Wearing the orange

This is why, when I was in, many of the best and brightest from across the CF tried to get into Search and Rescue: for the longest time, it was the pointiest end we had.

"It's like jumping into nothing, blackness," said Cooper. "It's also quite nerve-racking." Given the howling winds over the bay, the SARTECs had to jump out of the Hercules over open water so they could drift on to the massive ice floe where Wolki was pinned.

"If there was even the smallest malfunction or problem, we'd be in big trouble," said Guay. "It would have made us casualties for sure."

The SARTECs landed on the floe, within 100 metres of their target. Guay said they quickly made camp, aided by continuing flare cover from the Hercules, and then bedded down for the night. The three spent Friday night and all day Saturday on the ice floe before being rescued by the Cormorant helicopter very early Sunday morning, nearly a full day after dropping on to the ice floe.

BZ to the boys in orange, some of the toughest and bravest SOB's I've ever met, and to these two from 435 Squadron in particular for risking their lives to rescue a man who, without them, would have died on the ice.