Pararescue Jump

Pararescuemen (AFSC 1T2X1), also called PJs (a nickname pronounced 'pee jays'), are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operatives tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. They are the only members of the DoD specifically organized, trained and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations in hostile or denied areas as a primary mission. PJs are also used to support NASA missions and have been used to recover astronauts after water landings. Of the 22 enlisted Air Force Cross recipients, 12 have been awarded to Pararescuemen. They wear the maroon beret as a symbol of their elite status. Part of the little-known Air Force Special Tactics community[4] and long an enlisted preserve, the Pararescue service began commissioning Combat Rescue Officers early in the 21st century. You can read the true account of one PJ in the book That Others May Live written by PJ Jack Brehm and Pete Nelson.