A helicopter rescue onboard a tanker in rough Alaskan seas; a race to reach a victim who fell off a 200-foot cliff; a rescue endeavor after a bush-plane crash a few miles from base.

The series opener examines life for Coast Guard men and women at Air Station Kodiak, where they police the area, perform rescues, protect the environment and oversee safety of marine transportation.

Helicopter rescue crews encounter rough weather that threatens operations.

The captain races to the North Pole; two helicopter rescue crews go on a mission to save injured fishermen; an aerial search is launched for a missing person in the North Pacific.

At Station Ketchikan, a local man requires help from the boat crew; at Sitka, a helicopter-rescue team battles powerful winds to get to a vessel in trouble; back in Kodiak, there's an unknown distress call in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, a young AST struggles to make the grade.

The team races to Sitka, where a hunter's been shot in the back; two men in Kodiak abandon a sinking boat; guardsmen load a sleigh with holiday cheer and visit remote Alaskan villages.

Rough seas are battled to reach a small boat; a surfer who sought shelter from the waves must be hoisted off a 200-foot cliff.

The second season of Coast Guard Alaska kicks off with an epic story. On the night of January 24, 2012, Air Station Kodiak is hit by a pair of daunting rescue missions. When two distressed fishing vessels call for help, the Guardsmen muster all of their resources on the ground and in the air as they battle hurricane-force winds and bitter, subzero temperatures to rescue 11 passengers whose lives are on the line.

Episode 2 of Coast Guard Alaska shows the unique heroism of the men and women who respond to medevacs along the remote corners of Southeast Alaska-- where the Guardsmen are often the first and only option for safe passage. Among those they must rescue are a man who suffers a heart attack, a woman who goes into labor, and an injured hunter who makes a desperate call for help after spending a bone-chilling night in the Alaskan wilderness.

The Guardsmen race to the scene when a damaged vessel goes drifting across the tumultuous Bering Sea, an injured man needs to be hoisted off a freighter, and three hunters go stranded in the woods near Sitka. Back in Kodiak, rescue swimmers are embedded in the forest for a "survival school" that teaches them the most important lesson of all--how to stay alive in the treacherous Alaskan landscape.

Coast Guard Alaska takes to the skies and the seas on dramatic missions where not everything goes according to plan--and where the rescuers become the rescued. The helicopter crew is faced with a tough decision when one of their own calls for help, and on the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley, a small boat team faces a serious situation when they attempt to board a fishing vessel in the turbulent waters of the Bering Sea.

In Alaska, while the seasons change, the dangers remain the same. The Coast Guard launches to a remote Alaskan village when an infant's life hangs in the balance. An injured woman aboard a fishing vessel must be airlifted to safety. And when a Coast Guard crewman is hurt in the line of duty, Air Station Kodiak takes the call to save one of their own.

Coast Guard rescuers at Air Station Sitka race to save a fisherman struggling with deadly seizures, and to the scene of an accident when a man is pinned under a truck. And when a teenager goes missing in the woods, it's up to the Coast Guard to bring her home before time runs out.

Rescue missions in Cordova, Sitka and Kodiak tell the compelling stories of a fisherman whose life hangs in the balance, four hunters whose skiff goes lost at sea, and a crucial medevac for a woman facing agonizing pain.

Air Station Kodiak launches on varied rescue missions including medevacs for a heart attack victim and a violently injured fisherman.

The Coast Guard faces off against gale force winds, relentless waves and dizzying heights to rescue the crew of a battered fishing vessel, an injured hiker, and a pair of ailing patients in Kodiak.

Air Station Kodiak launches on varied rescue missions including medevacs for a heart attack victim and a violently injured fisherman. And when a damaged ship begins taking on water in the Bering Sea, the Coast Guard comes to their aid.

Air Station Sitka rushes to the aid of both an unconscious woman on a cruise ship and a small child suffering from seizures. And when a vessel is in danger of going under, the guardsmen answer their call for help.

In Sitka, an epic mission sets off when multiple air crews scour the seas for two missing fishermen.

In Sitka, the Coast Guard drops to a commercial cruise ship to medevac a critically ill patient.

As the commander of Air Station Kodiak retires, the Cost Guard ramps up on dramatic SAR cases including a flight to pick up a fisherman gone overboard and a medevac for a badly injured veteran. And when a colossal oil rig goes rogue with eighteen souls trapped aboard, the Guardsmen take on a daring rescue mission.

The men and women of Air Station Sitka take on three perilous missions including an intense medevac for a heart attack victim on the brink of death, a risky hoist down to a fishing vessel taking on water, and a nighttime search along the frigid coastline for a fisherman lost ashore.

Wild turbulence, freezing temperatures and extreme heights are some of the obstacles facing the Coast Guard in Kodiak as they come to the rescue of a patient in a remote town, a boater stranded on a freezing beach and a hunter trapped in the mountains.

Air Station Sitka responds to a call to medevac a man suffering from internal bleeding. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard in Kodiak gear up to rescue kayakers stranded in the ice, a man with several broken ribs, and the severely beleaguered crew of an overdue fishing vessel.

A sailboat loses its engines in rough seas;a sick child in a remote Alaskan village; a man in grave condition aboard a charter vessel.