pleased to join the Vertical HeliCASTS family, along with other industry-leading shows like The Hangar Z Podcast with host Jon Gray and The Helicopter Podcast with Halsey Schider. Vertical HeliCASTS is positioned to become the go-to helicopter podcast network. In this episode, we speak with Mike Reyno, ...
Oct 02, 2023•28 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Gabe Sage, USCG Rescue Swimmer 489. Growing up in Santa Cruz, CA, Gabe loved surfing and spending time on the beach as a lifeguard. Then came that inevitable point when it was time to get a “real job”. After seeing a cliff rescue on TV, he knew he had to become a USCG Rescue Swimmer. The first rescue we talk about earned Gabe a Certificate of Commendation from the US Marine Corps for saving three guys from the local Marine base. The guys went ou...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 37 min
In this episode of the Real ResQ, we are joined by Bob Watson, USCG Rescue Swimmer 273. After Bob and I take a trip down memory lane reflecting on some of our time together in Kodiak, Alaska, we get into his incredible career. There was a very long wait to even get to Rescue Swimmer school, but thanks to his wife Lori, Bob stayed the course. After we discuss Rescue Swimmer school, we go right into talking about rescues. His first rescue was a logger who was hit in the head by a large tree. Bob a...
Sep 06, 2023•3 hr 35 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jamie MoCrazy, world class freestyle skier who competed in Junior World Championships, X Games, and FIS Freestyle World Ski Championship. Growing up doing gymnastics and snow skiing, Jamie wanted to bring these two sports together. So that is exactly what she did! She took women's freestyle skiing to the next level. Jamie was the first female skier to land a double backflip in a competition at the Winter X Games XVII in Aspen, Colorado. In 2015,...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 34 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Darcy Guyant, pilot from the US Army and the US Coast Guard. After flying seven years in the Army, Darcy made the change to the USCG. His first rescue was in the USCG in the H52 where he landed in the water for a ‘platform pickup’. His second story with us is one of his most memorable stories. While in Port Angeles WA there was a call on Dungeness Spit where eight people were trapped due to high tide and fire on the island. The next story he tel...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 25 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jim Shorten (Jones) who served in the US Navy, the US Army, and the US Air Force. Jim goes down memory lane with us and recalls stories from his time in Vietnam, while he was with the Navy and the Army Special Forces. He was with a special detachment intelligence group that required him and his teams to go “across the fence.” He takes us through a few of his rescue missions known as ‘Brightlight’s’. We talk about some of his missions as an Air F...
Aug 17, 2023•3 hr 4 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Michael Allen from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ-DPS). Michael, who was born and raised in Arizona, started his career with the fire department. In line to make Captain, he decided to change careers and move on to work with the Air Rescue Unit for AZ-DPS. After a seven month academy and then another four months of Air Rescue Training, he is doing what he has always wanted to do! As he starts getting into some of his rescue stories,...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 58 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Bob McMahon, Delaware State Police, pilot, and volunteer firefighter. As a retired police officer of 41 years, as well as an inductee into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame, Bob has some great stories. The first story that Bob considers his most memorable is one that has never actually been told until now. During his off time, Bob and his girlfriend (now wife) were spending a day at the beach. While he was alone in the water, he watched a lady ...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 45 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Brian Fishbook, a Ski Patrol, Hoist Operator and Paramedic from Canada. Growing up around the Vancouver, Canada and Whistler area, Brian has seen some amazing things in his 26 years as a ski patroller. He recalls several “first” rescues on the mountains, from a simple broken wrist walking to the ski patrol lodge, to a major head injury and seizure in extreme cold weather. We then talk about his first and second longline rescues. These stories ar...
Jul 22, 2023•2 hr 41 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Jay O’Donnell from the United Kingdom. He shares some of his very memorable rescues while he was in The Royal Navy as a Rescue Diver. His first rescue is actually the reason he continued down the Search and Rescue path. A ferry that had sank with 500 people in the water, which made for a memorable start. The next rescue we talk about, was his first call out after being qualified for an injured fisherman. The more we talk, the more he is reminded...
Jul 14, 2023•2 hr 1 min
In this episode of The Real ResQ, we are joined by Nic Holmes from South Africa. Nic recaps eleven (and we could have done more too!) that he has been involved as a rope rescue technician. We start with his first rescue of three guys who literally ran off a cliff. The news headline with this rescue was, ‘Three Rescued After Gorge Tumble’. The second story he tells us is based on the new headline, ‘Fireman Suffers ‘Only a Broken Leg’ after a 35 m fall’. Our third story has stuck with Nic since it...
Jul 06, 2023•2 hr
