SURVIVAL, EVASION, RESISTANCE, AND ESCAPE
COMBAT CONTROL SPECIALIST
PARARESCUE
COMBAT RESCUE OFFICER

USAF
SPECIAL
OPERATIONS

SQUADRON 131 CAREER EXPLORATIONS

YOU DON'T APPLY,
YOU PROVE.

If you have what it takes to join Air Force Special Warfare you’ll have to prove it. Candidates undergo intense strength and conditioning training in preparation for what is the longest special operations training course in the world.

SERE SPECIALIST

ENSURING AIRMAN SURVIVAL

Whether it’s in the desert, the arctic, at sea, in the jungle or as a prisoner of war, Airmen are prepared for any situation. And it’s the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) specialists who train them. These elite instructors are experts on how to survive in the most remote and hostile environments on the planet. And it’s up to them to make sure that when a mission doesn’t go as planned, the Airmen involved are ready for anything.

SERE CAREER TASKS

Conduct operations around the world preparing aircrew and high-risk-of-isolation personnel to return from any type of survival situation.

Train and operate in the eight geographic disciplines of Temperate, Arctic, Desert, Tropic, Coastal, Open Sea, Urban and Captivity, day or night.

Provide direct support in Personnel Recovery (PR) programs through preparation, planning, execution, and adaptation.

Organize and conduct SERE training activities and instruct on the use of related equipment.

Perform and instruct basic, advanced, and emergency military parachuting.

SERE TRAINING PIPELINE INCLUDES

COURSE LOCATION
SERE Specialist Orientation Course
Lackland AFB, TX
SERE Training Apprentice Course
Fairchild AFB, WA

COMBAT CONTROLLER

FIRST TO BATTLE

Acting as a one-man attachment to other special forces teams, these highly specialized Airmen are trained in a wide range of skills, including scuba, parachuting, and snowmobiling, as well as being FAA-certified air traffic controllers in order to establish air control and provide combat support on missions all over the globe.

CCT CAREER TASKS

Did you know?

  • There have been five Air Force Crosses awarded since 2001 and three of them were awarded to Combat Controllers
  • After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, CCT’s were on the ground and conducting air traffic control in less than 24 hours

CCT TRAINING PIPELINE INCLUDES

COURSE LOCATION
Special Warfare Preparatory
Lackland AFB, TX
Special Warfare Combat Dive
Panama City, FL
US Army Airborne
Fort Benning, GA
Military Freefall
Yuma, AZ
SERE Training
Fairchild AFB, WA
Air Traffic Control
Keesler AFB, MS
Combat Control Apprentice
Pope Army Airfield, NC

PARARESCUEMEN

THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE

When an injured Airman needs saving from a hostile or otherwise unreachable area, it’s our duty to bring them home. As members of Air Force Special Ops, Pararescue (PJ) specialists rescue and medically treat downed military personnel all over the world. These highly trained experts take part in every aspect of the mission and are skilled parachutists, scuba divers and rock climbers, and they are even arctic-trained in order to access any environment to save a life when they’re called to do so.

PJ CAREER TASKS

Lead combat rescue activities, which can take place in mountain, desert, arctic, urban, jungle, and water regions, day or night, in hostile, friendly, or sensitive areas of the world.

Provide primary emergency trauma and field medical care and help move injured personnel if airborne recovery isn’t possible.

Conduct surface-to-air and surface electronic communications and use firearms and munitions to help secure operations.

On-scene duties may include assisting with resupply efforts, as well as search and rescue efforts.

Assist teams with evasive maneuvers, and also provide support to NASA missions, including astronaut recovery.

Did you know?

  • Of all the Air Force Crosses that have been awarded to enlisted personnel, half have been awarded to Pararescuemen
  • The training pipeline for PJ’s is called “Superman School”
  • The PJ maroon beret was the second-ever beret authorized for wear, after the US Army Special Forces beret

PJ TRAINING PIPELINE INCLUDES

COURSE LOCATION
Special Warfare Preparatory
Lackland AFB, TX
Special Warfare Combat Dive
Panama City, FL
US Army Airborne
Fort Benning, GA
Military Freefall
Yuma, AZ
SERE Training
Fairchild AFB, WA
Pararescue EMT-P
Kirtland AFB, NM
Pararescue Apprentice
Kirtland AFB, NM

COMBAT RESCUE OFFICER

ENSURING LIVES ARE SAVED

When servicemen are injured and rendered immobile on the front lines, their life depends on a swift, effective evacuation. Responsible for organizing and strategizing recovery operations, Combat Rescue Officers provide the insights and skill essential for rescue missions to succeed. These highly capable and courageous Airmen not only train, equip and develop necessary survival skills in rescue personnel, but will often deploy into direct combat as a member of the rescue team themselves.

CRO CAREER TASKS

Provide command and control of full spectrum personnel recovery operations.

Lead Pararescue, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) operations.

Assess readiness through training exercises, inspections and evaluation results.

Strategize and conduct rescue and recovery operations.

Manage rescue programs and training.

CRO TRAINING PIPELINE INCLUDES

COURSE LOCATION
Special Warfare Preparatory
Lackland AFB, TX
Combat Rescue Officer Development
Lackland AFB, TX
Special Warfare Combat Dive
Panama City, FL
US Army Airborne
Fort Benning, GA
Military Freefall
Yuma, AZ
CRO Advanced SERE
Fairchild AFB, WA
Underwater Egress
NAB Coronado, CA
CRO Course
Kirtland AFB, NM