Combat rescue officer
Encyclopedia
Combat Rescue Officer is a career field in the United States Air Force
. Its Air Force Specialty Code
(AFSC) is 13DXA and it was created to strengthen USAF personnel recovery capabilities. The CRO specialty includes direct combatant command and control of Combat Search and Rescue
(CSAR) operations. They plan, manage and execute the six tasks of CSAR: prepare, report, locate, support, recover, and reintegrate isolated personnel and materiel. CROs conduct strategic, operational and tactical level planning, provide battle staff expertise, manage theater personnel recovery operations and conduct combat operations.
CROs manage day-to-day activities to organize, train and equip assigned personnel to conduct CSAR operations. They deploy as a direct combatant commander of operations. CROs provide subject matter expertise to command battle staffs and theater command and control structure.
CRO duties and responsibilities include planning missions and leading CSAR assets, pararescue and SERE operations, including aerospace interface in the recovery objective area. Supporting joint and combined forces engaged in conventional and special operations air, ground, and/or maritime personnel recovery operations. Advising on readiness of forces based on force status reports, inspections, training exercise and evaluation results. Developing plans and coordinating activities to report, locate and support isolated personnel or materiel. Planning and conducting missions to recover personnel and material, coordinating evacuation of isolated personnel to friendly control. Developing plans and executing the debriefing and reintegration of recovered personnel. Ensuring CSAR activities are organized, and teams/units are trained and equipped to perform the full military spectrum of CSAR and Coalition/Joint PR. Inspecting and evaluating CSAR activities, functions, and personnel.
Phase II takes place at Fairchild AFB, Washington This phase includes three mile running sessions, 1,500 meter swims, and rucksack marches up to six miles. The goal of Phase II is to place the candidates under extreme fatigue and constant stress to see how they think and act under circumstances that are similar to the real world battlefront. Many young officers going into Phase II drop out or are eliminated, leaving a fraction of the original class.
CRO training consists of the following:
The mission of the Indoctrination Course is to recruit, select and train future PJs and CROs. At this school, participants undergo extensive physical conditioning with swimming, running, weight training and calisthenics
. This course helps prepare students for the rigors of training and the demands of these lifestyles. Other training includes obstacle courses, rucksack marches, diving physics
, dive tables, metric manipulations, medical terminology, dive terminology, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
, weapons qualifications, history of PJs, and leadership reaction course. Graduation of this course is the "ticket to ride the pipeline" and begin learning the special skills that make PJs highly regarded special operators.
Students learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line
airdrop. This course includes ground operations week, tower week, and "jump week" when participants make five parachute jumps. Personnel who complete this training are awarded the basic parachutist rating and are allowed to wear the Parachutist Badge
.
The course is divided into four blocks of instruction: (1) Diving Theory, (2) Infiltration/Exfiltration Methods, (3) Open Circuit
Diving Operations, and (4) Closed Circuit
Diving Operations. The primary focus of AFCDC is to develop Pararescuemen/Combat Rescue Officers and Combat Controller/Special Tactics Officers into competent, capable and safe combat divers/swimmers. The course provides commanders with divers/swimmers capable of undertaking personnel recovery and special operations waterborne missions. AFCDC provides diver training through classroom instruction, extensive physical training, surface and sub-surface water confidence pool exercises, pool familiarization dives, day/night tactical open water surface/sub-surface infiltration swims, open/closed circuit diving procedures and underwater search and recovery procedures. The session culminates with a waterborne field training exercise
.
This course teaches how to safely escape from an aircraft that has landed in the water. Instruction includes principles, procedures and techniques necessary to escape a sinking aircraft.
This course teaches basic survival techniques for remote areas using minimal equipment. This includes instruction of principles, procedures, equipment and techniques that help individuals to survive, regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments, and return home.
This course instructs free fall parachuting (HALO) using a high performance parafoil
. The course provides wind tunnel training, in-air instruction focusing on student stability, aerial maneuvers, air sense and parachute opening procedures. Each student receives a minimum of 30 free fall jumps including two day and two night jumps with supplemental oxygen, rucksack and load-bearing equipment.
This course teaches advanced SERE skills associated with the tactical PR planning for report, locate, support, recovery and reintegration tasks of the personnel recovery mission. Additionally, this course provides the CRO with knowledge in SERE programs to include emergency parachuting, post egress procedures, life support equipment, land navigation, evasion and assisted evasion, global environments, resistance to exploitation, prisoner of war communications, escape from captivity, physiology and psychology of survival and the development and employment of the SERE specialists during personnel recovery operations. Additionally DoD
ran survival courses (High Risk Survival and Hostage Survival) are taught during this time.
This course teaches how to manage trauma patients prior to evacuation and provide emergency medical treatment. Phase I is four weeks of emergency medical technician basic (EMT-B) training. Providing medical care is not the primary role of the CRO as this is the function of the enlisted Pararescue personnel.
