U.S. Coast Guard members attending the Aids to Navigation (ATON) "C" School train for suspended rescues on a climbing structure June 5, 2025 as part of the ATON Structure Climber Course, at USCG Training Center Yorktown. These are one form of trained rescues where the rescuer and the person being rescued are connected to each other and both are lowered to safety by the rescuer. The ATON Structure Climber Course is one week long and provides comprehensive fall protection training for ATON professional. Training consists of classroom lectures and laboratories covering fall protection equipment/systems, pre-climb planning, climbing mechanics, policy and performance qualification standards (PQS). Students, under supervision of qualified instructors will perform a pre-climb structure inspection, inspect fall protection equipment, ascend/descend on a structure, maneuver at height, perform self rescues, assisted rescues and suspended rescues, perform post climb debrief. This course is a prerequisite requirement for the ATON Structure Climber Rescue Competency (ATNSCR). (U.S. Coast Guard video by Bryan Myhr)
