Aviation Survival Technician Ben Randall Ashton Kutcher as Airman / Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Jake Fischer Neal McDonough as Chief Aviation Survival Technician Jack Skinner Melissa Sagemiller as Emily Thomas Leigh Hennessy as Drowning Woman Clancy Brown as Captain William Hadley Brian Geraghty as Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Billy Hodge Sela Ward as Helen Randall Omari Hardwick as Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings Michael Rady as Zingaro Peter Gail as Airman Danny Doran Shelby Fenner as Airman Cate Lindsey Damon Lipari as Damon Bennett Bonnie Bramlett as Maggie McGlone John Heard as Captain Frank Larson Dulé Hill as Airman Ken Weatherly Brian Patrick Wade as Mitch Lyons Joe Arquette as Co-Pilot Antunez Andrew Schanno as Pilot Henry Mitchell Tilky Jones as Tilky Flint Jeff Loftus as USCG Commander, Executive Officer Daniel Molthen as Richard Wakefield Bryce Cass as Manny Chicago Catz as Band In Bar Travis Willingham as Travis Finley Production David Dobkin was originally slated to direct The Guardian until being replaced by Andrew Davis. Ron Brinkerhoff was also originally involved, making the pitch for a mid-six-figure-budgeted film, before Disney took over the production. Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States in 2005, production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Some of the base scenes were filmed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana and at Camp Minden in Minden, Louisiana. Some of the scenes that were supposed to be filmed in Kodiak, Alaska were actually filmed at CG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Sixty thousand pounds of ice were needed on the set. The training pool used in the movie was LSU–Shreveport's natatorium. The wave scenes were filmed at Louisiana Wave Studio, Metropolitan Ave, Lynbrook, Shreveport. The film was revised after Hurricane Katrina, with the addition of several comments on the storm and the rescues. The end credits are replete with "glory" shots of U.S. Coast Guard helicopters conducting rescues in the greater New Orleans area. The DVD contains a special feature on U.S. Coast Guard rescue operations, especially in the aftermath of Katrina. Many of the supporting actors in The Guardian, including ASTC instructors, helicopter pilots, and support personnel, are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel. Several characters, including Kutcher's, identify themselves as airmen. An airman is the enlisted rating of a Coast Guardsman who is undesignated and/or currently undergoing training in an aviation related field. Similar