Initial qualification course to instruct and certify basic competency in use of maps and charts; command and control principles and procedures; combat search and rescue principles and procedures; flight characteristics of aircraft; communications, weapons handling, signaling devices, and tactical communications procedures; personal protection and sustenance; rough terrain movement and mountain or adverse terrain recoveries and technical rescue, survival techniques; small unit tactics and field leadership; employment techniques to include fast rope, rope ladder, hoist, and rappelling; overland movement to include mounted and dismounted; amphibious operations to include scuba infiltration; and parachuting operations to include static-line and military free-fall parachuting procedures. CRO candidates graduate as non-rated officer aircrew on HH-60 and HC-130
aircraft. Application includes academics, practical training, testing, and evaluation in academics and field environments, flying training, and flight aircraft.
Teaches the application of joint air operations.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Its Air Force Specialty Code
Air Force Specialty Code
The Air Force Specialty Code is an alphanumeric code used by the United States Air Force to identify an Air Force Specialty . Officer AFSCs consist of four characters and enlisted AFSCs consist of five characters. A letter prefix or suffix may be used with an AFSC when more specific identification...
(AFSC) is 13DXA and it was created to strengthen USAF personnel recovery capabilities. The CRO specialty includes direct combatant command and control of Combat Search and Rescue
Combat search and rescue
Combat search and rescue are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones.A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, tankers and an airborne command post...
(CSAR) operations. They plan, manage and execute the six tasks of CSAR: prepare, report, locate, support, recover, and reintegrate isolated personnel and materiel. CROs conduct strategic, operational and tactical level planning, provide battle staff expertise, manage theater personnel recovery operations and conduct combat operations.
CROs manage day-to-day activities to organize, train and equip assigned personnel to conduct CSAR operations. They deploy as a direct combatant commander of operations. CROs provide subject matter expertise to command battle staffs and theater command and control structure.
CRO duties and responsibilities include planning missions and leading CSAR assets, pararescue and SERE operations, including aerospace interface in the recovery objective area. Supporting joint and combined forces engaged in conventional and special operations air, ground, and/or maritime personnel recovery operations. Advising on readiness of forces based on force status reports, inspections, training exercise and evaluation results. Developing plans and coordinating activities to report, locate and support isolated personnel or materiel. Planning and conducting missions to recover personnel and material, coordinating evacuation of isolated personnel to friendly control. Developing plans and executing the debriefing and reintegration of recovered personnel. Ensuring CSAR activities are organized, and teams/units are trained and equipped to perform the full military spectrum of CSAR and Coalition/Joint PR. Inspecting and evaluating CSAR activities, functions, and personnel.
Training and selection process
The selection process is broken into two phases. Phase I requires an in depth application that summarizes the professional history and qualifications of the individual applying. Heavy consideration is given to prior military service, academic achievement, and leadership abilities. A board of field grade officers review the applications and select the group that will go on to Phase II of selection.Phase II takes place at Fairchild AFB, Washington This phase includes three mile running sessions, 1,500 meter swims, and rucksack marches up to six miles. The goal of Phase II is to place the candidates under extreme fatigue and constant stress to see how they think and act under circumstances that are similar to the real world battlefront. Many young officers going into Phase II drop out or are eliminated, leaving a fraction of the original class.
CRO training consists of the following:
- Pararescue/Combat Rescue Officer Indoctrination Course, Lackland Air Force BaseLackland Air Force BaseLackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located west-southwest of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(9 weeks)
The mission of the Indoctrination Course is to recruit, select and train future PJs and CROs. At this school, participants undergo extensive physical conditioning with swimming, running, weight training and calisthenics
Calisthenics
Calisthenics are a form of aerobic exercise consisting of a variety of simple, often rhythmical, movements, generally using multiple equipment or apparatus. They are intended to increase body strength and flexibility with movements such as bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or kicking, using...
. This course helps prepare students for the rigors of training and the demands of these lifestyles. Other training includes obstacle courses, rucksack marches, diving physics
Diving physics
Diving Physics explains the effects that divers and their equipment are subject to underwater.- Laws of physics for diving :The main laws of physics that govern the physics of the SCUBA diver and of diving equipment are:...
, dive tables, metric manipulations, medical terminology, dive terminology, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
, weapons qualifications, history of PJs, and leadership reaction course. Graduation of this course is the "ticket to ride the pipeline" and begin learning the special skills that make PJs highly regarded special operators.
- Army Airborne SchoolUnited States Army Airborne SchoolThe United States Army Airborne School — widely known as Jump School — conducts the basic paratrooper training for the United States armed forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion , 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia...
, Fort BenningFort BenningFort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(3 weeks)
Students learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line
Static line
A static line is a fixed cord attached to a large, stable object. It is used for safety in construction andto open parachutes automatically for paratroopers and novice parachutists.-Use in parachuting:...
airdrop. This course includes ground operations week, tower week, and "jump week" when participants make five parachute jumps. Personnel who complete this training are awarded the basic parachutist rating and are allowed to wear the Parachutist Badge
Parachutist Badge (United States)
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy...
