The Guardian is a 2006 film starring Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Melissa Sagemiller that was released on September 29, 2006. The film was directed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive. The setting for the film is the United States Coast Guard and their Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program.

Plot

The plot follows Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) and Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) Program. Ben Randall is the top rescue swimmer who continues to work against regulation past the age of 40. Jake Fischer is a hot-shot candidate for AST who was ranked as a top competitive swimmer in high school with scholarships to every Ivy league college and university, but opted to enlist in the Coast Guard instead in hopes of becoming an AST. The movie title is introduced by a mythic tale: People lost at sea often claim they feel a presence lifting them to the surface, breathing life into their bodies while they are waiting for help to arrive. They call this presence "The Guardian."

Ben, who has been juggling his home life and work as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, is confronted by his wife asking for a separation due to his frequent time at work. During the argument, he receives a page for an immediate rescue. Out at sea, he loses his rescue team in an HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter mishap, and while waiting in a survival raft, his best friend, Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings, dies due to injury, cold, and shock. Additionally, Ben had placed a victim into the helicopter's rescue basket who was abruptly pulled under with the sinking helicopter and was never seen again. Shaken, he is forced to either retire or to teach at a Coast Guard training school to recompose in which he reluctantly chooses the latter. Here, Jake arrives as a hopeful AST candidate at the academy. Ben is considered a legend with a countless number of saves.