It is hard to believe, but my Godson is about to graduate high school.  Upon doing so, come the end of the summer, he will be entering the United States Coast Guard (USCG).  It will be, to this point in his life, the culmination of something for which he has prepared since he was a freshman.  In recent years, he has participated in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) Coast Guard program.  Hence, his move into the actual branch of the military is the next logical step.  Though I believe he will be going into a different field than the one in the movie once he completes his basic training, when I see The Guardian (2006), I naturally think of him.  The servicemen and women who protect our shores tend to be thought of in a lesser light than their cousins in the other armed forces, but films like this one paint a different picture.  I pray that he never has to experience the kinds of tests on display in today’s entry.

What kinds of experiences are on display in The Guardian?  Mainly they have to do with the Coast Guard’s elite rescue swimmers.  Stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, Senior Chief Aviation Survival Technician Ben Randall (Kevin Costner), Chief Randall for short, is considered the best of the best.  We meet him as he is doing what he does best, saving people from drowning in the Berring Sea.  He has a reputation for putting in the extra effort to bring victims to safety.  Building that kind of standing comes with costs.  Upon coming home, he is greeted by Helen Randall (Sela Ward), soon to be his ex-wife, who has decided that his dedication to his work is not conducive to a satisfying marriage and is moving out.  To underscore her frustration, as he is trying to talk her out of leaving, he is summoned by the base and forced to return.  It is for another rescue mission, this time for a group of sailors aboard a doomed cargo vessel.  As he is trying to get one of the victims into the basket to be hoisted up to the waiting helicopter, a wave tosses a container onto the rear propeller and takes the aircraft down.  The only other survivor of the crew is his best friend, Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings (Omari Hardwick), though he is badly injured.  Chief Randall manages to get his buddy into a lifeboat dropped for them, but Chief Billings dies before another helicopter can be sent.  Once Chief Randall recovers from his own injuries, he goes to his superior officer, Captain William Hadley (Clancy Brown), assuming that he will return to duty.  Instead, Captain Hadley offers Chief Randall two options: retirement or teaching the next class of rescue swimmers at the Aviation Survival Training (AST) school in Louisiana.  It is not the response Chief Randall had hoped for, but quitting the service is not an option, so he accepts the transfer.  Among the aspirants to join this august unit is Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher).  To highlight his ambitions, one of his first questions pertains to this “Randall” person he sees holding many of the records at the school, and whether this person is still alive.  Of course, Chief Randall is standing in the back of the auditorium, and the outburst demonstrates that the young man is more interested in personal records than team achievement.  From here, the movie slows to a crawl as we watch the daily grind of these classmates attempting one of the most difficult training courses in the armed forces.  It is full of the kinds of scenes you would expect for a film about people preparing to be in the military, just with a lot more swimming and other aquatic related activities.  Throughout most of it, we focus on the interactions between Jake and Chief Randall, while also getting to see some of their own personal struggles.  Chief Randall is going through post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his last time in the Berring Sea.  It leads to some unorthodox regiments for the recruits.  At first, some of this is questioned, but his stellar career silences all criticism.  With Jake, we see him, at first, behave as if he is better than his classmates.  One outcome of his latent cockiness is betting them that he can get the phone number of the prettiest girl in the bar, Emily Thomas (Melissa Sagemiller).  She recognizes immediately that there is a wager involved, but uses it as an opportunity to make a couple bucks by splitting the prize with him and agreeing to meet up later.  Although she wants to keep their interactions casual, it is clear that there is a deeper connection between them.  That connection leads to him being late in getting back to base one morning, and the rivalry between him and Chief Randall coming to a head.  The fact that Chief Randall is hard on Jake causes the junior Airman to miss a date with Emily, Jake instead opting to take a classmate out for drinks at a bar frequented by the Navy.  The inter-military branch rivalry develops into a brawl that gets the two young men arrested.  When Jake and his friend are bailed out, Jake is brought to Chief Randall, and we learn that Jake had lost members of his high school swimming team in a car accident.  Jake has survivor’s guilt, and it is something on which the two can finally relate.  Incarceration, though damaging to his relationship with Emily, also teaches Jake the value of teamwork.  With this lesson finally learned, Chief Randall returns to Kodiak to resume duties.  He is soon joined there by Jake, and they go out on a mission together.  While attempting to get two kayakers out of danger, Chief Randall has a flashback to Chief Billings’ death and freezes, leaving Jake to perform the rescue on his own.  Upon getting back, the near debacle tells Chief Randall it is time to retire.  He also apologizes to Helen.  However, on the evening he is retrieving the last of his things from the base, he is called upon to go out to help Jake, who has become trapped inside a sinking ship.  Chief Randall is able to free Jake, but the cable taking them back to the helicopter begins to fray.  Chief Randall lets himself fall back to the ocean to save Jake, and he is never seen again.  The final scene is of Jake returning to Emily.

That Chief Randall sacrifices himself at the end of The Guardian is the culmination of a lot of satisfying moments for a practicing Catholic.  There are clues that this might happen, such as when we see the rescue swimmers’ motto, “So that others may live.”  What is engrained in them is a selflessness that will get you over the fear of jumping into freezing oceans, flying a helicopter into a hurricane, or any other situation that could lead to your death.  Such an attitude is a Christian one, and the Bible backs this up in several places.  Still, these ideas are not unique to the Coast Guard.  After all, any other soldier risks their life to defend others.  What I like most about the men discussed in this movie is how overlooked they are when compared to other branches of the armed forces.  Chief Randall says it best when talking about the rivalry with the United States Navy (USN) that nobody appreciates the Coast Guard until they are needed.  That could make one bitter and disinclined to help, and yet they put themselves in danger precisely because they are needed.  It speaks to some basic principles about help coming from unexpected places, an idea central to Christianity.  Nobody thought the Savior would come from Nazareth, even though we all know that Jesus was born in the city of David, Bethlehem, because Scripture prophesized that would be where the Messiah would originate.  And despite the backlash against Him, facing betrayal and persecution on the day of His Passion, Jesus died for our sins so that we might have eternal life.  When a rescue swimmer jumps into the ocean to save someone, they might not be thinking of their act from so dramatic a perspective.  Yet, their selfless bravery has a special place in the heart of God.

What I have told you about The Guardian likely makes it sound more exciting than the actual film.  The rescues at the beginning and end are action-packed, but the rest a little difficult to get through.  It has a good message, though, if you can keep your eyes open.