Photo By Sgt. Oscar Toscano | A close-up photo of an infrared Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape patch worn by...... read more read more
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea – When it comes to Personnel Recovery, U.S. Military fixed and rotary wing aircraft pilots know that time is of the essence in ensuring the safe return of personnel downed in a hostile zone.
The U.S. Air Force’s Pacific Air Force (PACAF) and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) took part in the semiannual joint training event which focused on Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) competencies fulfilling allied Personnel Recovery (PR) requirements in the Korean theater of operations March 30, 2022.
The joint PR operation was facilitated by Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) instructors, who prepare military service members, Department of Defense civilians and private military contractors to survive and “return with honor” with specific survival scenarios.
“Air Force A-10 fixed wing pilots begin the assessment by locating, reporting and supporting the isolated personnel while they are on the ground and facilitate the recovery phase,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ahron Rasabi, SERE instructor from the 51st Operational Support Squadron. “The recovery phase is conducted by either a rotary wing aircraft or a ground team during the CSAR evacuation.”
Before any of the aircraft are dispatched for the recovery phase, A-10 pilots need to know the location of the lost personnel and the strength of hostile forces if there are any in the area. Once the information has been received, the pilots then send the information to the Joint Personnel Recovery Center (JPRC) located on Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. Personnel extraction pilots are then informed of casualty and area conditions they will be flying into to retrieve the survivor.
“Our A-10 pilots initially make contact with the isolated personnel and receive all the information needed to send to the JPRC, who then send in a PR team,” said Rasabi. “The A-10 pilot communicates with both IP and rotary wing assets, which can be a joint U.S. Military or a Republic of Korea Army asset who conducts the PR.”
These joint training events require careful planning between all branches on the peninsula and national counterparts. The CSAR mission is critical to the U.S. military in recovering service members who are behind enemy lines and doing their best to survive in their given situation.
“My job is to make sure that when an event like this takes place, our pilots are prepared and confident in their abilities to recover the personnel who are stuck in a hostile environment,” said Rasabi. “Also, for the personnel who are behind enemy lines to know we are prepared to recover them, we want them to know we will do our best to bring them back home to their families.”
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2022 22:13 |
| Story ID: | 419393 |
| Location: | CAMP HUMPHREYS, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], KR |
| Web Views: | 223 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recovering survivors behind enemy lines, by SGT Oscar Toscano, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Search and Rescue training
