So you have decided that you want to be a Pararescue Jumper aka PJ. What is the best means of preparing to do so? There are many different avenues one can take when they first start out on this journey. Of course, if you go to the Air Force website and check it out you will see what you need to do to pass the PAST(Physical Ability Stamina Test) test: http://www.afsoc.af.mil/specialtactics/pastcriteria.asp this is a very good start. If you are able to complete these items in the indicated times you are heading in the right direction.
PAST test must be completed in a 3 hour time frame. It also must be conducted in the order in which the physical abilities are listed:
- 2 x 25 underwater swim
- 500 meter surface swim
- 1.5 mile run
- Calisthenics
- Pull ups
- Sit ups
- Push ups
Please note that each item is timed and has a minimum amount that is required. The above site goes into the details on this.
Talk with an AF Recruiter!!! Your recruiter can be your best friend; if he believes that you have the capability to pursue this career he will do what he can to see you succeed! Your recruiter can put you in touch with the right people who have been there, and done that. He/she will be able to work with you in your training, and help you have a better understanding of what this career field entitles. Your Recruiter is the pathway to getting you there. If your local Recruiter is not familiar with the field, and he/she should be, ask him/her to recommend another one who can help you.
As I just stated, your Recruiter may be able to put you in contact with someone who is or was a PJ. This is your best source of information. If you are able to meet with one, they will talk your ear off (in a good way) about what you need to do to both mentally and physically prepare for INDOC. When I had asked a dear PJ friend of mine on what he would have done if he didn't make it to graduation, his reply was,
"that was going to happen. I had plan "A", to be a PJ - there was no plan "B". Those who go into INDOC and then into the Pipeline with a plan "B" won't graduate."
Another bit of advice I can give you, if you are still in High School, maybe a sophomore, look into joining the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The Civil Air Patrol is an Annexation of the Air Force, one can compare it to ROTC but they work more directly with the Air Force. Once you have been apart of CAP and you have met certain criteria you are eligible to participate in the National Cadet Special Activities. One such activity is called the Pararescue Jumper Orientation Course (PJOC)
http://ncsas.com/index.cfm/pararescue_orientation_course?show=career_fair&careerFairID=3
This is a one week course that is held in Albuquerque NM at Kirtland AFB. The instructors are actual PJs, and the Cadets are trained on survival, rock climbing, land navigation along with many other techniques that are associated with the career field. They are also physically challenged, having to pass their own PAST test prior to acceptance into the field, and two more times while there.
Study, research, work out, swim, use all your resources that are available to you if this is something that you are interested in doing. It's the hardest thing you will ever do, but if you do it, and you succeed, you will be one of the elite to be able wear the maroon beret
"That others may live"
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Women in Combat Special Operations in 2016
The Air Force released yesterday, 19 June 2013, it's intentions to fully integrate women into the currently 7 closed Air Force career fields. These career fields hold a total of 4,700 positions out of the over 500,000 total current. Thus, 99 percent of the AFSCs in the Air Force are open to women in the Air Force, allowing them to do virtually whatever they would want in the Air Force, to include being a combat pilot.
Okay, so what are the 7 current male only career fields you ask? Well, for starters they are all special operations. We are looking at: Combat Rescue Officer (CROs), Special Tactics Officer, Special Operations Weather Officer, Enlisted Combat Controller, Enlisted Tactical Air Command and Control Party, Enlisted Pararescue (PJ), and Enlisted Special Operations Weather.
(For more information on these career fields visit: http://www.airforce.com/careers/#interest:special-operations )
I personally am somewhat baffled by this decision. I can honestly state that Yes, I do know individuals that are CROs, PJs, Combat Controllers, and Special Ops Weather. One Combat Controller, stated "I trained with some of the PJs...there is no way I could do what they do." The physical and mental training that these MEN go through is to the utmost extreme, preparing them for every worst possible situation that can be imagined and then some. There is a reason that these jobs have a drop out rate of 90%. They are HARD! Young men train specifically for months, sometimes years, to enter into these jobs, and once they are in they realize that they just don't have what it takes, and sadly, at one point they find themselves hanging there heads in defeat, and calling it quits.
I am a woman. I consider myself to be in fairly decent shape - I broke my back, pelvis and screwed up one of my knees while on active duty - I know my limitations. I know women who run marathons all over the world, who compete and participate in triathlons, iron mans, mud runners, etc. I personally have undertaken the "Insanity" workout. However, I can honestly say, without a doubt, that not one woman I know would be able to handle the rigorous training that these men undergo to become apart of the AF Elite Special Operations Units. I'm not saying that there isn't one woman who can do it, I'm simply saying that if, on average only 10 men out of 100 will successfully complete this training, the odds that a woman will satisfy all requirements is slim to none. If you think you can do it, go for it, represent us, but don't be crying and dishonoring us and complaining that the physical and mental training is to hard and should be altered because you're a woman. There is a reason why the AF hasn't altered the training so the drop out rate is lower, they want the best of the best.
