When I first heard of this situation, the news person said that it was too rough for the Coast Guard to respond. I thought at the time this person didn’t serve in the same Coast Guard I proudly served for over 26 years. Sure enough, the next day I read about the rescue. Made me proud.
The former Coast Guarders I know pretty much went when it made no sense. To borrow the "enlarged" line from the movie The Guardian,
"Out of the 39 thousand men and women who make up the United States Coast Guard, there are only 280 rescue swimmers. This is because we are the Coast Guard's elite. We are the best of the best. When storms shut down entire ports, we go out. When hurricanes ground the United States Navy, we go out. And when the Holy Lord himself reaches down from heaven and destroys His good work with winds that rip houses off the ground, we go out."
I have a lot of respect for you guys...and it sounded like you got to have a bit of fun every once in awhile, too.