USAF Pararescue and Scuba Diving

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Here is the current AF Combat Dive Badge. Graduates of the Air Force Combat Dive course in Panama City get this. Typically it is limited to PJs, CROs, CCT, STOs, but sometimes other careers go the course. Survival school underwater egress safties wear the badge too but they just attend the Navy basic diver course.

Note the double hose regulator and the classic oval mask.
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Here is the quote from the book, Pararescue--Fifty Years.
Pararescue forces provided support to NASA and the space and missil programs for recovery of astronaut personnel and space hardware. The beginning of manned space flight, with Project MERCURY, in the late 1950s brought forward the new problem of assisting the open sea recovery of astronauts should they land in areas other than planned. The need had arisen for a skill and ability to parachute into open seas, secure the capsule from sinking, and provide a stable environment for the astronaut crew until recovery via surface vessels could be accomplished.

Sergeant Earl Casto had submitted a study to ARS headquarters on the feasibility of pararescuemen parchuting while wearing SCUBA equipment. He and other pararescuemen stationed with the 76th Air Rescue Squadron i Hickam AFB, Hawaii, had been testing the idea. Authorization was given, and the first SCUBA equipment was purchased in Honolulu at a store called "Toys For Men." SCUBA training began at the U.S. Navy Underwater Swimmers School at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At the same time, training and evaluation began ot the 48th ARS at Eglin AFB, Florida. Sergeant Nick Klimis, Pararescue Section NCOIC, and his fellow pararescuemen began attending an identical school at Key West, Florida, and were instrumental in the addition of SCUBA to pararescue skills. Naturally, they were good-natured differences of opinion as to which was the most difficult school.

Beocause of the physical rigors involved, operational SCUBA duties had the effect of making the pararescue career field very much a job for the "young." Some of the older, more experienced pararescuemen elected not to attend SCUBA school while others were eliminated for medical reasons. Further, the USN had a thirty-year age limit on SCUBA training, but ARS had managed to obtain waivers for that requirement. Udo Fischer was thirty-eight years old when making it through KEy West, graduating as number two out of forty classmates between the ages of eighteen and mid-twenties. It was not until the death of one of the over-thirty PJs, Tom Rowe, who died in training at Key West, that this age limit was fully appreciated and reinstated. Due to the SCUBA-qualified requirement in those early ye.ars, much parrescue career field expertise and experience was lost when some personnel failed to qualify or want anything to do with the new skill.

By late 1974, it became apparent that the Navy Diving School, which moved from Key West, Florida, to San Diego, California, had cut back on its curriculum. After recieving an updated course syllabus from the USN, HQ ARS was surprised to find that the 1,500-yard night swim, the night SCUBA navigation swim, and some of the physical fitness routines had been deleted. Much concern was expressed that young Pararescue students were graduating from the course in worse physical condition than when they began. It was also felt that they needed tehse key training evolutions in order to be better prepared for the demands of the pararescue career field. For example, night swims installed confidence in individuals as to their capabilities.to perform night SCUBA jumps or other night-related operational requirements. A letter from HQ ARRS/Director of Operations (DO) was sent to USN voicing these concerns. Navwy replied that it was in the business of "training divers to go off a boat, go down and complete their assigned task and return to the boat. We're not out to train a bunch of gorillas."

Upon receiving their response, Senior Master Sergeant John Toby was given approval to approach officials at U.S. Army TRADOC at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and to propose that all pararescue "pipeline" students attend the Army's Special Forces SCUBA School. TRADOC readily agreed to take any and all pararescue students as there was movement afoot to consolidate all SCUBA training under the USN. TRADOC had concerns that the Navy course would not satisfy its needs either. The officials felt that if pararescue students could attend the Special Forces SCUBA School, the perception of a "multi-service" school would be established and thereby stand a better chace of its remaining operational. The first formal PJ student pipeline class attending the Special Forces coures at KEy West, Florida, early in t1975, and the course has since remained the primary source of SCUBA training for pararescuemen.
PARARESCUE, 50 YEARS, 1943-1993, A Commemorative History, Tayler Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, Copyright 1996, The Pararescue Association, pages 92-93
I assume that in the U.S. Army Special Forces SCUBA School included rebreather training, but do not know that for certain as I never had the opportunity to go through that school.
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This photo shows our Pararescue class (67-3) going through some of the exercises at the U.S. Navy School for Underwater Swimmers, Key Wast, Florida in 1967. Note the twin 90 tanks, and double hose regulators, and oval masks. The bottom photo is of my buddy, Bob Means, on our 1,500 yard compass course swim.

SeaRat
 
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Just to contribute to the topic of Pararescue and diving, PJs still perform recovery dive operation in combat to this day. Besides Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) its is safe to say that PJs perform operational dives more than any other specialty under the Special Operations umbrella, including Navy SEAL and Army Special Forces. Body and sensitive item recoveries in the Middle East and Africa happen more often than people might initially think. For a while during the busier years in the Middle East we were performing about 2 recovery dives a year. Things have slowed down for sure but they still happen at home and abroad.

Here's an excerpt from the Department of Defense Military Diving Operations Manual 2015. The "personnel recovery forces" were Air Force Pararescue teams.

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM Diver Recovery Mission
On 21 October 2005 at 1730L [local], the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron was notified by the Joint Personnel Recovery Coordination Center that a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) with five United States (US) Marines onboard had been hit by an improvised explosive device near Fallujah, Iraq. Two Marines had been ejected from the vehicle, presumably into a 75 foot wide, 15 foot deep irrigation canal. US Air Force personnel recovery (PR) forces on alert at Balad, Iraq, were tasked to initiate search and rescue efforts. The PR forces immediately deployed to the incident site by helicopter, linked up with the Marine ground force commander, and initiated recovery operations.

