• SERE SPECIALIST
• COMBAT CONTROL SPECIALIST
• PARARESCUEMEN
• COMBAT RESCUE OFFICER
USAF
SPECIAL
OPERATIONS
SQUADRON 304 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.
THE 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.
THE 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
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
THE 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.
THE CRO TRAINING PIPELINE INCLUDES
| COURSE | LOCATION |
|---|---|
|
Special Warfare Preparatory |
Lackland AFB, TX |
|
Combat Rescue Officer Development |
Lackland AFB, FL |
|
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 |
