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

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.

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

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.

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

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

A last-minute decision to re-enlist and go home to get married kept Bryan Huggett off the USS Stark—just months before it was struck by two Iraqi Exocet missiles.

In this episode of Calm in the Chaos, Bryan shares 20 years of service split between the U.S. Navy and the Michigan Army National Guard: flying tanker escorts through Persian Gulf minefields during the Iran-Iraq War, rescuing a flipped Zodiac while sharks circled below, and later trading Navy wings for a decade as a Huey crew chief fighting wildfires and training Navy SEALs for Afghanistan.

In this episode:
The twist of fate that kept him off the USS Stark before it was hit by two Exocet missiles
Flying tanker escort missions through Persian Gulf minefields during the Iran-Iraq War
The night the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine—and locking and loading on one of his own
Rescuing a flipped Zodiac in the Atlantic, circled by sharks
Trading Navy wings for a decade as a Huey crew chief in the Michigan Army National Guard
Training Navy SEAL Team 1 ahead of their deployment into Afghanistan

Two branches, two decades, and one calm head no matter what got thrown at him.

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

CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST — Episode 61

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 #USSStark #PersianGulf #IranIraqWar #USSSamuelBRoberts #NavalAviation #USNavy #NavyVeteran #MilitaryVeteran #MichiganNationalGuard #ArmyNationalGuard #HueyCrewChief #SearchAndRescue #SAR #SEALTeam #NeverForget #SoOthersMayLive #MilitaryPodcast #VeteranStories #ResiliencePodcast #ServiceAndSacrifice #BrianDickinson #VeteranPodcast #HonorTheFallen

Collin Koss built a remarkable Navy career as a Rescue Swimmer, performing multiple rescues at sea before witnessing one of the most harrowing moments imaginable — an F/A-18 ejection that struck the back of the carrier. Later, Collin made the jump to officer, leading from the front and shaping the next generation of sailors. Now, with retirement on the horizon, he reflects on a career of service, sacrifice, and lessons that will last a lifetime.

In this episode, Collin shares the highs and lows of his journey — from rescues in the fleet to the burden of command — and the perspective that only comes with decades in uniform.

CALM IN THE CHAOS PODCAST Episode 43

So Others May Live! 🫡🇺🇸

Keep Calm in the Chaos Merch
(Link in bio or https://shop.calminthechaospodcast.com)
Military and First Responders get 10% discount with code: SARRESCUE10 applied at checkout
100% of proceeds go to support the podcast!

#NavyRescueSwimmer #USNavy #HelicopterRescue #CombatRescue #MilitaryPodcast #NavalAviation #CarrierLife #F18 #RescueSwimmer #MilitaryLife #VeteranStories #SearchAndRescue #AviationPodcast #MilitaryHistory