Calm in the Chaos - U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer Podcast

Some rescue swimmers wait years for the call. Chris Allen waited 11 — and when it finally came, it was two fighter pilots floating in the dark Pacific after an ejection gone sideways.
In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Chris Allen shares 18 years of service as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer with HSC6 — a career that started as a California kid who grew up BMX racing in the poorer parts of Orange County, nearly didn't make it into the Navy over a DUI, and ended up on the ground in Japan during the 2011 tsunami, loading relief helicopters with a broken wrist. Chris talks candidly about the darkest chapter of his career — the HSC8 helicopter mishap that killed two pilots and a fellow crewman, the memorial flight where he dropped roses at the crash site, and what it's like when a mishap isn't something that happened to another squadron, but to your own.
And then there's the night everything changed: a squawking emergency no one told them about, two ejected F/A-18 pilots adrift at sea, and Chris finally getting the rescue he'd waited over a decade for.
In this episode:
18 years of service as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer, currently with HSC6
A California childhood of BMX racing, skateboarding, and a DUI that almost ended his Navy career before it began
Deploying to Japan during the 2011 tsunami and earthquake relief effort — with a broken wrist
The HSC8 helicopter mishap: a ground resonance crash that killed two pilots and a crewman
Flying the memorial flight and dropping roses at the crash site
A night plane guard shift that turned into a real-world rescue after 11 years of waiting
Recovering two ejected F/A-18 crew from the open ocean in the dark
What it means to carry the "thank you for your service" line when the job still feels like just a job
18 years, nearly 4,000 flight hours, and weighing what comes after the Navy
Chris Allen's story is a reminder that most of a rescue swimmer's career isn't the headline moment — it's showing up every day so that when the call finally comes, you're ready.
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CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 66
So Others May Live. 🫡🇺🇸
Rescue Swimmer Merchandise https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com Military & First Responders: Use code SARRESCUE10 for 10% off 100% of proceeds support the podcast
📖 Calm in the Chaos — The Book by Brian Dickinson Available at www.briandickinson.net
📩 Booking & Media Inquiries: podcast@briandickinson.net
For more content, subscribe and follow @TheCalmintheChaosPodcast:
Twitter: https://x.com/briancdickinson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandickinson/
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Calm in the Chaos: The Rescue Swimmer Podcast Untold Stories from U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers

#RescueSwimmer, #NavyRescueSwimmer, #AviationRescueSwimmer, #CalmInTheChaos, #ChrisAllen, #HSC6, #HelicopterMishap, #MemorialFlight, #TsunamiRelief, #EjectionSeat, #OpenOceanRescue, #NavyAircrew, #USNavy, #NavyVeteran, #MilitaryVeteran, #SearchAndRescue, #SAR, #MilitaryPodcast, #VeteranStories, #ResiliencePodcast, #MilitaryResilience, #LeadershipUnderFire, #MentalToughness, #ServiceAndSacrifice, #BrianDickinson, #VeteranPodcast, #CarrierAviation

Not every rescue swimmer's story is about the water. Some of the most important ones are about who gets built in the schoolhouse.

In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, newly retired Senior Chief Jeff Plowman looks back on 26 years and 10 deployments as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer — a career that started with a recruiter's pitch to "jump out of helicopters" and ended full circle, back at Pensacola's Aviation Rescue Swimmer School, this time running it as the Leading Chief Petty Officer. Jeff opens up about a DUI that nearly ended his Navy career, the senior leaders who fought to keep him in, and how that second chance shaped him into the instructor who trained the next generation of swimmers.

From surviving his own SAR School training to becoming the guy marching students down the seawall, Jeff's story is a study in what leadership actually looks like inside one of the toughest pipelines in the military.

In this episode:
26 years of service and 10 deployments as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer
Growing up a Navy dental tech's son who swore he'd never join — then did
Life as a SAR instructor at Pensacola, learning from legends like Petty Officer Will Young
A DUI that nearly ended his career — and the leaders who stood up for him
Deploying overseas with HSC squadrons out of Naples, Italy
Coming back to Rescue Swimmer School as Leading Chief Petty Officer — full circle
How training has evolved from 1993 to 2026, and why the standard hasn't dropped
His message to the next generation of rescue swimmer candidates: just don't quit

Jeff Plowman never got the dramatic open-ocean rescue — but he spent 26 years making sure the next swimmer would be ready for theirs.