US Central Command planners continuously monitored the progress of the recovery operations and alerted US Navy divers to help with the recovery efforts. The Air Force PR dive team worked throughout the night and into the afternoon, locating partial remains of the Marines, dog tags, and equipment items which allowed commanders to reclassify the two Marines as “killed in action.” Navy dive teams arrived at 1600L [local] the day after the incident [occurred] and a handover of the recovery operation was conducted. Over the next few days, the Navy team continued sensitive recovery operations and recovered the remainder of the personal effects and sensitive equipment from the incident site. The ability of the joint force planners to quickly initiate dive recovery operations and transition the dive force to sustain the operation ensured the remains of these Marines could be returned with honor. Source: Headquarters United States Air Force
 
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Rich, as you know, many of us in Pararescue had similar experiences to the mission you describe above. I think I have heard of this one, and also heard that the diving conditions were terrible, with zero visibility and awful water.

Here is one mission report I had out of Kunsan AFB, Korea in 1969; this is the draft statement for the Korean Air Force:
1625/JCR, Mission # Det 3, 41st ARRWg 007, March 13, 1969

I had very little visual contact with the victims or their equipment before my deployment into the water because I was busy putting on my diving equipment. I was in the door about 10 seconds before TSgt Maxwell tapped me out of the helicopter. The helicopter was in about a 15 foot hoover when I jumped. After entering the water, I swam to the victim and tried to lift him to the water's surface. He was too heavy. Underwater visibility was about six (6) inches. It was hard to determine which part of the victim (arm or leg) I was holding. It was his arm. I found one of his Capewell quick releases for his parachute, which was deployed in the water, and released it. Then I turned him over to get to the other release, and released it also. I tried to blow up his LPU,⁠1 but couldn't find them. The victim's face was bloody and he didn't have a helmet on. After releasing the parachute, I swam him away from his life raft and parachute. I had to cut parachute suspension lines which were tangled around his feet and my swim fins and the tether to his life raft. I signaled for a helicopter pickup of the first victim. The HH-43 helicopter lowered a rescue seat to me, which I disconnected, and hooked the hoist's hook to the victim's parachute harness.

After the first victim was aboard the helicopter, I looked around for the other victim. I saw a helmet, swam to it towing the rescue seat, but the victim wasn't there. I strapped the helmet to the seat. The second helicopter guided me to the second victim.

I swam to the second victim, swimming around his parachute to keep from getting tangled in the lines. I found some suspension lines beside the victim and cut them. I then cut the risers (on the victim's right side, I believe), disconnected the Capewell quick release from the parachute risers on the other side, and checked to see if the victim was tangled in lines. He was not tangled. I also tried to locate his LPU to blow them up, but again couldn't find them. Then I signaled for a second hoist pickup, which was accomplished the same manner as the first.

When the second victim was aboard, I swam to the rescue seat, strapped myself into it, and I was picked up.
Headquarters
Republic of Korea Air Force
Seoul, Korea

1 LPU--Life Preserver, Underarm
From Between Air and Water, the Memoir of an USAF Pararescueman, draft
Copyright 2017, John C. Ratliff
 
That is interesting about the Air Force Dive Badge.

From what I could find, the SCUBA badge is presented by the school when you qualify. So the Navy badge would have been worn. The Air Force did not have a special SCUBA badge at that time. With the move to Army training I guess they would award the Army Special Operations Diver qual badge, unless some other arrangements are made.


Bob
 
Here's a link for anyone interested: Uniform Service Diver Insignia (United States)

It can be confusing in the USN because the diver rating can sound like the pay grade. For example an ND2 (Navy Diver Second Class Petty Officer) could be a First Class Diver... or vise-versa.
 
Here's a link for anyone interested: Uniform Service Diver Insignia (United States)

It can be confusing in the USN because the diver rating can sound like the pay grade. For example an ND2 (Navy Diver Second Class Petty Officer) could be a First Class Diver... or vise-versa.

For us Marines the most important rating was a USN Corpsman.

Our "Doc's", who joined the Navy, and somehow ended up with Marines.

Still, today, when a Navy Corpsman walks into the room at any annual reunion
he cannot buy a drink. It is always-Hey Doc!
 
From what I could find, the SCUBA badge is presented by the school when you qualify. So the Navy badge would have been worn. The Air Force did not have a special SCUBA badge at that time. With the move to Army training I guess they would award the Army Special Operations Diver qual badge, unless some other arrangements are made.


Bob

You're absolutely right Bob. Air Force combat divers that attended the Marine or Army courses are authorized to wear their badges, but very few (if any) now attend those courses since the Air Force made its own self-sufficient Combat Dive Course in 2006. Before the Marines made a new badge in 2001 and the Army made theirs in 2006, all of us wore that badge I posted earlier.

There aren't too many Air Force divers and leadership hasn't been very interested in updating the badge. Even though the standard of training is the same, the USAF school just issues the old "bubble".
 
Nothing wrong with tradition.


Bob
 
Nothing wrong with tradition.


Bob

I agree and like the heritage that comes along with it. I like my bubble!

But at the same time military badges should indicate a level of training or qualification. From what I understand, pretty much the only other people that use that badge now are Navy basic divers with just a few months. An update might be appropriate, if only to convey the standard of training to those sister-service divers that aren't familiar.
 
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