Honestly, most people probably think an accountant's biggest nightmare is a tax audit or a broken spreadsheet. For Scott Ruskan, that wasn't enough. He was working at KPMG, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms in New York City, and he was basically bored. It wasn't his speed. He wanted something that required more than just sitting behind a desk. So, he did what any rational person who hates spreadsheets does: he joined the military to become an elite rescue swimmer.
Fast forward to July 4, 2025. It’s a holiday for most, but for Scott Ruskan Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class, it was his first day on the job. No, really. His first official mission. And it wasn't some routine boat tow or a stranded jet skier. He found himself dropped into a catastrophic flood zone in the Texas Hill Country, responsible for the lives of nearly 200 terrified children.
Why the Scott Ruskan Coast Guard Story Went Viral
It’s rare to see a rookie make this kind of impact on day one. Usually, you're just trying not to trip over your own fins. But Ruskan ended up being credited with saving 165 people. Most of them were young girls at Camp Mystic, a summer camp that got absolutely hammered when the Guadalupe River rose 20 feet in just two hours.
The weather was so bad that the flight from Corpus Christi, which usually takes an hour, took seven. Imagine sitting in a vibrating helicopter, looking out at a wall of rain and lightning, knowing people are drowning below you, and you can't even get there. That’s how Ruskan’s career started.
When they finally arrived at the camp, the crew made a gutsy call. They decided to leave Ruskan on the ground. This meant the helicopter could fit more evacuees on each trip, but it also meant Ruskan was the only first responder on-site for a huge crowd of traumatized kids.
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The Scene at Camp Mystic
It was "pretty traumatic," as Ruskan later told CBS New York. You've got 200 kids, many in their pajamas, clutching stuffed animals, and totally barefoot. Their feet were getting cut on rocks as the water rose around them. They had lost their shoes, their gear, and in some cases, they didn't know where their friends were.
Ruskan didn't just swim. He became a triage coordinator.
- He organized the campers into groups based on who needed to go first.
- He guided them to two makeshift landing zones—one on an archery field and another on a football field.
- He worked with Army National Guard Blackhawks and MH-65 Dolphins to get them into the air.
He was basically the air traffic controller of a disaster zone. All of this while he had only been a fully qualified rescue swimmer for about six months.
From New Jersey Runner to Texas Hero
Ruskan isn't some lifelong aquatic prodigy. He’s a Jersey guy from Oxford who grew up as a distance runner. He ran cross country and track at Warren Hills High School and later at Rider University. If you look at his stats, he was a 2021 MAAC Outdoor Champion in the 4x800 relay. He has that "grinder" mentality you only get from running miles in the rain.
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He actually enlisted in the Coast Guard while he was still a senior at Rider. In 2020, they held his enlistment ceremony right on the campus mall. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration, specifically accounting, but the siren call of the search and rescue life was too loud to ignore.
The Transition to "Aviation Survival Technician"
In the Coast Guard, rescue swimmers are officially called Aviation Survival Technicians (ASTs). The school is notorious. It's in Petaluma, California, and it has one of the highest attrition rates in the military. You spend months being screamed at while doing pushups in a pool and trying to save "victims" who are actively trying to drown you.
Ruskan survived it. He was stationed at Air Station Corpus Christi. He spent months on call, just waiting. Then the Fourth of July floods hit, and he finally got the call he’d been training for.
The Aftermath and the "Humble Hero" Label
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called him an "American hero" on social media. He was meritoriously promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class because of his actions. But if you listen to his interviews on GMA or Fox & Friends, he sounds like he’s talking about a trip to the grocery store.
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"I’m mostly just a dude," he told the New York Post. He keeps insisting that any other rescue swimmer would have done the same thing. That’s the Coastie way, I guess. They have a motto: "So others may live." It’s not just a bumper sticker for these guys.
Lessons from the Scott Ruskan Rescue
What can we actually learn from what happened in Kerr County? Honestly, it highlights how fast nature can turn. The Guadalupe River isn't always a monster, but when it flashes, it doesn't give you time to pack a bag.
- Training Matters: Ruskan relied on his EMT and rescue swimmer training to stay calm when he was the only professional on the ground.
- Decentralized Command: The crew’s decision to leave him behind was a risk, but it’s what saved the most lives.
- Cross-Agency Work: This wasn't just a Coast Guard show. Ruskan was directing Army and National Guard assets. In a real crisis, the color of your uniform doesn't matter.
If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, the best thing you can do is find the person who looks like they know what they’re doing and follow their lead. At Camp Mystic, that person was a 26-year-old former accountant from New Jersey.
What to Do Next
If you're inspired by this story, don't just read about it. You can check out the official Coast Guard recruitment page to see what the AST path actually looks like—it's not for everyone. More importantly, if you live in a flood-prone area like Central Texas, take a second to review your evacuation plan and maybe keep a "go-bag" with some sturdy shoes. As the kids at Camp Mystic found out, you don't want to be barefoot when the water starts rising.