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CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 65

So Others May Live. 🫡🇺🇸

Rescue Swimmer Merchandise https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com Military & First Responders: Use code SARRESCUE10 for 10% off 100% of proceeds support the podcast

📖 Calm in the Chaos — The Book by Brian Dickinson Available at www.briandickinson.net
📩 Booking & Media Inquiries: podcast@briandickinson.net

For more content, subscribe and follow @TheCalmintheChaosPodcast:
Twitter: https://x.com/briancdickinson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandickinson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalmintheChaosPodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecalminthechaospodcast/

Calm in the Chaos: The Rescue Swimmer Podcast Untold Stories from U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers

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Some men are forged by the ocean. Dave Hancock was forged by fire long before he ever hit the water.

In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Dave Hancock shares 21 years of service as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer — a career that began after a childhood almost no one survives: born premature and given up for dead, raised in migrant farm labor camps, and left permanently scarred by a half-brother who shot him, stabbed him, and threw him off a 40-foot bridge at age 6. Dave trained under Vietnam-era combat search and rescue instructors, survived a brutal Rescue Swimmer School, and went on to face down a 10-11 foot bull shark mid-rescue during a man-overboard call in open ocean.

And that's just the Navy chapter. After his service, Dave spent 16 years as a police officer, worked as a boxing pro and a high school teacher, and quietly battled suicidal thoughts before faith changed the trajectory of his entire life.

In this episode:
21 years of service as a U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer
Surviving migrant farm camps, abuse, and a half-brother who shot and nearly killed him
Thrown off a 40-foot bridge at age 6 — and living to tell it
Training under Vietnam-era combat search and rescue instructors
A brutal Rescue Swimmer School and SERE training
Deployment aboard the "Danger Ranger" — a cruise that cost multiple lives
A man-overboard rescue that turned into a face-to-face encounter with a bull shark
Combat search and rescue planning in the early days of the Global War on Terror
16 years as a police officer, turning his patrol car into a mission field
A season as a professional boxer and a high school teacher
A private battle with suicidal thoughts — and the moment faith intervened
Breaking generational cycles of trauma for the daughter he's raising today

Dave Hancock's story proves the deepest wounds don't have to write the ending — sometimes they're just the beginning of the mission.

👉 Subscribe, share, and leave a review. It helps more veterans, first responders, and families find these stories.

CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 64

So Others May Live. 🫡🇺🇸

Rescue Swimmer Merchandise https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com Military & First Responders: Use code SARRESCUE10 for 10% off 100% of proceeds support the podcast

📖 Calm in the Chaos — The Book by Brian Dickinson Available at www.briandickinson.net
📩 Booking & Media Inquiries: podcast@briandickinson.net

For more content, subscribe and follow @TheCalmintheChaosPodcast:
Twitter: https://x.com/briancdickinson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandickinson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalmintheChaosPodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecalminthechaospodcast/

Calm in the Chaos: The Rescue Swimmer Podcast Untold Stories from U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers

#RescueSwimmer, #NavyRescueSwimmer, #AviationRescueSwimmer, #CalmInTheChaos, #DaveHancock, #BullSharkEncounter, #ManOverboard, #CombatSearchAndRescue, #ChildhoodTrauma, #Overcomer, #FaithOverFear, #FromPainToPurpose, #GenerationalHealing, #PoliceOfficer, #BoxingPro, #NavyVeteran, #MilitaryVeteran, #VeteranHealth, #SoOthersMayLive, #SearchAndRescue, #SAR, #MilitaryPodcast, #VeteranStories, #ResiliencePodcast, #MilitaryResilience, #LeadershipUnderFire, #MentalToughness, #ServiceAndSacrifice, #BrianDickinson, #VeteranPodcast, #TestimonyOfFaith

A Navy SEAL missed the deck during a night fast-rope insertion, and it fell to Shane Hallesy to go in after him—one small piece of a career that spans Navy rescue swimmer, Army Blackhawk pilot, and federal law enforcement aviator.

In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Shane Hallesy shares 5 years as a Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer followed by 30-plus years in the Army National Guard—flying Blackhawk medevac missions over western Iraq embedded with the Marines, changing tactics mid-deployment to keep from getting shot down, and later flying maritime interdiction for Customs and Border Protection in Puerto Rico.

