The P.A.S.T is the start of a future

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920 Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  "Don't quit."

That's the motto here for the pre-Indoctrination Course Air Force Reserve Pararescuemen (PJs) and Combat Rescue Officers (CROs) at the 920th Rescue Wing Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. In fact, that statement will follow these men throughout their two-year training program - the Pipeline as they call it.

The Physical Ability and Stamina Test (P.A.S.T) is administered the first Wednesday of every month for wannabe PJs and CROs. These men come from all over the U.S. to try out for the program.

Tech. Sgt. Patrick Dunne, an Air Force Reserve 920th PJ and test administrator, is the gateway to the Pipeline - pass his test and there's a good chance you'll be passing INDOC.

"I think this is one of the most important steps in the journey," Dunne said.

He went through the P.A.S.T test here in 2002 after a nine-year break in service after getting out of the U.S. Marine Corps as Force Recon. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 drew Dunne back into the service, this time as a PJ.

Master Sgt. Eric Tolson, the 920th In-Service/Pararescue Recruiter, agrees with Dunne.
"The P.A.S.T is the most important step in the process. If you don't pass the P.A.S.T you will never become a PJ," Tolson said. That's true for many reasons; another is that once a person takes the P.A.S.T. test they'll then be eligible for an interview board - and even if one passes the physical part of this test, there is no guarantee that the board will accept them for pipeline training.

Dunne runs the program with an iron fist, a water hose and the silent shake of the head that the trainees so dread. His tough-as-nails attitude toward the trainees comes with a very valid reason.

"I know what it takes to do this job and I want the guys around me to be the best of the best. My life may depend on it," he said.

Capt. Dan Turpin, a CRO candidate, was in the Army Rangers for four years prior to coming into the Air Force Reserves. He came in specifically for the PJ program - a far cry from his job in the Army where his primary mission was much different than Combat Rescue. His interest in the PJ program was sparked when PJs came to the rescue of an Afghanistan national during his Army deployment.

"I want to be a part of something so much more rewarding [...] to help people," he said.
The test is hard, but not as hard as the training to come, so if a person can't stand up to this test - there is no way he'll be sent to INDOC.

With a 95% drop-out rate for the INDOC course, it's no wonder recruitment is down.

"I think the biggest problem is that these young guys don't think the process is as tough as what it actually is. A lot of times in society today people are allowed to pass based on effort. This program is not that way. This job demands a certain level of mental and physical toughness and you have to meet the standard," explains Tolson.

The physical part of the test is timed pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, and flutter kicks. After the calisthenics is a three-mile run with a 22 minute limit, with the trainees hitting the 1.5 mile mark in under 10:45.

Then comes the hardest part for most - the pool work.

"The pool work we do is the hardest in the Department of Defense, and this is quoting someone who went through B.U.D.S. [Basic Underwater  Demolition School] or the Navy SEAL training," says Dunne.

The pool work starts with two 25 meter-underwater swims, then a 28 minute time limit on a 1,500 meter swim.

If there are no new recruits in for the testing, the trainees waiting to go to INDOC still come in once a month and do the P.A.S.T test. It's here that Dunne shows the soon-to-be INDOC participants a little taste of what is to come - and he's not easy on them.
His reasoning for the no-nonsense treatment?

"There are no guarantees in the Pipeline," says Dunne. With guys being cut during the last week of the INDOC program, to failing the academic challenges of the Paramedic Program, the 18-month process of becoming the elite Pararescueman is riddled with challenges.

Capt. Turpin is one of four men scheduled for INDOC training the beginning of January 2010. They all passed the P.A.S.T testing process and are on to the Pipeline.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Driscoll, one of the men heading out January, was also prior service - Marine Corps Recon and a government contractor overseas. Like Capt. Turpin, Driscoll witnessed the PJs in action, in a combat zone and decided to try for the program himself.

"I'm excited to get this process started," Driscoll said. "We've been training and thinking of this for months."

"The training is tough but it is fair. With enough heart and desire these men will be successful," says Chief Master Sgt. Douglas Kestranek, Chief Enlisted Manager of the 308th Rescue Squadron (Pararescue). "Anything in life that is worthwhile comes with extreme sacrifice. Success is often measured by level of effort and risk - including this two-year training program - you either pass or fail."

"We have no excuse to fail," Capt. Turpin said. "This is just something you have to go through."

With only 350 Air Force Reserve PJs in service, it is vital that the best-of-the-best get to the initial INDOC training and push through the rest.

"As reservists, we have the additional responsibility of recruiting in addition to training and equipping our battlefield Airmen to support combatant commanders," explains Kestranek.

Like every service and job, there are quotas to meet and fill, but this type of job takes a special person to fulfill the duties.

"Special Operators [PJs] cannot be mass produced, so someone says we have a quota to meet then the emphasis goes from quality to quantity [...]," says Dunne. "That's why I'm so hard on the trainees and hold them to such a high standard. I do not want to launch on a mission with someone who does not take this job as seriously as I do."

This is a serious job. PJs primary function is as a personnel recovery specialist, with emergency medical capabilities in humanitarian and combat environments. They deploy in any available manner, to include air-land-sea tactics, into restricted environments to authenticate, extract, treat, stabilize and evacuate injured personnel, while acting in an enemy-evading, recovery role.

Not only are they Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) trained, they also are the most highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the U.S. military.

All of these skills combined enable the PJs to perform life-saving missions in the world's most remote areas - and they do just that.

"All Special Operators are cut from the same cloth. In my opinion what makes a great PJ is not only being physically fit, but you have to be very well rounded and well educated about our job. As a Force Recon Marine, I was expected to be an expert in two areas, as a PJ, I am expected to be an expert in no less than a dozen aspects of my job," Dunne says.

Now, with the support of the Guardian Angel Weapons System (GAWS), the U.S. Air Force Reserve is looking for new blood.

"This job is not for everyone, but it is perfect for the warrior who desires to be in the game rather than watching," Kestranek states.

The GAWS is intended to meet the need for recovery of personnel (in combat or otherwise) to include all U.S. military members, DOD contractors and civilians serving overseas. Its mission calls for expertise in all five stages of the personnel recovery life cycle -- report, locate, support, recover and reintegrate isolated persons.

PJ Airmen, part of GAWS, provide the capability to execute each of the personnel recovery tasks with only a fraction of the manpower, saving time, money and lives.

These men, with the motto, "These things we do, that others may live," reaffirms the PJs commitment to saving lives and self-sacrifice. The school is not easy, but neither is saving lives - may the best apply and pass.

For more information or to apply for the P.A.S.T process - please call or email Master Sgt. Eric Tolson: Eric.Tolson@patrick.af.mil or 321-494-1962.