Air Force Special Forces Training
Every branch of the U.S. military has its own special forces personnel. From the Green Berets of the Army to the SEALs of the Navy, all of these special forces personnel must pass through strict training requirements in order to have the privilege of serving in these important capacities.
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Special Forces History
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The United States Air Force became a separate branch of the United States armed forces in 1947. Prior to that, it was the Army Air Corps, a sub-branch of the United States Army.
In 1940, with the advent of the "steerable" parachute, which was widely used by smoke jumpers at the time, U.S. Army leaders realized that they could train combat medics to parachute into hostile situations and save wounded soldiers. The first Army medic received training to do so in that year. In 1943, during World War II, United States pararescue jumpers parachuted to save a downed flight crew on the China-Burma border. This was the first "special forces" mission carried out by personnel of the United States Air Force or Air Corps. Since then, the Air Force has developed multiple types of special forces personnel.
Types of Special Forces Personnel
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The U.S. Air Force has four main types of special forces personnel: combat controllers, special operations weathermen, pararescuemen and tactical air control parties. All of these serve in support roles of the airborne operations that are the principal focus of the Air Force effort, and each has its own specific training requirements.
Combat controllers, or CCTs, are certified air traffic controllers who parachute into hostile environments and coordinate strategic air strikes on the enemy.
Similar to CCTs, special operations weathermen go into hostile environments and make weather forecasts that are vital to airborne operations in the area.
Pararescuemen specialize in rescuing air crews that go down in hostile areas. They receive training in general combat as well as medical procedures.
Tactical air control parties, or TACPs, perform a job similar to that of CCTs, only they typically work alongside Army forces on the ground and specialize in coordinating strategic strikes very close to friendly forces.
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Physical Requirements
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According to Pararescue.com, in order to become a pararescueman, a candidate must be a male and pass the Physical Ability and Stamina Test, which includes the following: a 500-meter swim in 15 minutes or less; six pull-ups in one minute or less; 50 sit-ups in two minutes or less; 42 push-ups in two minutes or less; and a 1.5-mile run in 11 minutes, 30 seconds or less
The other types of Air Force special forces units have similar minimum requirements that candidates must pass. However, as the physical competitiveness between pararescuemen candidates is more serious, significantly exceeding these requirements is advised.
Phases
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In order to qualify for any of these special forces positions, a candidate must first already be in the Air Force. On top of that, each of these positions has a series of training procedures.
Combat controllers must pass through 36 weeks of initial training that includes basic combat air control skills, parachuting skills and basic survival skills. After that, they pass through advanced training in special tactics, free fall (High Altitude Low Opening, or HALO) parachuting and combat diving, which lasts 15 to 18 months.
Special operations weathermen must pass through 48 weeks of initial training that covers meteorology, basic survival, parachuting and underwater egress training (escaping from a sinking aircraft).
Pararescue specialists must pass through a total of about 70 weeks of training, which includes paramedic training, basic survival, underwater egress and HALO parachuting.
TACP specialists must pass through about 10 weeks of initial training, which includes combat, communications and weapons training, as well as 18 weeks of advanced training, which covers tactical, survival and parachuting skills.
Benefits
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Having such an array of well-trained special forces units allows the Air Force to maintain a broad and strong support infrastructure for its airborne assault and transportation missions, providing guidance and rescue that helps to preserve the lives of the skilled pilots who make up the backbone of the Air Force. Without these Special Forces units, pilots would not be able to carry out their missions as effectively, and downed pilots would have little chance of survival.
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References
- Photo Credit soldier image by Catabu from Fotolia.com
