How to Become an Air Force PJ

"That Others May Live": the official motto of the Air Force Pararescuemen (affectionately known as PJs) describes their job in four little words. They rescue injured military personnel on secret missions and save civilians caught in unforgiving seas. They are the toughest soldiers in the military. Here's how they got their jobs.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Exceed the basic qualifications for Air Force Pararescue. Candidates must be male U.S. citizens who have graduated from high school, scored at least a 43 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test and are eligible for a Secret Security clearance. Vision must be correctable to 20/20 and no worse than 20/70 in your strongest eye and 20/100 in your weakest eye.
2. Aim to do better than the minimum standards for the Physical Ability and Stamina Test (PAST). Minimum standards for passing are six pull-ups in a minute, a 500-yard swim in less than 15 minutes, 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes or less, 42 push-ups in 2 minutes or less and a 1 1/2-mile run in less than 11:30 minutes.
3. Complete the Pararescue Preparatory Course and Indoctrination Courses at Lackland Air Force Base just outside San Antonio, Texas. Your 12 weeks of training will include intensive physical conditioning, weapons qualifications, dive safety and basic medical training.
4. Head out to the southeast United States for your next 9 weeks. Three weeks will be spent at the US Army Airborne School in Ft. Benning, Georgia, where you will learn the basics of parachuting. About 6 weeks will be spent at the Air Force Combat Diver Course in Panama City, Florida, where you will learn to become a skilled SCUBA combat and rescue diver in depths up to 130 feet. You will also spend a day at the Navy's Underwater Egress Training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida, where you will learn how to safely exit a sinking aircraft.
5. Go to the Air Force Basic Survival School at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington for 2 1/2 weeks. Here you will learn survival techniques for wilderness areas, no matter what climate or conditions you encounter.
6. Spend 5 weeks at the U.S. Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. Polish your free-fall parachuting technique by using wind tunnels, aerial maneuvers and parachute opening procedures.
7. Wrap up your training at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico for the next 46 weeks. You will spend 22 of them getting an EMT-Paramedic certification, and the remaining 24 will be spent at the Pararescue Recovery Specialist Course. Here you will learn to get in, administer first aid and get back out safely no matter what conditions you encounter.

Tips & Warnings

• "PJ" came from an abbreviation used on flight logs for "Pararescue Jumper." This was to designate that they had no responsibilities during operation of the flight and were along only to jump out of the aircraft.
• Women are not currently allowed to join Pararescue, and there are no plans to include them at this time.
• Never ask a PJ to show you his tattoo.