Biography
Tyler J. Jaggers was an internationally recognized master waterman competing in Hong Kong, Australia and inter-island surf and canoe races across the Pacific, a University of Hawaii graduate with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources management, and a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) employed as a California Lifeguard and paramedic at Sea World San Diego during COVID, before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
Tyler has saved or impacted the lives of hundreds of people over his short career. Jaggers joined the USCG in January 2022, completing basic training at USCG Training Center (TRACEN) Cape May, New Jersey.
While waiting to attend rescue swimmer school, Tyler served as an EMT in the USCG Fire Department on Cape May, a volunteer to the Cape May Beach Patrol, and later deployed to the USCG Cutter Legare where he received a Valor Award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary for a successful rescue in the Caribbean Sea.
After the Legare, Tyler attended the elite rescue swimmer school in Petaluma California, graduating at the top of his class in the Spring of 2024 before being stationed at Air Station Astoria, Oregon as a certified Aviation Survival Technician (AST). There, Tyler performed multiple rescue operations, mentored new rescue swimmers through the rigorous USCG Advanced Helicopter Rescue Swimmer School (AHRSS), and mentored civil fire and police first responders in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
In the spring of 2026, Tyler was part of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria, called to a medical emergency aboard the commercial motor vessel Momi Arrow located approximately 120 nautical miles west of Cape Flattery, Washington. During the rescue attempt of a stroke victim on February 27 2026, Tyler suffered critical injuries and was transported to Victoria General Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, then moved to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington where he succumbed to his injuries on March 5 2026. During a ceremony at his bedside, surrounded by his family, fiancée, and fellow crew members, the USCG Commandant recognized Jaggers’ remarkable courage with award of the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the Nation’s highest awards for acts of heroism during aerial flight.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, the Jaggers’ Family created the private 501(c)(3) non-profit Tyler Jaggers Foundation to; preserve Jaggers’ legacy, inspire new and existing active-duty swimmers, recognize the sacrifices of other first responders like Jaggers, and advocate for safer rescue swimmer programs in the future.