Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 10/6/2010

Question
sir, i would like to know about enlistment in pararesuce what ae the requriments and the path to get there, also what can prepare me for it.

Answer
Akeen,
Unlike some career fields you may enter the Air Force PJ career field (Air Force Speciality Code 1T2X1) directly upon entry into the AF, with no wait time.

To be eligible, you must:

- be a US citizen
- be a male (based on current Department of Defense policies)
- be able to obtain a secret security clearance
- be a high school graduate or have a GED certificate
- Score at least 43 on the ASVAB
- have vision no worse than 20/100, correctable to 20/20
- have normal color vision
- be able to pass an entrance physical
- meet specific physical fitness standards to include:
 -- 20-Meter Underwater Swim
 -- 500-meter non-stop surface swim
 -- 1.5-mile run
 -- Chin-ups (as many as possible)
 -- Flutter-Kicks (as many as possible within 2 minutes)
 -- Push-ups as many as possible within 2 minutes)
 -- Sit-ups as many as possible within 2 minutes)

The process of becoming a "PJ" is known informally as "the Pipeline" or "Superman School."  Successfully completing it takes nearly 2 years of intense physical and mental effort.  Of the many who begin the process, only the most determined will graduate.

Pararescue trainees must attend the following training courses:
the Indoctrination course (9 weeks in San Antonio, Texas),  the AF Paramedic Course (22 weeks at Albuquerque, New Mexico), Pararescue Recovery Specialist Course, (24 weeks at Albuquerque, New Mexico),   
Paramedic School, AF Combat Diver School (6 weeks at Panama City, Florida), Army Airborne School (3 weeks at Fort Benning, Georgia), Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School (5 weeks at Fort Bragg, N.C., AF Basic Survival School (2 1/2 weeks at Spokane, Washington), and the Navy Underwater Egress Training (1 day at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida), and the Pararescue Apprentice course (in Albuquerque, New Mexico).

Trainees may attend other branches schools such as the USMC Combatant Diver Course for diving instruction or the Navy tactical air operations school for parachute and free fall training if other courses are full.

After a Pararescueman completes the pipeline, they are assigned to a Rescue or Special Tactics team where they will receive informal On-the-Job training.

So as you can see, you need to be in great physical condition.
If you are, I envy you.
Good luck,
Colonel H