An American hero.
According to a New York Post Report, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan saved 165 people during the catastrophic Texas flood over the weekend.
And it was only his first mission.
Raised in Oxford, NJ, Ruskan enlisted in the US Coast Guard in 2021, and after completing basic training, went to Aviation Survival Technician school in Petaluma, Calif., before being stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, The Post reports.
From The New York Post:
That fateful call came on the Fourth of July as a massive summer rainstorm led to catastrophic flash flooding in the Lone Star State that has so far claimed at least 80 lives.
Bryan Winchell, a helicopter search and rescue technician with Texas Task Force 1 — a joint partnership between the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service — called the Coast Guard looking to get boots on the ground and in the air for an emergency rapid response near central Texas.
“That’s a little bit outside our area of operation normally, but people were in danger, and we’re a good asset to try and help people out, and these guys were asking for help, so that’s kind of what we do,” Ruskan said.
By 7 a.m. Friday, crews loaded into Blackhawk 60 and Coast Guard MH-65 choppers and took to the skies.
It was “literally the best aircrew we could possibly have,” Ruskan said.
…
When the crew arrived, they were racing against sundown to rescue as many stranded flood victims as possible. All roads were impassable, and the currents were too strong for any boats to get in, leaving helicopter evacuation as the only hope for the nearly 200 survivors.
As the crews evaluated the operational logistics, their goal was to move as many people out of harm’s way as possible, but they were bound by the weight limits of the helicopters. During a briefing, they decided to leave Ruskan on the ground to triage the rescue mission.
…
Over the next several hours, Ruskan spearheaded a high-risk rescue mission under the worst possible environmental conditions, which in the end saw 165 brought to safety.
“My main job was triaging, and then my second job I kind of picked up was just trying to comfort these kids and the family members and counselors,” Ruskan said.
“I mean this is like, probably the worst day of their life. They’re in a terrible situation, they have friends and family unaccounted for, missing, unknown status, and they’re looking to me and all the rescuers for guidance and comfort.”
“United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin (Ruskan), directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas. This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted to X.
United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin, directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas.
This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene.
Scott Ruskin is…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) July 6, 2025
Watch the clip below:
"I was trying to be a voice of calm": U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan describes saving 165 people during catastrophic flooding in central Texas — all on the first mission of his career pic.twitter.com/PZZu5aiLLm
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 7, 2025
More over at The New York Post:
New Jersey native on first rescue mission with Coast Guard helps save 165 Texas flood victims: ‘American hero’ https://t.co/XGEBTjK1Y2 pic.twitter.com/WQxcx3XUH9
— New York Post (@nypost) July 6, 2025
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