The U.S. Air Force’s elite pararescue community again reinforced its hard-earned reputation for courage and skill when its personnel braved enemy fire to rescue a downed U.S. aircrew inside Iran on Friday.
As of publication, one crew member from a downed Air Force F-15E fighter jet has been safely recovered. U.S. forces continue to search for another crew member who has yet to be found. But two pararescue HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters were damaged after taking fire from Iranian forces. This shows the extreme danger the rescue teams accepted and endured. An A-10C gunship also later crashed in allied airspace after taking heavy fire over Iran. Videos on social media show numerous U.S. aircraft flying low, well within range of automatic rifles and portable air defense missile ranges.
This incident highlights the unique resourcing, readiness, and skill that the U.S. military dedicates to the safe recovery of its personnel.
Arranged under combat rescue squadrons, pararescue teams exist to recover United States or allied personnel trapped behind enemy lines. Qualifying for a combat rescue squadron (focused primarily on personnel recovery) or special tactics squadron (focused primarily on directing air power against enemy forces) is no easy task. The selection and training course lasts two years and has a very high failure rate. But those who graduate are exceptionally well-positioned to fulfill their crucial missions.
After all, pararescuemen aren’t just trained to a special operations forces level proficiency in close combat operations, they are (excluding officers) fully trained and accredited paramedics. This training takes root in the pararescue motto: “That others may live.” No other nation invests so heavily in such specialized combat rescue capabilities. In turn, no other nation has such an ability and risk tolerance to penetrate enemy airspace (with rescue personnel risking the same shootdown fate as those they are attempting to recover), find Americans before the enemy can do so, and then treat and evacuate those personnel while greatly outnumbered and under heavy fire.
Pararescue members have participated in every modern conflict, gaining a notable reputation for heroism during repeated combat rescue operations during the Vietnam War. But anytime they are needed, the pararescuemen ignore their own well-being in the service of their comrades and country. Many pararescuemen received decorations during a brutal 2002 mountaintop battle with Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, for example.
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Again, the outstanding F-15E crewmember is yet to be recovered. But you can be assured that the pararescue teams and other supporting U.S. forces will not rest until they have done everything possible to achieve that objective.
I had the fortune of living with a former pararescueman. He is tough, kind-hearted, composed and smart. You wouldn’t want to mess with him, but you sure as hell would want him at your back. I’d venture that anyone who knows a pararescueman would say the same about their friend.