Do PJS go through SERE?

Air Force Basic Survival School: Fairchild AFB, Washington This is a 3-week course that teaches Pararescuemen how to survive in all different types of climates. The training includes remote area survival techniques using minimal equipment. It also includes advanced SERE (survive, evade, resist, and escape) training.

operationmilitarykids.org - Air Force Pararescue (PJ's): 2022 Career Detail - Operation Military Kids

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Promotion

Do you have what it takes to become an Air Force Pararescueman?

If you think you do, then you will have to live up to their motto, “That Others May Live.” These dedicated Air Force Combat Medics are willing to lay it all on the line to help their military brethren and others that have found themselves in harm’s way. Air Force tactical rescue and recovery specialists think nothing of going behind enemy lines during wartime to rescue an aviator that has ejected from an aircraft, or braving a hurricane in peacetime to help rescue those that have been caught in its path.

Those that wear it become part of a select brotherhood.

The Pararescue brotherhood is respected highly by not only other Air Force members, but also by other military branches and those in the civilian community as well.

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Brief History of PJ’s

In 1943, some 21 soldiers were forced to bail out of the disabled C-46 transport aircraft that they were traveling in. The area where these troops bailed out was in a super-remote jungle near the China-Burmese border. There was no way for the Army to get to these men and help the injured in a timely manner because of that extremely remote location. This meant the only way to get these men the attention they badly needed was by parachute drop. Army Lieutenant Colonel Don Fleckinger and two Army Corpsman volunteered for the task.

That makes it older than the Air Force itself (established 1947).

Since that time, “PJs,” “Maroon Berets,” or “Rescue Rangers” as they have been affectionately been called over the years, have been responsible for saving thousands of downed aircrew and soldiers’ lives. PJ’s are also by far the most decorated enlisted airman of all time.

USAF Pararescue Perquisites and Qualifications

To become an Air Force Pararescueman (PJ) one has to be both physically and mentally fit to serve. Even the prerequisites and other qualifications to enter into the Pararescue pipeline are demanding.

They consist of:

Must be between the ages of 17 and 39

Be a High School graduate or have a GED

Have normal color vision and depth perception

Have best eye vision of 20/70 or better, correctable to 20/20

Achieve a minimum ASVAB score of 45 in the General category

Be physically fit enough to handle aircrew, parachute, and marine-diving duties

Completion of a current National Agency Check, Local Agency Checks and Credit Checks Completion of a current Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) that leads to the ability of the Airman obtaining a secret or higher-level security clearance Successful completion of 8.5 weeks of Air Force Basic Military Training – Joint Base Lackland San Antonio, Texas

Pararescue Training

What makes being a ‘PJ’ so tough is that they are part Special Forces soldier and part Paramedic. They also have to know how to parachute, operate in water, survive in the wild, and do other required PJ tasks such as repelling from helicopters. That’s why it takes almost two years of training to become a certified Pararescueman. This is one of the longest Special Forces training regimens in the world. It also explains why this Air Force career training path has one of the highest attrition rates in the entire U.S. special operations community at better than 80%. For the layman, that means that for every 100 men (or women) that attempt to become Para Rescue, only 20 of them will successfully complete the training pipeline.

Special Warfare Preparatory Course: Joint Base Lackland – San Antonio, Texas

The PJ pipeline candidate will undergo extensive physical training during this period to prepare them for the PJ ‘Physical Ability and Stamina Test’ (PAST).

Combat Dive School: Panama City, Florida

This 5-week course expands greatly on what was learned at the Air Force Special Warfare Pre-Dive Course. It is extensive diving and physical training designed to turn the Pararescue trainee into a proficient diver and swimmer that is able to handle all sorts of waterborne personnel recovery tasks. It includes training for surface/sub-surface infiltration swims, open/closed circuit diving, and underwater search and recovery.

The training ends with a waterborne field training exercise (WFTX).

Navy Underwater Egress Training: Pensacola NAS, Florida.

This is a single day course that teaches prospective Pararescue candidates how to safely get out of an aircraft that has ‘ditched’ itself in the water. Personnel will actually perform an underwater egress from a simulated water landing event.

Army Airborne School: Fort Benning, Georgia

During this 5-week course, Pararescue pipeline members will be taught basic parachuting skills and how to effectively infiltrate a target area by static line airdrop. It consists of three phases that are known as ground operations week, tower week, and jump week. By the end of jump week, the Pararescue candidate will have also made 5 actual parachute jumps. Those who make it through this training are given a basic parachutist rating and also are allowed to wear the coveted parachutist’s wings that go along with that certification.

The training includes remote area survival techniques using minimal equipment.

It also includes advanced SERE (survive, evade, resist, and escape) training.

