US Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs). They're the ones who go get you when the rest of the map is hostile and you're already hurt. Their job is personnel recovery: jump, swim, or fight into denied terrain, treat the wounded as paramedics, and bring them out.

X.com ^ | September 16, 2026 | Special Ops Magazine @specialopsmag

[ransomnote]

Special Ops Magazine

@specialopsmag

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18h

US Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs).

PJ training is one of the longest enlisted pipelines in the US military. Roughly two years of selection, combat dive, airborne, free fall, SERE, and paramedic school, with historically brutal attrition.

They're the ones who go get you when the rest of the map is hostile and you're already hurt. Their job is personnel recovery: jump, swim, or fight into denied terrain, treat the wounded as paramedics, and bring them out.

Fitness is assumed. What they are really screening for is someone who stays calm in the water, under load, and under fire, and still treats the casualty first.

“These Things We Do, That Others May Live.”

 

September 16, 2026 

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS:

[ransomnote]

I’m amazed at their mission, and then I saw the gear they carry and realize they do all this while dressed for combat and medicine. And they WANT to go in to get ours out!

[Gay State Conservative]

I remember seeing a documentary on them.This old Army guy was impressed by their training and their damn good work.

[Resolute Conservative]

Echte Männer.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

I remember seeing those guys training at Sheppard AFB. They looked pretty sharp. I considered trying but I knew my Ankles were FUBAR.

[Gay State Conservative]

AF PJs

[ComputerGuy]

Some of what they do do sounds almost superhuman. I’ve dodged more than my share of bullets to get to wounded Marines, but those guys are nuts.

[Puppage]

I saw them when I was at tech school there. I fondly remember about ten guys in a circle with their feet intertwined…….and they all did pushups as one. Unbelievable.

[Puppage]

I saw them when I was at tech school there. I fondly remember about ten guys in a circle with their feet intertwined…….and they all did pushups as one. Unbelievable.

[ransomnote]

These insertion into enemy territory assignments blow my mind in that those who train for it, like these PJ's, WANT to close with the enemy without full military around them if needed to save an American. Such steel will and courage. I asked Grok how many per team, and the answer is from 2 to 6 of these guys. Alone in enemy territory. Here's Grok's report:

**Typically 2 PJs for many helicopter-based recoveries of a single wounded soldier, with flexibility for larger teams (often 3–6 PJs, sometimes with a Combat Rescue Officer) depending on the mission, threat level, insertion method, number of casualties, and environment.**

On the primary CSAR platform, the HH-60 Pave Hawk (or successor variants), the standard basic crew includes two pilots, a flight engineer/gunner, and two Pararescuemen. The aircraft can accommodate more (up to three or higher in some configurations, or teams of two/four/six in broader descriptions), but space is limited once medical gear, litters, and patients are factored in. Missions often fly in pairs of helicopters for mutual support: one may carry a pair of PJs (sometimes with a CRO), while the other carries three.

For parachute insertions, longer-range ocean or austere recoveries, or higher-threat scenarios, teams commonly consist of one CRO plus three to six PJs (structure remains flexible based on requirements). Examples include four-man teams in some deployments, five PJs for certain shipboard medical evacuations, or two PJs reaching an isolated casualty on the ground. A commonly cited perspective from operators is that a large supporting package (aircraft, refuelers, escorts, etc.) is often needed just to put “a couple of us guys on the ground to get one guy home.”

PJs can operate alone or in small elements in some cases, but they prioritize security, medical care (as paramedics), technical rescue, and extraction. Actual numbers adjust for factors like mass casualties, contested environments, prolonged field care needs, or attachment to other special operations forces. There is no rigid fixed number for every single-wounded-soldier recovery—mission planning determines the size.

[bosco24]

I worked on Kirtland AFB where they train and I always knew when a class graduated because a giant 3 ton rock, in an open field, has been moved for about 100 yards.

I’m still trying to figure out how they did that.

[ransomnote]

In the General/Chat forum, on a thread titled US Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs). They're the ones who go get you when the rest of the map is hostile and you're already hurt. Their job is personnel recovery: jump, swim, or fight into denied terrain, treat the wounded as paramedics, and bring them out. , Gay State Conservative wrote:

AF PJs

Well that was intense! What a great video. Incredible men!

[suthener]

When I was a Navy Reserve recruiter I had a PJ veteran who wanted to join the Navy Reserve. I spent hours getting his paperwork together to put him in as a hospital corpsman. I had no doubt he would be approved. He was rejected as not being qualified to be a corpsman. Stupidest thing I ever saw.

[GMThrust]

Yeah, some interagency transfers have ridiculous requirements. I went to C130 training with an ex army C-12 pilot of 10 years who was going to an ANG unit, and the AF would only take him if he went through UPT from the start (T-37/38). He was all for it because he was getting a steady paycheck and loved aerobatics. He was a good pilot. What a waste of time and money.

[GMThrust]

I worked with these guys for 32 years. They certainly had a lot of “toys”. I wound up getting a few items through the years. Great bunch of guys!

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Yep, that was part of the show.

[Flaming Conservative]

I watched the YouTube 60 minutes video of the ordeal and rescue of the weapons officer who was shot down in Iran. The screen became blurry, and I was so very proud of the injured man, his rescuers, and our armed forces in general. I would recommend everyone watch it. It was awesome!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KNhO1Umj1so&t=20s&pp=ygU-RXh0ZW5kZWQgdmVyc2lvbiA2MCBtaW51dGVzIGludGVydmlldyBvZiBhaXJtYW4gZG93bmVkIGluIGlyYW4%3D

[Tymesup]

Compare this rescue to us leaving guys behind in Benghazi.

[Falconspeed]

I met a Pararescue Jumper once. Bravest person I ever met.

[Theophilus]

The PJs are Angels of Life! Their brothers, the JTACs, are Angels of Death!