In One Ear: 'A cool mission'

On Oct. 27, CBS News aired a "60 minutes" 13-minute segment, "U.S. Coast Guard trains elite rescuers in dangerous area called 'Graveyard of the Pacific,'" filmed at the Columbia River Bar, about training surfmen.

This elite group of Coast Guardsmen perform search and rescue operations in heavy seas, high winds and often freezing weather, under some of the most adverse sea conditions possible.

The segment, filmed in February, featured Chief Eric Ceallaigh who was, at the time, chief instructor at the Coast Guard's National Motor Lifeboat School in Ilwaco, Washington.

It was the trainees' first day out in tall and unruly waves on the bar, where rollovers can happen. Fortunately, the boats used in that environment pop back upright in about 12 seconds.

"We expose them to a tremendous amount of surf conditions over four weeks," Chief Ceallaigh explained. "More so than they'd get over years out in their own unit."

"The reason why we all want to be here is that dream to save a life," surfmen trainee Trenton Campbell said. "I think there's no better feeling than that. We're training for the opportunity to save a human life. It's all the motivation you need."

By the way, there's also a "60 Minutes Overtime" segment, "How 60 Minutes reported from the 'Graveyard of the Pacific,'" if you're not too soggy yet. (Screenshot: CBS News/60 Minutes)