The Real ResQ Podcast

In this episode of The Real ResQ Podcast, host Jason Quinn sits down with Greg Hudson, a Canadian Armed Forces Search and Rescue Technician (SAR Tech), to talk about his journey into one of the most unique rescue jobs in the world.
After nearly a decade in the Army, Hudson discovered the SAR Tech world, completed selection and training, and began a career that would have him parachuting from airplanes, hoisting from helicopters, providing advanced medical care, and operating everywhere from the Canadian wilderness to the North Atlantic.
Hudson shares stories from his time at 413 Squadron in Greenwood, 424 Squadron in Trenton, and 103 Squadron in Gander—including his first rescue from a cruise ship, searches for downed aircraft, missions to fishing vessels, and the realities of operating in some of Canada's most remote environments.
The centerpiece of the episode is the rescue of the MSC Baltic III. With the vessel disabled and drifting toward shore in brutal conditions, Hudson and the crew launched to find 20 people onboard, several injured. Hudson takes us onto the ice-covered deck, inside the damaged ship, and through the triage and hoisting operation as the crew worked to get everyone off safely.
There are plenty of laughs along the way, too—including a rescue mission to a fishing boat trapped in the ice whose crew needed food, water…and was very concerned that the SAR Techs not forget the cigarettes.
Throughout the conversation, Hudson emphasizes the value of sharing experiences—the good decisions, the mistakes, and the lessons learned—so the next rescuer can approach the job a little better prepared.
From parachutes and hoists to medicine, teamwork, and life aboard a rescue squadron, this episode is an awesome look inside the world of a Canadian SAR Tech.
Enjoy!
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In this episode of The Real ResQ Podcast, host Jason Quinn sits down with Mathew Neri, Royal Canadian Air Force search and rescue pilot and as of this recording, the Commanding Officer of 103 Search and Rescue Squadron in Gander, Newfoundland.
Neri takes us inside the world of Canadian search and rescue, where missions can stretch hundreds of miles offshore or deep into the remote Arctic. Flying the massive CH-149 Cormorant, his crews routinely battle fog, icing, high winds, limited fuel options, and some of the most isolated terrain on the planet.
He shares the story of his first major mission as an aircraft commander—a helicopter crash hundreds of miles north in the Canadian Arctic—and the uncertainty of being a relatively new commander suddenly responsible for taking a crew into an environment he had never operated in before.
Neri also walks through a challenging long-range medevac from a cargo ship off the Labrador coast. With no visible horizon and the ship rolling beneath the helicopter, the crew had to rethink their plan while one of the SARTechs nearly slid across the wet deck toward the edge during the hoist. They ultimately completed the rescue and got the patient safely to the hospital.
Along the way, Neri explains how Canadian SAR crews operate, the intense training behind the SARTech community, Arctic survival training in temperatures reaching extreme lows, and the enormous amount of planning and decision-making required when the nearest fuel or rescue resource may be hours away.
The conversation is filled with great rescue stories, humor, lessons learned, and an important reminder from Neri: sometimes the most important decision a rescue crew can make is knowing when to say no.
From the North Atlantic to the Canadian Arctic, this episode offers an incredible look inside one of the most unique search and rescue environments in the world.
Enjoy!
Matt Neri YouTube: www.youtube.com/@mattfrom103
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In this episode of The Real ResQ Podcast, host Jason Quinn sits down with retired U.S. Coast Guard aviator Richard “Dick” Wright for an incredible look at a career spanning military aviation, combat, search and rescue, and the development of the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Program.
Wright’s journey took him through the Navy, Marine Corps, Army flight school, combat operations in Vietnam, the U.S. Coast Guard, and an exchange tour flying search and rescue with the Royal Air Force in Scotland.
One of the most powerful stories comes from Vietnam, where Wright’s Huey was hit by enemy fire, lost its engine, and crashed into a river. Trapped underwater for nearly three minutes, he ultimately escaped—but the loss of a fellow serviceman during that mission would stay with him for the rest of his life. 
After transitioning to the Coast Guard, Wright flew demanding SAR missions from New Orleans to Alaska, supported the 1980 Cuban refugee boatlift, and gained experience in some of the most challenging rescue environments imaginable. 
