One interesting note is that almost no civilian SAR units have ever won awards for daring rescues (ie Maisie Lewis award, GAPAN awards etc) it has always been the military who seem to have gone out in the most diabolical of conditions.
Civilian SAR crews are out in the same conditions, unfortunatley for them they are not backed up by a ruthlessly professional
PR dept. - especially the RAF. If the Coastguard
PR was any where near as good as the Military's, the clanking of medals would be just as loud at Coastguard bases.