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Woman becomes first female to earn seat at Coast Guard’s rescue swimming school through Annex X program

Posted at 11:27 AM, Feb 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-02 22:20:22-05

Seaman Meredith Sieller (pictured left along with her recruiter Petty Officer 1st Class Ashley Coker) will become the first woman to go through rescue swimming school for the Coast Guard. Photo provided by the Coast Guard.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – The Coast Guard will have a woman go through rescue swimming school for the first time through the assistance of the Annex X program.

Seamen Meredith Sieller became the first woman to be guaranteed a seat at the school through the Annex X program, which helps identify Coast Guard recruits who demonstrate exceptional potential to become a rescue swimmer, according to the Coast Guard.

Rescue swimmers, or Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technicians, train to become rescue swimmers at the Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Sieller will first have to make it through the next phase of her training in Kodiak, Alaska, before being eligible to go to the Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City.

The Coast Guards says that rescue swimmers are the most physical and mentally elite members of the military, and are known for their endurance and judgement under pressure in life and death situations.