.
- Air Force Combat Diver School, Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center, Naval Support Activity Panama CityNaval Support Activity Panama CityThe United States Naval Support Activity Panama City , is located just outside Panama City, Florida and is a United States Navy military base. It is located within Bay County. Among other commands, it houses Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division and the Navy Experimental Diving Unit...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(5.5 weeks)
The course is divided into four blocks of instruction: (1) Diving Theory, (2) Infiltration/Exfiltration Methods, (3) Open Circuit
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
Diving Operations, and (4) Closed Circuit
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
Diving Operations. The primary focus of AFCDC is to develop Pararescuemen/Combat Rescue Officers and Combat Controller/Special Tactics Officers into competent, capable and safe combat divers/swimmers. The course provides commanders with divers/swimmers capable of undertaking personnel recovery and special operations waterborne missions. AFCDC provides diver training through classroom instruction, extensive physical training, surface and sub-surface water confidence pool exercises, pool familiarization dives, day/night tactical open water surface/sub-surface infiltration swims, open/closed circuit diving procedures and underwater search and recovery procedures. The session culminates with a waterborne field training exercise
Field training exercise
A Field training exercise, generally shortened to the acronym "FTX", describes a highly coordinated and well planned exercise conducted by military units for training purposes.-FTX's in Active Duty:...
.
- Navy Underwater Egress Training, Pensacola Naval Air Station, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(1 day)
This course teaches how to safely escape from an aircraft that has landed in the water. Instruction includes principles, procedures and techniques necessary to escape a sinking aircraft.
- Air Force Basic Survival School, Fairchild Air Force BaseFairchild Air Force BaseFairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Spokane, Washington.The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...
, Washington (2.5 weeks)
This course teaches basic survival techniques for remote areas using minimal equipment. This includes instruction of principles, procedures, equipment and techniques that help individuals to survive, regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments, and return home.
- Army Military Free Fall Parachutist School, Fort BraggFort Bragg (North Carolina)Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and Yuma Proving Ground, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
(5 weeks)
Parafoil
A parafoil is a nonrigid airfoil with an aerodynamic cell structure which is inflated by the wind. Ram-air inflation forces the parafoil into a classic wing cross-section. Parafoils are most commonly constructed out of ripstop nylon....
. The course provides wind tunnel training, in-air instruction focusing on student stability, aerial maneuvers, air sense and parachute opening procedures. Each student receives a minimum of 30 free fall jumps including two day and two night jumps with supplemental oxygen, rucksack and load-bearing equipment.
- Advanced SERE course, Fairchild Air Force BaseFairchild Air Force BaseFairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Spokane, Washington.The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...
, Washington (4 weeks)
This course teaches advanced SERE skills associated with the tactical PR planning for report, locate, support, recovery and reintegration tasks of the personnel recovery mission. Additionally, this course provides the CRO with knowledge in SERE programs to include emergency parachuting, post egress procedures, life support equipment, land navigation, evasion and assisted evasion, global environments, resistance to exploitation, prisoner of war communications, escape from captivity, physiology and psychology of survival and the development and employment of the SERE specialists during personnel recovery operations. Additionally DoD
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
ran survival courses (High Risk Survival and Hostage Survival) are taught during this time.
- Pararescue EMT-Basic Training, Kirtland Air Force BaseKirtland Air Force BaseKirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(4 weeks)
This course teaches how to manage trauma patients prior to evacuation and provide emergency medical treatment. Phase I is four weeks of emergency medical technician basic (EMT-B) training. Providing medical care is not the primary role of the CRO as this is the function of the enlisted Pararescue personnel.
- Air Force Combat Rescue Officer Apprentice Course, Kirtland Air Force BaseKirtland Air Force BaseKirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(17 weeks)
Initial qualification course to instruct and certify basic competency in use of maps and charts; command and control principles and procedures; combat search and rescue principles and procedures; flight characteristics of aircraft; communications, weapons handling, signaling devices, and tactical communications procedures; personal protection and sustenance; rough terrain movement and mountain or adverse terrain recoveries and technical rescue, survival techniques; small unit tactics and field leadership; employment techniques to include fast rope, rope ladder, hoist, and rappelling; overland movement to include mounted and dismounted; amphibious operations to include scuba infiltration; and parachuting operations to include static-line and military free-fall parachuting procedures. CRO candidates graduate as non-rated officer aircrew on HH-60 and HC-130
HC-130
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue and Combat search and rescue version of the C-130 Hercules transport. The HC-130H and HC-130J versions are operated by the United States Coast Guard in a SAR and maritime reconnaissance role. The HC-130P and HC-130N Combat King models...
aircraft. Application includes academics, practical training, testing, and evaluation in academics and field environments, flying training, and flight aircraft.
- Joint Aerospace Command and Control Course, Hurlburt FieldHurlburt FieldHurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(3 weeks)
Teaches the application of joint air operations.