The road to PJ part three: earning the beret

Published Dec. 4, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Anna-Marie Wyant
920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Most Marine corporals don't spend an evening writing a letter to a general, but that's exactly what Brandon Forshaw -- now an Air Force Reserve staff sergeant -- had to do upon returning from his deployment to Djibouti.

While in Djibouti, Forshaw, then a supply Marine on guard duty, met a group of people who would ultimately lead him to realize a goal he never had before: becoming an Air Force pararescueman. Before facing the challenges of PJ training, Forshaw had to write a letter requesting permission to be released from his six-year commitment with the Marine Corps Reserve approximately a year and a half early to pursue his new goal. Fortunately, he was released of his commitment and jumped at the opportunity to join the 920th Rescue Wing as a PJ as soon as possible.

Unfortunately for the gung-ho new Airman, becoming a PJ isn't instantaneous: in fact, it entails more than two and a half years of arduous training, both physically and mentally, and the majority of recruits never even earn the highly sought after maroon beret, the distinctive PJ headwear.

"I was twenty-three when I signed up, and I thought, man, I'm not going to even be a PJ until I'm twenty-six after this training," Forshaw said. "That's so far away! I thought I'd better get started."

Unlike Forshaw's supply job in the Marine Corps, pararescuemen don't go to one school and graduate -- they have a number of different training courses in various cities and states, with an overall washout rate of approximately 90 percent. Forshaw was determined to be in the 10 percent who earn their berets.

The first step toward earning that beret was the indoctrination course, commonly called indoc, a brutally physically demanding training during which the majority of trainees either fail or get washed back. Forshaw did neither.

"I didn't have time to think," Forshaw said of the training, which took place at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. "I told myself I'm just going to do whatever they tell me. If they tell me to do pushups, I'll do them until they tell me to stop."

He said he and his fellow Airmen had the most trouble with water exercises, which tested trainees both physically and mentally.

"The water is a big deal," he said. "A guy can be a college runner, swimmer, wrestler, any athlete in awesome shape, but when you get him underwater and take away his ability to breathe, a whole different person comes out."

After successfully completing indoc, Forshaw was still a long way from becoming a certified PJ. His next step was combat dive school in Panama City, Fla., followed by airborne school at Fort Benning, Ga. Next he completed wind tunnel training at Fort Bragg, N.C., and free-fall training in Yuma, Ariz. After that came basic EMT training and EMT paramedic training, both at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The next and final step proved to be the longest and most challenging.

The only thing standing between Forshaw and his goal was the Pararescue Recovery Specialist Course, an intense six-month training at Kirtland that taught and tested trainees everything from tactics to air operations, mountaineering to land navigation, combat medicine and more. It was there Forshaw had his first failure.

"I was washed back for messing up on a medical assessment twice," Forshaw said. "I didn't respond correctly to a simulated anaphylaxis (allergic reaction) patient."

Had it been a real-life medical emergency, the consequences of Forshaw's incorrect response could have been fatal. In a training scenario, however, that mistake caused him to restart the course, which set him back approximately two and a half months. Restarting the course ensured Forshaw would never make that mistake agian. While having to start over was a kick to his ego, Forshaw knew it was his responsibility, and he didn't blame anyone else.

"It was my first hiccup in training, and it was just months before I was supposed to be a PJ after two years of training," Forshaw said. "I knew there was nothing I could do about it but study and just do better next time."

Forshaw said his family helped him through all phases of training, especially motivating him to pick up and move forward rather than bask on his mistake.

"I knew they were all there to support me, which was nice," Forshaw said of his family. "I definitely got some pep talks from Dad, which really helped."

Day after day, week after week, month after month, Forshaw inched closer and closer to completing his training. Finally, graduation day came; six states later and two years and nine months after he had begun that first day of indoc, Forshaw received that brand new PJ beret he worked so hard to earn. He placed it on his head and beamed with pride. He described the moment as surreal.

"It was a good feeling to say the least!" Forshaw laughed, reminiscing about graduation day. "It was a breath of fresh air, a big accomplishment - one hundred percent surreal."

Though it felt surreal at first, he realized the reality when he was back with his unit, the 308th Rescue Squadron at Patrick.

"Someone was giving a tour of our unit, and they introduced me saying, 'This is Brandon Forshaw. He's one of the PJs here.' I thought, wow, I was just introduced as a PJ! That was the first time it really sunk in," Forshaw recalled.

In 2011, Forshaw went on his first deployment as a pararescueman. A lot had changed from his last deployment. Instead of being a single Marine corporal in Djibouti, this time he was a newlywed Air Force noncommissioned officer in Afghanistan. After all the training he had been through, Forshaw thought he was prepared for any situation and to risk his life, "that others may live," holding true to the pararescue motto. Sometimes, though, they don't live.

Forshaw said early in his deployment he realized how real it was. His unit received a call that a Marine at a small patrol base had been shot in the chest, and Forshaw's team responded as quickly as possible. When they arrived on scene, the Marine was unconscious. Forshaw and his team did all they could to save the young man, but they were unable to resuscitate him. Forshaw said they were all saddened by the loss, but it made him realize that although he was unable to save this fellow service member, he was still needed to save others.

"I realized what we're doing here is making a difference for the guys we save," he said. "We flew three more missions that day. You've got to keep going."

While earning his beret was a significant step in his career and his life, Forshaw said it's not about him; it's about the mission -- rescue.

"It's about saving lives," Forshaw said of being a PJ. "It's about bringing our brothers and sisters home -- that's why we do it."

This is the third part in a three part series. Read about the beginning of Forshaw's journey to becoming a PJ in parts one and two.