The basic National Motor Lifeboat School (NMLBS) headquartered at Cape Disappointment on the Columbia River in Washington, sometimes in collaboration with the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, is a grueling four-week program to earn the coveted Surfman badge in the US Coast Guard. Training is provided in four possible ascending stages: 47' MLB Introduction47' MLB Heavy Weather Coxswain47' MLB Surfman47' MLB Operations Supervisor "Metal clinked on metal as three small groups of US Coast Guard...