Later, at Coast Guard Headquarters, Wright played an important role in expanding the Rescue Swimmer Program beyond open-ocean rescue, helping develop capabilities for cliff, cave, ice, and direct-deployment operations, while also contributing to concepts that helped shape advanced rescue swimmer training. 
Throughout the conversation, Wright shares the rescues, losses, lessons, and people that shaped his career and helped influence the future of Coast Guard aviation search and rescue.
It’s a remarkable conversation with a man who simply calls himself “a pilot,” but whose impact reached far beyond the cockpit.
Enjoy!
Beyond the Podcast: Additional Chapters from Dick Wright’s Career
Following our conversation, Dick Wright shared several additional pieces of his remarkable military and Coast Guard career that we did not have an opportunity to explore during the podcast.
From the Navy to the Marine Corps
During the episode, we mentioned that Dick served in the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard—but we did not explain the circumstances that led him from one service to the next.
After being discharged from the United States Naval Academy, Dick was placed in the Naval Reserve because he still owed the Navy a service commitment. In 1968, as the Vietnam War continued, he requested to be recalled to active duty and assigned to the Navy’s Swift Boats operating in Vietnam.
The Navy denied his request.
Still determined to serve on active duty, Dick began exploring opportunities with the United States Marine Corps. That decision marked the beginning of the next chapter of his military career and ultimately became part of the extraordinary journey that would take him through three different branches of the United States Armed Forces.
Leading a Caribbean Drug-Interdiction Operation
Another important chapter occurred in 1989 while Dick was stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City.
His commanding officer, Commander Mike McCormack, nominated him for a special drug-interdiction assignment. Rear Admiral Pennington, Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, personally selected Dick to serve as the officer in charge of an operation based in Curaçao in the Caribbean.
Dick led the operation from a Dutch naval air station, directing a pair of E-2C fixed-wing aircraft supporting counter-narcotics missions in the region.
When he arrived, relations between the Coast Guard detachment and the Dutch military command were strained. Dick’s predecessor had reportedly treated the air station as though the Coast Guard controlled it, nearly causing Dutch officials to withdraw permission for continued Coast Guard operations.
Dick was uniquely equipped to repair that relationship. He had previously lived in Holland, spoke Dutch, and understood Dutch culture. His family also had a meaningful connection to the country: Dick’s father had been knighted by Queen Juliana as a Knight Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
Through diplomacy, respect, and his ability to communicate directly with the Dutch command, Dick rebuilt the relationship between the two organizations. The improvement was so significant that Dutch military leaders formally commended his team to the Coast Guard command in Miami responsible for overseeing the operation.
Under Dick’s leadership, the deployment became the most successful operation of its kind in several years.
Although this part of his career was not directly connected to search and rescue, it reveals another side of Dick’s service: his ability to lead complex operations, build international partnerships, and step into a difficult situation where success depended as much on trust and diplomacy as it did on operational expertise.
A Memorable Medevac from the SS Rotterdam
During the interview, Dick also recalled one particularly memorable—and surprisingly enjoyable—search-and-rescue mission: the medevac of an 84-year-old woman who had broken her leg aboard the SS Rotterdam in Glacier Bay, Alaska.
Shortly after our conversation, Dick’s wife asked him to retrieve an old scrapbook from their years in Sitka. Inside, she discovered a newspaper article documenting that very rescue. After all those years, the story Dick remembered so clearly was still preserved among the family’s photographs and newspaper clippings.
Dick can be seen in the accompanying photograph, standing in the rear on the right—back when, as he jokingly noted, he still had “a head full of brown hair.”
Of all the missions Dick flew throughout his career, it may seem surprising that this particular case remained so vivid. Not every memorable rescue is remembered because it was the most dangerous or dramatic. Sometimes it is the people, the circumstances, the teamwork, or simply the feeling of a successful day that stays with a rescuer for the rest of his life.
These additional stories help complete the portrait of Dick Wright’s career: a career shaped by determination, military service, aviation, international leadership, diplomacy, and a lifetime of answering the call when others needed help.