I only hope that the AF doesn't change the PAST test, and the additional requirements once women enter the program. Currently the AF has different physical requirements, adjusted to meet the physical attributes to women, in order for them to pass their physical fitness tests. I do not believe this should be applicable if women want to be apart of one of these elite Spec Ops forces.
This is all my personal opinions, I am for equal rights, women's rights, etc. But sometimes, yes, I set women's lib back a few years. Again what I have written here are MY VIEWS, and not those of the AF, DoD, or other military affiliates.
Please leave me your comments and thoughts - I would love to hear them!
Current PAST requirements for AF Pararescue : http://www.military.com/military-fitness/air-force-special-operations/air-force-para-rescue
Read more about the AFs Plan at : www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?is=123353162
Okay, so what are the 7 current male only career fields you ask? Well, for starters they are all special operations. We are looking at: Combat Rescue Officer (CROs), Special Tactics Officer, Special Operations Weather Officer, Enlisted Combat Controller, Enlisted Tactical Air Command and Control Party, Enlisted Pararescue (PJ), and Enlisted Special Operations Weather.
(For more information on these career fields visit: http://www.airforce.com/careers/#interest:special-operations )
I personally am somewhat baffled by this decision. I can honestly state that Yes, I do know individuals that are CROs, PJs, Combat Controllers, and Special Ops Weather. One Combat Controller, stated "I trained with some of the PJs...there is no way I could do what they do." The physical and mental training that these MEN go through is to the utmost extreme, preparing them for every worst possible situation that can be imagined and then some. There is a reason that these jobs have a drop out rate of 90%. They are HARD! Young men train specifically for months, sometimes years, to enter into these jobs, and once they are in they realize that they just don't have what it takes, and sadly, at one point they find themselves hanging there heads in defeat, and calling it quits.
I am a woman. I consider myself to be in fairly decent shape - I broke my back, pelvis and screwed up one of my knees while on active duty - I know my limitations. I know women who run marathons all over the world, who compete and participate in triathlons, iron mans, mud runners, etc. I personally have undertaken the "Insanity" workout. However, I can honestly say, without a doubt, that not one woman I know would be able to handle the rigorous training that these men undergo to become apart of the AF Elite Special Operations Units. I'm not saying that there isn't one woman who can do it, I'm simply saying that if, on average only 10 men out of 100 will successfully complete this training, the odds that a woman will satisfy all requirements is slim to none. If you think you can do it, go for it, represent us, but don't be crying and dishonoring us and complaining that the physical and mental training is to hard and should be altered because you're a woman. There is a reason why the AF hasn't altered the training so the drop out rate is lower, they want the best of the best.
I only hope that the AF doesn't change the PAST test, and the additional requirements once women enter the program. Currently the AF has different physical requirements, adjusted to meet the physical attributes to women, in order for them to pass their physical fitness tests. I do not believe this should be applicable if women want to be apart of one of these elite Spec Ops forces.
This is all my personal opinions, I am for equal rights, women's rights, etc. But sometimes, yes, I set women's lib back a few years. Again what I have written here are MY VIEWS, and not those of the AF, DoD, or other military affiliates.
Please leave me your comments and thoughts - I would love to hear them!
Current PAST requirements for AF Pararescue : http://www.military.com/military-fitness/air-force-special-operations/air-force-para-rescue
Read more about the AFs Plan at : www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?is=123353162
Friday, June 14, 2013
PJ INDOC - Do you have what it takes
You have watched the videos, you have seen the documentaries, heard and read stories - you have been hooked into the Pararescue career field, now it's time to see if you have what it takes...
Deep breath, you walk in and speak with the Air Force Recruiter telling him you want to be a PJ, after he finishes laughing he informs you about the PAST test (Physical Ability and Stamina Test), you look it over:
- 2 x 25 m sub surface swim no time limit
- 500 m swim 10:07 or less
- 30 min rest
- 1.5 mile run 9:47 or less
- 10 min res
- 10 pull ups min
- 2 min rest
- 58 sit ups min
- 2 min rest
- 54 push ups min
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/air-force-special-operations/air-force-para-rescue
Okay not a problem - you pass the PAST and you head out to BMT, and finish it. Now the truth begins - how much do you want it, how much can you endure, how much can you physically and mentally take? You begin the USAF Pararescue Indoctrination Course; INDOC for short. A brutal 10 week course that is considered to be one of the hardest military training courses out there.
