On Base: The P.A.S.T. is the start of the future

By: Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar

Article Category: On Base

ON BASE
The P.A.S.T is the start of a future
By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar, 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs

“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, FL. 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 wanna-be 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.

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 to the Navy SEAL training,” says Dunne. The pool work starts with 15 minutes of 25-meter underwater swim, then a 30-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. 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.

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.

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