Andrew Worth - When I was in training in
Advanced Rescue Swimmer School I got myself
in a predicament. I ended up drifting into an
area called the klats of spit. And I ended up
getting involved in some pretty big waves.
I never thought I could survive something like that,
but that's the purpose of this training though.
It's to teach you how to get through situations
like that. And it was an incredible experience
and I'm here today.
Megan Justesen - On my last deployment I got the
opportunity to go into the Philippines and help out
the surgical team. It was pouring rain. We had to
hike over a mountain, sliding in mud, carrying
all these medical supplies. And we got to this
village and these people are the most amazing,
generous people I've ever met in my life.
And I had the opportunity to go in there and -
and provide to them the basic
medical care that they needed.
I am Petty Officer First Class Andrew Worth.
I am Petty Officer First Class Megan Justesen.
Andrew and Megan - And I save lives for a living.
Megan Justesen - Our job is - it really is very diverse.
Andrew Worth - You're going in the zone, picking up
survivors that have been shot down, take them out
of the hostile territory and bring them back home.
Megan Justesen - Whether it's a pilot that crashed
and you have to go pick him out of the water or
somebody who got hurt on the boat and has to be
taken to a hospital.
Andrew Worth - Going into the cliffs of Washington
and, repelling 100 feet down through a small, little crack
again, to a survivor.
Megan Justesen - It's never a dull moment.
One day I'm delivering milk and the next day
I'm jumping in freezing cold water saving somebody's
life. You never know what you're going to get.
Andrew Worth - If you want to be a firefighter,
we do that. If you want to be, you know, EMT,
we are EMTs. So you pretty much are working as a
paramedic, in a sense, under the military guidelines.
Megan Justesen - I have a really strong family and
they always support you in everything that you do.
My brother was in the Army. He came back from boot
camp just 180 out from what he was when he left.
He was just the most professional, fun person and
he had just grown up so much. And so that really
encouraged me to go into the military.
Andrew Worth - From a young child growing up I
wanted to serve my country. And it all started with my
grandfather who served in the United States Navy.
I saw the old pictures with the hats tilted
sideways and it just motivated me.
Megan Justesen - It's a lot of physical training,
swimming, running, and then once you graduate
Air Crew School you go on to Rescue Swimmer School.
It's definitely tough. They want you to be the best.
And they want to make sure that they're sending the
best rescue swimmers out to the fleet.
Andrew Worth - Our attrition rate is very high -
it's 22 percent actually make it through it, which
is a challenge. And, it makes sense. It's incredibly
mentally and physically challenging. We train in
the worst conditions; in the case that we try to
set up the scenarios that you may eventually get
to later on. By the time you actually get to the
fleet, you can pretty much handle any circumstance
you may get yourself into. And by far just the training
alone you're probably going to be more extreme
conditions while you're training than you ever ever
get to in the real world.
Megan Justesen - If you go into a rescue in a storm
and you're not paying attention to the little things,
it could ultimately be somebody's life. If I'm not
doing my job, if I'm not being the best that I could be,
that could cost somebody else to fail.
Andrew Worth - Megan and I worked together a couple
years ago. Basically, finding terrorists and searching
for them and ensuring that they don't go from island to
another island. If they did, we were going to
catch them and grab them.
Megan Justesen - Everybody knew their role.
Everybody pulled together.
Andrew Worth - And the people and the mentality of the
people I work with are incredible. You know they're
ready for the mission and you know they're going
to be there when the time is needed.
Megan Justesen - If somebody needs your help,
you're the one that they're going to call.
You are the one who is going to go out and -
and save them ultimately. You are their lifeline.
I absolutely love my job. I have thought about putting
in an officer package for quite a while now, but I
love my - my job too much. I'm not ready to move on.
Andrew Worth - I truly believe that it's the best
job in the Navy. Helping people, saving lives,
seeing the smiles on their faces, realizing that they
really appreciate what you did for them. It's amazing.
I really could be an officer here shortly but as a
rescue swimmer you can't be an officer doing it and
it's really awkward for me because I don't know
if I can leave this job.
Megan Justesen - Being in the air rescue community
there aren't a lot of females. I am the second highest
ranking female rescue swimmer in the Navy.
I do have the opportunity to be the first female chief
in the Navy as a rescue swimmer.
Andrew Worth - The Navy has helped me achieve so much.
I really didn't know what I was going to do when I got
out of high school. Tuition Assistance has paid
100 percent of my college. It's amazing how much
the Navy supports you making sure you get your
education 'cause it's helping them. They want
smart people. And they give you every opportunity
in the world to get your school done.
Megan Justesen - The Navy is there to help you
succeed and they - they don't want you to fail
and they will give you everything that you
need to reach your goals.
Andrew Worth - You have to prepare. You need to run.
You need to swim. You need to be a committed
individual. You need to be one of those people that
strive to be the best you can be and want to do the best.
If you work hard, you don't quit, you'll make it.
Megan Justesen - The Navy is a family. It's a family
that will take care of you.
Andrew Worth - I think back of all the things it's
done for me. It's a great opportunity.
The things you learn are impeccable,
you're not going to get anywhere else.
I am Petty Officer First Class Megan Justesen
and I am an aviation rescue swimmer.
I am Petty Officer First Class Andrew Worth.
And I am an aviation rescue swimmer.