at Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, Washington, which is host to Air Force pararescuemen (PJs), Navy rescue swimmers, and foreign rescue departments as well. There, students learn the challenges of vertical-surface rescue, cliff operations, sea-cave traversing, and extreme-high-seas rescue. AHRS is considered the premier helicopter-rescue training school of its kind by most military and civilian rescue operators. The Coast Guard also trains a basic form of life-saving swimmers known as Cutter Surface Swimmers. These swimmers deploy only from ships and boats, and are tethered to a line handler stationed on board the vessel. Female Rescue Swimmers Women must meet the same physical, endurance, and performance standards as men in order to earn a qualification as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The first female Coast Guard rescue swimmer was Kelly Mogk Larson, who joined the Coast Guard in 1984 and later became the first woman to complete Navy Rescue Swimmer School, on . In May 2013, Karen Voorhees was the first woman to be advanced to chief petty officer in the rating of aviation survival technician since women were integrated into Coast Guard active duty service in 1973. The first female to graduate from the Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue School was Sara Faulkner. Her accomplishment of being the first woman to graduate from the Coast Guard’s sixteen-week training program and then work as a rescue swimmer came about partly by coincidence. During Hurricane Katrina, Faulkner rescued 48 people during one 12-hour shift, along with many others during rescue operations on subsequent shifts. She was nominated by the International Maritime Organization for its “Exceptional Bravery at Sea” award for rescuing three people from a sailboat during a storm with 45-knot winds and 15-foot seas. . U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer Vetting Process - Before joining the United States Navy to become an Aviation Rescue Swimmer, you must first pass certain physical and mental tests. To qualify for Rescue Swimmer Training, both men and women must: Meet specific eyesight requirements: uncorrected vision no worse than 20/100; correctable to 20/20 in both eyes with normal depth and color perception Meet the minimum Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) score: VE+AR+MK+MC=210 or VE+AR+MK+AS=210 Pass a PST in DEP/Boot Camp Pass Class 1 Flight Physical Be 30 years of age or younger Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible for security clearance Perform a PST - • Swim 500 yards in 12 minutes or less •