In the 20th century, the Rehoboth Beach Patrol under Capt. Walsh achieved advanced USLA certification and eligibility to be part of the Delaware United Open Water Lifesaving Program which cooperated with the Aviation Division of the Delaware State Police, the marine police, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, et al. This program both provided and required of its participants emergency medical training conducted by the Delaware State Police Aviation Division.
In short, USSG C.E. Koop was set to recognize the RBP, and in 2005, USSG Richard Henry Carmona flew to Dewey from Andrews Air Force Base and proclaimed that the program was the best thing he'd seen in his four-and-a-half years in office. Surgeon General Carmona himself was an open-water lifeguard in New York, a medic in Vietnam, a police chief in the U.S., and one of the nation’s top doctors. Clearly he knew and recognized superior training, and saw it in Mid-Atlantic lifeguards. The RBP was often runner-up in USLA competitions. This summer, with training from Derek Shockro, a veteran of the Coveleski/Walsh era, the Sussex County Lifesaving Association dominated the national competition.
Congratulations to the RBP for its part in this endeavor.
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