Class drop out rates are often 80% some are 90%. There has been graduating classes of 1 and there has also been a class of 0. You are now a statistic, but the question is what side will you be apart of - the few the graduate or the many that drop out.
0415 your up, scrambling with the others. Putting on PT gear, grabbing your rucksack full of gear and food for the day, throw it on your back and you muster out to formation. It has begun. Standing upon a large concrete pad you do your best to look around without getting yelled out - in front of the large warehouse like building there are motivational tools that you will become very familiar with one a very large, who knows how heavy log, and a 40 foot iron rail that upon looking at it you wonder "what is that for". The large green "Jolly Roger" footprints are painted upon the pad, and you get to see them very clearly with every push up and "hooyah" you do. Ahh, that's done, lets move on...
0600 your at the pool. I'm sorry the "training tank" as most like to refer to it. Over the course of the 10 weeks you experience some of the most rigid water training to include the dreaded water confidence test; this video can show and explain a little more on the intensity of this:
You train and train and train. Your body aches, your mind is exhausted. You watch as one by one your fellow trainees walk away from an event to an airhorn sitting off to the side, raise it, blow it and announce that they are out. Defeated they walk away. You swear you wont do it, you swear you won't ever raise that horn.
Hell Night - you are up at 0430 - train all day, in bed by 2100 hrs, getting comfy cozy drifting off to your world without any Cadres.
2130 Siren Screams - you jump out of your skin, heart pounding as a Cadre comes into the dorm pissed as all mighty hell yelling though a bullhorn, "Get up! Get up! Let's move it! 2 minutes get to the HELOs!!"
You know your not running to the HELO but it's the beginnning of Hell Night, politically correct called "extended day training". No rest for anyone. 19 hours of instructors pushing their teams to all limits both mentally and physically.
Hell Night, one of the last steps to the PipeLine.
It's designed to introduce students to the rigorous operations of what life is like as a PJ. It promotes team building, ensuring you are there for your teammate, you can't pass and leave him behind. Being sleep deprived is critical in this process; helps an individual handle and cope with stress under harsh conditions - again something that is real world with the PJs.
"It's the hardest and most stressful experience they will have during the course", says SSgt Tims Hanks, a PJ instructor.
Instructors are wanting the Trainees to feel the difficulty, make mistakes and work through processes that would normally take them seconds to figure out, but with lack of sleep longer and second guess themselves. Why? When they notice an individual falling to the sleep deprivation it builds team work, the individuals quickly learn they need each other to pass. Whether it's to drag a body dummy up a hill or to complete a run, they learn to do it as a team, together. That's what it takes to get through INDOC and ultimately the PIPELINE - realizing that you can't do it by yourself.
For those who complete the 10 week course of INDOC, welcome to the PIPELINE - two years worth of some of the best, elite, hardest training and schooling one could go through.
Hoo Yah!
#Discovery Channel has Surviving the Cut on Hell Night - here are the full clips
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/surviving-the-cut
Deep breath, you walk in and speak with the Air Force Recruiter telling him you want to be a PJ, after he finishes laughing he informs you about the PAST test (Physical Ability and Stamina Test), you look it over:
- 2 x 25 m sub surface swim no time limit
- 500 m swim 10:07 or less
- 30 min rest
- 1.5 mile run 9:47 or less
- 10 min res
- 10 pull ups min
- 2 min rest
- 58 sit ups min
- 2 min rest
- 54 push ups min
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/air-force-special-operations/air-force-para-rescue
Okay not a problem - you pass the PAST and you head out to BMT, and finish it. Now the truth begins - how much do you want it, how much can you endure, how much can you physically and mentally take? You begin the USAF Pararescue Indoctrination Course; INDOC for short. A brutal 10 week course that is considered to be one of the hardest military training courses out there.
Class drop out rates are often 80% some are 90%. There has been graduating classes of 1 and there has also been a class of 0. You are now a statistic, but the question is what side will you be apart of - the few the graduate or the many that drop out.
0415 your up, scrambling with the others. Putting on PT gear, grabbing your rucksack full of gear and food for the day, throw it on your back and you muster out to formation. It has begun. Standing upon a large concrete pad you do your best to look around without getting yelled out - in front of the large warehouse like building there are motivational tools that you will become very familiar with one a very large, who knows how heavy log, and a 40 foot iron rail that upon looking at it you wonder "what is that for". The large green "Jolly Roger" footprints are painted upon the pad, and you get to see them very clearly with every push up and "hooyah" you do. Ahh, that's done, lets move on...