Military Free-Fall Course: Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona & Jamul. California

This is a 4-week course that advances a PJ’s parachuting skills and teaches them how to do freefall parachuting (HALO) using a high-performance ram-air canopy. During this time, a student will complete some 30 freefall jumps including night jumps, supplemental oxygen jumps, and jumps in full battle gear. This is a 7-week indoctrination course on the basics of emergency medical training and medical terminology. Once the 7-week primer EMT course has been completed, a Pararescuemen will then move on to this more advanced emergency medical course.

This 30-week course teaches how to manage trauma under duress.

This is the final course in Pararescue training and lasts 22 weeks.

It combines the skills a Pararescue trainee learned in the EMT courses with such things as mountaineering, advanced combat tactics, advanced parachuting techniques, helicopter insertion/extraction, and multiple weapons qualifications. Once a Pararescue candidate completes this course they are officially awarded the ‘Maroon beret’ signifying they are now a qualified Air Force Pararescueman.

Other Training Requirements

There very well could be more forms of training required of an Airman depending on what their specific Pararescue assignment or mission is. There will also be mission-specific on the job training required once an airman gets to their permanent duty station. Any Air Force Pararescueman will also be expected to meet other periodic training requirements throughout their entire enlistment. The training is intense and demanding, but those that get through it will never feel better mentally and physically in their lives. They will also know the bond of what it’s like being elite tactical rescue and recovery specialists.

More on Pararescue training can be seen on these YouTube videos:

Indoctrination Training

Overall Training

Pararescue vs. Combat Controllers

Anyone who passes the training to do either of these Air Force Special Forces disciplines will truly be a member of an elite special tactics squadron. One must, however, be aware that the stated goals and objectives of each of these Air Force disciplines are vastly different. Combat controllers rarely if ever perform as combat medics, as they are not trained for this. Their primary mission is to coordinate combat activities of those on the ground with aerial platforms overhead. This would include such things as calling in airstrikes and directing Pararescue teams to where they are needed. PJ’s, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with doing whatever it takes to complete successful tactical rescue and recovery operations. This includes rescuing downed airmen and soldiers and performing stabilizing medical procedures on them if necessary.

PJ Weapons and Gear

A fully outfitted Pararescueman can carry gear that weighs well in excess of 100 pounds. What they actually carry fully depends on the rescue scenario that they are getting into. Among the main items in a basic CSAR (combat search and rescue) kit are:

Body armor

M-9 pistol

M4 carbine lightweight assault rifle

Extra mags

Radio

Personal flotation device

Mich helmet with night vision goggles

Portable jaws of life

Enough medical supplies to take care of a multi-system trauma patient for up to 72-hours You can see a full interview with an active duty USAF PJ below:

He discusses everything he brings along with him for a typical mission.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pararescue in the Air Force?

Sometimes called “PJs,” Air Force Pararescue is a special operations force that provides rescue, recovery, and medical services in combat and humanitarian missions. Their motto is “That Others Might Live.”

How much do Air Force Pararescue get paid?

Like all USAF members, PJs are paid a base salary according to rank and time in service. However, they also may receive bonuses, including dive pay, flight or jump pay, proficiency pay, hazardous duty pay, as well as retention bonuses.

How long is Air Force Pararescue training?

PJ training is one of the most rigorous in the U.S. military and can take up to two years to complete. It includes Basic, physical training, dive school, airborne training, survival training, and emergency medical training.

Do PJs deploy with Navy SEALs?

Air Force PJs provide rescue and medical services during dangerous missions and frequently deploy with the U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Army Special Forces.

Is it hard to become a USAF Pararescue?

Joining the Air Force PJs is quite challenging; and over 80 percent of those who try out for it don’t make the cut.

PJ’s in Summary

This is definitely one of the most demanding and selfless jobs in the entire military. The training is long, intense, and difficult, but it lays the foundation for one of the most important jobs in the Air Force. A well-trained Pararescueman is a downed aviator or other wounded soldier’s best friend. Those who wear the Maroon beret also set themselves up for a lucrative career in the medical field with some more course work or they can immediately go to work as nicely paid EMT’s or Paramedics.

References:

https://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/pararescue

https://www.airforcespecialtactics.af.mil/Who-We-Are/ST-Pararescue/

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104515/pararescue/

Air Force PJ 4.9 out of 5 (95 Ratings) Find out how to become an Air Force PJ, including the requirements, training, how they differ from other Air Force special units, and more.

Do PJS go through SERE?

What is Hawaii's minimum wage?

How many power does a human have?

Do you have what it takes to become an Air Force Pararescueman?

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Those that wear it become part of a select brotherhood.

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Brief History of PJ’s

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That makes it older than the Air Force itself (established 1947).

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USAF Pararescue Perquisites and Qualifications

They consist of:

Must be between the ages of 17 and 39

Be a High School graduate or have a GED

Have normal color vision and depth perception

Have best eye vision of 20/70 or better, correctable to 20/20

Achieve a minimum ASVAB score of 45 in the General category

Be physically fit enough to handle aircrew, parachute, and marine-diving duties

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Pararescue Training

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Special Warfare Preparatory Course: Joint Base Lackland – San Antonio, Texas

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