Fins in the water

Government Security News: “I took the injured woman first,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Evan Thigpen, an aviation survival technician (AST) at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City (ASEC), North Carolina. “We were doing fast-basket recoveries to the helicopter, but I had drifted 40 yards from the vessel. After each hoist I had to swim this distance, if not further. I had the second survivor carry the small dog - again an easy hoist, but long swim back. The last survivor held a cat in its carrier while I towed him. Upon entering the water from the sailing vessel I immediately lost my left fin and couldn't recover it.”

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