The road to PJ part one: new country, new ideas

Published Nov. 30, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Anna-Marie Wyant
920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Many pararescuemen at the 920th Rescue Wing knew they wanted to be Rescue Airmen long before they were even old enough to enlist. They knew all about pararescuemen, also known as PJs, and their motto, "that others may live." As children, some probably dreamed about the day they would earn their maroon beret, jump out of planes and save lives. Staff Sgt. Brandon Forshaw wasn't one of those kids.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, much of Forshaw's early childhood didn't even involve thoughts about living in the U.S., much less fighting -- and possibly dying -- for this nation. To him, his life in South Africa was perfectly normal.

"It's a lot like living here," Forshaw said. "Of course there are some differences, like wearing uniforms in public schools, and the crime situation wasn't great, so you had to avoid going out after dark. But otherwise it was just regular life."

The high crime rate, however, ultimately led Forshaw's parents to decide to make a giant leap across the Atlantic and over the equator. When Forshaw was 12 years old, his family moved to Jasper, Georgia, to live with his maternal grandparents. More than 8,000 miles from what he knew as home, Forshaw said life was somewhat different yet comfortable.

"Differences that stood out were the accents, food, and cars," he said of his first impressions upon moving to the small town of Jasper. "But at twelve years old what sort of differences do you really notice? I mainly remember people who talked funny and asked a lot of questions about why I talked funny. The people were really friendly, though."

Forshaw said he, his sister and brother adjusted quickly to life in America and made many friends. After less than a year in Jasper, it was time for the family to move again, this time outside Tampa, Fla., home of MacDill Air Force Base. Moving there, Forshaw knew very little about the U.S. Armed Forces. In fact, the military he had heard the most about as a child was that of a country no longer in existence: Rhodesia.

Forshaw's father served as one of the Selous Scouts of Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe. The Scouts were a special forces regiment of the Rhodesian Army in the 1970s. Known for conducting highly successful counterinsurgency missions with very small numbers of personnel, the Scouts were known for being incredibly effective. Forshaw's father shared with his son many tales of his time in the prestigious regiment. While proud of his father's accomplishments, Forshaw said those tales, while interesting, didn't make him want to become a military man himself - until one day at the beach.

"When my family and I were at Clearwater Beach, I saw these two T-38s (training aircraft) flying up and down over the beach. That's when I decided I wanted to join the military," Forshaw said.

For some reason, seeing those planes just clicked, but he didn't think he wanted to be a pilot.

"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in the military," Forshaw said. "I hadn't even heard of PJs before."

That inspiring sighting when he was 14 years old led him to take interest in joining his high school's Air Force Junior ROTC program as a freshman and continue as a sophomore. Although he was involved in ROTC, he still wasn't sure of the path he would take; he just knew that when he graduated from high school, he wanted to serve his new home country.

The summer between his junior and senior years, Forshaw received a phone call that would change his life.

"The phone rang, and a guy said, 'Hey, is this Brandon Forshaw from Bloomingdale High School?' I said, 'Yeah, that's me.' 'Have you ever thought about joining the Marine Corps?' 'No, I've never thought about joining the Marine Corps,'" Forshaw said, recounting the conversation from more than a decade ago.

That call, however, did make him think about joining the Marine Corps. The next day, he went to speak to Marine Corps Reserve recruiters in Tampa, and after a couple hours, he decided he wanted to enlist. He signed the initial paperwork on Sept. 5, 2011. Forshaw had no idea how much his future -- and the rest of the world -- could change in one week.

This is part one of a three part series. Learn more about Forshaw's journey to becoming a PJ in parts two and three.