042 WWW.AI-MAG.COMUSAF PARA JUMPERS
It wasn't until the 1940's that two United States
Forest Service Smokejumpers, (Fire Fighters)
Earl Cooley and Rufus Robinson, showed that
parachutists could be placed very accurately
onto the ground using the newly invented
'steerable parachute'. Their new Parachutes
and techniques saw the first Army Doctor
graduate from the Forest Service Smokejumper
Parachute Training Centre as a 'para-doctor'.
Recognising the need for a unified
organisation to perform search and rescue,
the Army and Air Force formed the Air Rescue
Service (ARS). Established in May 1946, the ARS
was charged with saving the lives of downed
aircrew on both the land and sea, however
it was not until 1947 that the PJ's we know
today started to take shape. A Para Doctor
parachuted into the Nicaraguan jungle to save
a crewmember who had bailed out of a crippled
B-17 Flying Fortress.
Shortly afterwards the first Para rescue and
Survival School was formed. Graduates formedthe 5th Rescue Squadron, however due to a
shortage of qualified Army Doctors the decision
was made in 1949 to replace Para-doctors on
the teams, with enlisted Para-rescue men.
Also at the same time the Air Rescue Specialist
Course was created that was designed to teach
Para-rescue men the skills needed to asses
injuries and administer treatment.
By the outset of the Korean War PJ teams
were assigned to every Air Rescue Service
squadron across the globe, eventually the
independent Air Rescue Squadrons were all
folded into the Air Rescue Service.
The Korean War also saw the PJ's adopting new
rolls in the rescue of stranded personnel from
behind enemy lines and evacuating critically
wounded men from front line positions.
Para-rescue men were a normal part of Air
Rescue crews for these missions. Their medical
and tactical skills made them invaluable for
evacuation and rescue missions.
Para-rescue men were often called upon
to leave the helicopters that carried them inorder to assist the personnel they were sent
to rescue. This might call for an extended stay
behind enemy lines and extraction over land.
Known as "Lone Wolf Missions” the longest on
record was seventy-two hours. By the end of
the war Air Rescue had evacuated over eight
thousand critical casualties and rescued nearly
a thousand men from behind enemy lines.
The Vietnam War was a pivotal conflict for
the Para rescue teams. The Air Force's scope
of operations became so large and the demand
so great that new teams were created. The use
of helicopters caused new tactics utilising the
speed, distance and support they could provide.
Rescue "packages" were created utilising FACs
(Forward Air Controllers), rescue escorts (such
as AH-1 Cobras or A-1 Sandy’s), protective
fighter CAP (Combat Air Patrol), HC-130 "King"
Hercules for Rescue Mission Coordination
and helicopter refuelling, and the HH-3 Jolly
Green Giant and HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant
helicopters to provide faster rescues for pilots
shot down far behind enemy lines. - Source DODGEAR UP! USAF: PARA JUMPERS (PJ) - USAF: PARA JUMPERS (PJ) - USAF: PARA JUMPERS
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