An Air Station Sitka helicopter trains over Gastineau Channel in Juneau in 2008. (Coast Guard News photo)

An Air Station Sitka helicopter trains over Gastineau Channel in Juneau in 2008. (Coast Guard News photo)

Downloadable audio.

Air Station Sitka’s commanding officer Mark Vislay says the number one safety tool for anyone heading out onto the water is communication. “We can’t find you if no one knows you’re missing,” he says. A pilot, Vislay describes flying in Southeast Alaska compared to some of his other assignments. With KCAW’s Robert Woolsey.