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Switlik https://switlik.com/
We also have some amazing companies supporting The Real ResQ. These brands offer you exclusive discounts when you use our code, and when you do, you’re helping to support the show. To check out the full list of these supportive brands and the deals they offer, head over to TheRealResQ.com.
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In this episode of The Real ResQ Podcast, Jason Quinn sits down with Brad Newbury and his daughter, Kiera Newbury, to talk about rescue, emergency medicine, CPR, and the lasting impact of saving a life.
Brad brings more than four decades of experience in fire and EMS, while Kiera grew up around emergency medicine, became CPR certified at eight years old, later earned her EMT certification, and worked in a Level I trauma center in Boston. Together, they co-authored The Saved Effect, a book focused on what happens after the rescue is over. 
Our conversation explores powerful stories of cardiac arrest and drowning survivors who went on to live for years and even decades after being saved. One survivor lived another 27 years, long enough to walk both daughters down the aisle, help raise grandchildren, and meet great-grandchildren. 
Brad and Kiera also discuss the importance of bystander CPR, the emotional side of rescue work, and why first responders rarely get to see the full impact of the lives they help save. The episode is a reminder that the rescue may end when the patient is handed off, but the story often continues for years afterward. 
For rescuers, healthcare professionals, and everyday people alike, the message is simple: “learn CPR, be prepared, and be willing to step forward when someone needs you.”
Enjoy.
Get the book, The Saved Effect https://thesavedeffect.com/
Thank you for sponsoring this episode of The Real ResQ: 
READYBAR https://getreadybar.com/
Switlik https://switlik.com/
We also have some amazing companies supporting The Real ResQ. These brands offer you exclusive discounts when you use our code, and when you do, you’re helping to support the show. To check out the full list of these supportive brands and the deals they offer, head over to TheRealResQ.com.
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In this special finale of The Real ResQ Podcast's six-part series, "What It Takes to Become a Hoist Operator," host Jason Quinn sits down with three men who helped shape his own career in helicopter rescue: Dan Cancetty, Pat Barber, and Joe Martin. Together, they bring decades of experience spanning military, civilian, offshore, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, and international helicopter operations.
Unlike the previous episodes that focused on specific agencies and organizations, this conversation takes a broader look at the profession itself. Drawing from careers that have taken them around the world, the group discusses the many different paths that can lead to the cabin door—from the U.S. Coast Guard and military aviation to fire departments, EMS, law enforcement aviation units, utility helicopter operations, and civilian rescue programs.
The guests share their own stories of how they became hoist operators, including flood rescues in Honduras, Coast Guard search and rescue missions in Alaska, offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico, international training programs, and countless real-world rescues performed under some of the most demanding conditions imaginable. Along the way, they reflect on the mentors who shaped them, the lessons learned from mistakes, and the importance of remaining a student no matter how much experience you accumulate.
The conversation dives deep into what aspiring hoist operators can do to prepare themselves for the profession. Topics include medical training, rope rescue, firefighting, law enforcement aviation, cross-training opportunities, aircraft knowledge, emergency procedures, crew resource management, and the mindset required to safely operate in high-risk environments. The group emphasizes that while there is no single roadmap to becoming a hoist operator, the common traits among successful operators remain the same: humility, professionalism, curiosity, discipline, and a commitment to continuous learning.
Listeners will also hear stories from years spent teaching hoist operations around the world, working with agencies ranging from sheriff's departments and DEA aviation units to military organizations and international rescue programs. The discussion highlights how different organizations may approach the job differently, but the core principles of safety, communication, teamwork, and service remain universal.
Whether you're already flying, working in public safety, considering a career in rescue aviation, or simply fascinated by the world of helicopter rescue, this episode offers invaluable insight from four professionals who have collectively spent decades learning, teaching, and refining the craft.
More than anything, this episode serves as a reminder that becoming a hoist operator isn't about mastering a checklist—it's about committing yourself to a lifetime of learning, responsibility, and service to others.
Enjoy!
Thank you for sponsoring this episode of The Real ResQ: 
READYBAR https://getreadybar.com/
We also have some amazing companies supporting The Real ResQ. These brands offer you exclusive discounts when you use our code, and when you do, you’re helping to support the show. To check out the full list of these supportive brands and the deals they offer, head over to TheRealResQ.com.
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