Rescue Reservists Participate in New Pararescue Ad Campaign

  • Published
  • By Maj. Tricia Hill
  • 920th Rescue Wing
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  More than 50 personnel from the 920th Rescue Wing participated this past weekend in a new recruiting commercial produced by Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command's Advertising Agency, Blaine Warren Advertising. 

The video footage garnered this past weekend will be integrated into two new Air Force Reserve recruiting products. The first product will be a new non-prior service advertising campaign geared toward those who have never been in the military. The advertising campaign titled "Grab Some Air" will show how "extreme" sports directly relate to the "extreme" jobs available in the United States Air Force Reserve. 

The second video being produced will be used to recruit for the Guardian Angel Weapon System (GAWS). GAWS includes three career fields: SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape), pararescuemen and combat rescue officers. GAWS, the Air Force's answer to personnel recovery missions, is a scalable force intended to meet the Department of Defense's (DOD) needs for recovery of personnel 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 reintegration of isolated personnel. 

We want to not only show the rescue portion but also what it takes to become a member of the Air Force Reserve team and how these career fields adapt to various environments they are required to operate in, said Chief Master Sergeant Glen Barnes, Chief of Advertising, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command. 

The recruiting video will feature video footage taken this past weekend from the 920th Rescue Wing's HH-60 and HC-130 and will include aerial refueling, a simulated combat search and rescue and a pararescue freefall jump from an HC-130 aircraft. 

The Air Force Reserve recruiting goal is the highest it's been since 2000 and this is the first time we have ever done an advertising campaign targeted directly to the non-prior service market, said Barnes. 

The "Grab Some Air" commercial and campaign will be released in mid-November on paid television and also on paid internet. After an approximate eight week commercial run, the commercials will be converted to Public Service Announcements.