68th RQF leads their first Rescue Jumpmaster Course

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Katie Spencer
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 68th Rescue Flight, also known as the Guardian Angel Formal Training Unit, organized and led a Rescue Jumpmaster course at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., Aug. 4-22.

The RJM course provides pararescuemen with the skills needed to be responsible for the overall safety and execution of a mission.

The students learn how to accurately determine wind speed in order to safely jump from an aircraft, position cargo on a target on the ground or water and release it from the ramp of a plane, and safely conduct personnel jumps on both land and water during day and night, amongst other tasks. This course is required for the pararescuemen to advance in their upgrade training.

"The RJM course is the most advanced form of parachuting the Air Force has," said Master Sgt. John Lane, a course instructor from the 68th RQF, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. "It is also the most accurate. We use Army jump school fundamentals, since they are the proponents of jumping with a good course and career-wide standard, and do it with a rescue mind-set."

The 21-day course included pararescuemen from active duty, guard and reserve, spanning more than 10 rescue units. The first week consisted of classroom instruction. The second week, the students practiced static-line jumping. And the final week, the teams focused on the free-fall aspect of pararescue.

"The RJM course is great," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Broline, a student assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron at Patrick AFB. "It's well planned out and structured to give us the tools to advance in our training. Everyone in the course has a foundation to build from, and guys are doing a great job at absorbing information and then turning around and executing later."

The 308th RQS assisted in making the course a success. They provided logistical resources such as a parachute drying tower, boat support, landing ranges, facilities.

"Whatever we can do to help out to get the training units going," said Senior Master Sgt. Mike Ziegler, 308th RQS operations superintendent. "It's going to be the next generation of guys coming out. So by everyone pitching in and doing their part, it makes it easier."

While the 308th RQS hosted the physical location of the the course and provided resources, it's the mission of the 68th RQF to instruct and train all Air Combat Command pararescuemen in advanced skill upgrades and proficiency training.

"We stood up the Guardian Angel FTU to teach rescue jumpmasters, combat leadership and confined-space rescue," said Lane. "My focus is that the (pararescuemen) and rescue support are getting the best training they can, and that's part of us building up the program so the next generation can succeed."

The Guardian Angel community did research and found that a PJ from one unit may not receive the exact same level of training as another. The FTU is a way to bridge that gap and create a standard throughout the pararescue career field.

"We want confident and competent jump masters," said Lane. "They need to have a merge between knowledge, skill and leadership. I won't accept anything less. We train them on equipment, fly them, and they are extremely accurate, because someone's life is going to depend on it."

The 68th RQF is a part of the 563rd Rescue Group, which is a tenant unit on D-M. The group falls under the 23rd Wing, stationed at Moody AFB, Ga.