0600 your at the pool. I'm sorry the "training tank" as most like to refer to it. Over the course of the 10 weeks you experience some of the most rigid water training to include the dreaded water confidence test; this video can show and explain a little more on the intensity of this:
You train and train and train. Your body aches, your mind is exhausted. You watch as one by one your fellow trainees walk away from an event to an airhorn sitting off to the side, raise it, blow it and announce that they are out. Defeated they walk away. You swear you wont do it, you swear you won't ever raise that horn.
Hell Night - you are up at 0430 - train all day, in bed by 2100 hrs, getting comfy cozy drifting off to your world without any Cadres.
2130 Siren Screams - you jump out of your skin, heart pounding as a Cadre comes into the dorm pissed as all mighty hell yelling though a bullhorn, "Get up! Get up! Let's move it! 2 minutes get to the HELOs!!"
You know your not running to the HELO but it's the beginnning of Hell Night, politically correct called "extended day training". No rest for anyone. 19 hours of instructors pushing their teams to all limits both mentally and physically.
Hell Night, one of the last steps to the PipeLine.
It's designed to introduce students to the rigorous operations of what life is like as a PJ. It promotes team building, ensuring you are there for your teammate, you can't pass and leave him behind. Being sleep deprived is critical in this process; helps an individual handle and cope with stress under harsh conditions - again something that is real world with the PJs.
"It's the hardest and most stressful experience they will have during the course", says SSgt Tims Hanks, a PJ instructor.
Instructors are wanting the Trainees to feel the difficulty, make mistakes and work through processes that would normally take them seconds to figure out, but with lack of sleep longer and second guess themselves. Why? When they notice an individual falling to the sleep deprivation it builds team work, the individuals quickly learn they need each other to pass. Whether it's to drag a body dummy up a hill or to complete a run, they learn to do it as a team, together. That's what it takes to get through INDOC and ultimately the PIPELINE - realizing that you can't do it by yourself.
For those who complete the 10 week course of INDOC, welcome to the PIPELINE - two years worth of some of the best, elite, hardest training and schooling one could go through.
Hoo Yah!
#Discovery Channel has Surviving the Cut on Hell Night - here are the full clips
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/surviving-the-cut
Monday, June 10, 2013
Pedro 66
On June 9, 2011 a Pave Hawk - HH60G going by the call sign "Pedro 66" was shot down in Afghanistan. This was a USAF rescue helicopter. The last words you hear from "Pedro" are, "I'm hit. We're going in." The other HELO watches as they crash , but all emotions need to be buried. All the training that you prepare for as a Rescue Team is no longer for an anonymous individual, it's for your brother in arms, your teammates, your family - it's now a personal mission.
Pedro 66 lost 5 of it's Team Members; Capt David Wisniewski and 1Lt Joel Gentz - (CRO - Combat Rescue Officer) of the 58th Rescue Squadron (RQS), SSgt David Smith of the 66th RQS, and TSgt Michael Flores and SrA Benjamin White - both PJs of the 48th RQS. This was the first time the Rescue community had lost a CRO - Lt Gentz in a combat mission.
Pedro 66 was conducting a casualty evacuation operation in southeastern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - four of the members died in the crash, Capt Wisniewski died of from injuries he received in the accident almost a month later.
We remember Pedro 66 regularly - it was a devastating loss, to say the least, to the PJ and Rescue community. Their sacrifice is a true inspiration, they are true heroes and died living to their creed: "these things we do that others may live".
God Bless all the members that were lost that day, you will never be forgotten.
If you would like to help out the Rescue Community please donate to:
www.thatothersmaylive.org
Pedro 66 lost 5 of it's Team Members; Capt David Wisniewski and 1Lt Joel Gentz - (CRO - Combat Rescue Officer) of the 58th Rescue Squadron (RQS), SSgt David Smith of the 66th RQS, and TSgt Michael Flores and SrA Benjamin White - both PJs of the 48th RQS. This was the first time the Rescue community had lost a CRO - Lt Gentz in a combat mission.
Pedro 66 was conducting a casualty evacuation operation in southeastern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - four of the members died in the crash, Capt Wisniewski died of from injuries he received in the accident almost a month later.
We remember Pedro 66 regularly - it was a devastating loss, to say the least, to the PJ and Rescue community. Their sacrifice is a true inspiration, they are true heroes and died living to their creed: "these things we do that others may live".
God Bless all the members that were lost that day, you will never be forgotten.
If you would like to help out the Rescue Community please donate to:
www.thatothersmaylive.org
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