In this episode:
Hoisting down at night to rescue a Navy SEAL who missed the deck during a fast-rope insertion
Transitioning from Navy rescue swimmer to Army Blackhawk pilot
Flying dust-off medevac missions over western Iraq with the Marines
Flying into a sandstorm during his first days in-country
A mass casualty response in Fallujah and learning to vary his approach to avoid getting shot at
Struggling to assimilate after deployment—and finding a second calling flying law enforcement missions for CBP and the Department of Transportation

From the flight deck to the desert to the border, Shane Hallesy never stopped being the guy who goes in after people.

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CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 63

So Others May Live. 🫡🇺🇸

Rescue Swimmer Merchandise https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com Military & First Responders: Use code SARRESCUE10 for 10% off 100% of proceeds support the podcast
📖 Calm in the Chaos — The Book by Brian Dickinson Available at www.briandickinson.net
📩 Booking & Media Inquiries: podcast@briandickinson.net

For more content, subscribe and follow @TheCalmintheChaosPodcast:
Twitter: https://x.com/briancdickinson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandickinson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briancdickinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briancdickinson
Calm in the Chaos: The Rescue Swimmer Podcast Untold Stories from U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers

#RescueSwimmer, #NavyRescueSwimmer, #AviationRescueSwimmer, #CalmInTheChaos, #IraqWar, #BlackhawkPilot, #DustOff, #Medevac, #NationalGuard, #ArmyNationalGuard, #SearchAndRescue, #SAR, #NavySEAL, #USNavy, #NavyVeteran, #MilitaryVeteran, #CustomsAndBorderProtection, #LawEnforcement, #SoOthersMayLive, #MilitaryPodcast, #VeteranStories, #ResiliencePodcast, #ServiceAndSacrifice, #BrianDickinson, #VeteranPodcast, #HonorTheFallen

Scott Haskell and his crewmate Tater have a standing joke: they're one of the only rescue swimmers who ever rescued a rescue swimmer.

In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Anthony Haskell shares 20 years in Naval Aviation—from a 100-mile scramble to recover a downed EA-6B crew, to a secret six-day mission into Iraq to bring home an ejected F-18 pilot, to a flight deck wire-snap that nearly took his crew out and earned his aircraft a painted purple heart. After the Navy, he kept saving lives as a drill instructor, combat pool instructor, police officer, and lifeguard trainer.

In this episode:
The 100-mile scramble to recover a downed EA-6B crew—and the "rescued a rescue swimmer" story that followed
A secret six-day mission into Iraq to search for a downed F-18 pilot
Finding him in a salt lake near Karbala—and the honor guard that met the aircraft
A flight deck wire-snap during an F-18 ejection that injured deck crew and earned his helicopter a painted purple heart
Becoming a drill instructor and training non-swimmers at the "combat pool"
Earning his first official live rescue at HS-14

Two decades of recoveries, rescues, and near-misses—and a career that never stopped saving people, in or out of uniform.

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CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 62

So Others May Live. 🫡🇺🇸

Rescue Swimmer Merchandise https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com Military & First Responders: Use code SARRESCUE10 for 10% off 100% of proceeds support the podcast
📖 Calm in the Chaos — The Book by Brian Dickinson Available at www.briandickinson.net
📩 Booking & Media Inquiries: podcast@briandickinson.net

For more content, subscribe and follow @TheCalmintheChaosPodcast:
Twitter: https://x.com/briancdickinson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandickinson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briancdickinson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briancdickinson

Calm in the Chaos: The Rescue Swimmer Podcast Untold Stories from U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers

#RescueSwimmer #NavyRescueSwimmer #AviationRescueSwimmer #CalmInTheChaos #IraqWar #F18 #CSAR #SearchAndRescue #SAR #NavalAviation #USNavy #NavyVeteran #MilitaryVeteran #FlightDeck #CarrierAviation #DrillInstructor #LawEnforcement #LifeguardInstructor #SoOthersMayLive #MilitaryPodcast #VeteranStories #ResiliencePodcast #ServiceAndSacrifice #BrianDickinson #VeteranPodcast #HonorTheFallen #LeaveNoManBehind