johca-Intro for

Johca

Pararescue
Verified SOF
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
487
Location
Anchorage Alaska
Hello all MSgt, RETIRED USAF since September 1996. Served 23 years active duty performing Pararescue duties around the world. Have lived in Anchorage Alaska since leaving active duty.
 
Thanks for all the welcomes. I stumbled here as a result of Google bringing the article--ShadowSpear Special Operations - Special Operators Take on MFF School—to my attention.

Great article!

As the article discloses use of instructors providing “one-on-one instruction up through jump 13” I thought I’d give a little bit of history of the 23rd AF MTT which qualified all members as military freefall parachutists from about November 1984 to about December 1986.

This course was to my knowledge was the first military free fall course to use accelerated free fall methods of instruction. The 23rd AFF MTT course were certified and approved under by the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The individual at JFKSWC that certified the course was John McDermett-MFI-123.

To my knowledge however none of the 23 AF MTT instructors were given MFFI numbers.

My MFF #4220, issued 20 January 1985 was signed off by Chief Instructor Captain Joseph A. Andrzejewski. I guess I better scan and send in my DD-214 for further verification purposes.
 
Hello all MSgt, RETIRED USAF since September 1996. Served 23 years active duty performing Pararescue duties around the world. Have lived in Anchorage Alaska since leaving active duty.

I forgot to ask, do you still have your website with all of your PJ history write-ups? I thought they were very educational.
 
Yes I do. http://www.alaska.net/~jcassidy/ Be advised some of those papers began back in 1993 as background and position papers to deal with some serious underhanded politics to eliminate the pararescue career field or change it into being a gunner/scanner duty position. So I sort of keep the documents I wrote current as I find new relevant information.

The other is USAF Pararescue was certainly a quite profession, but the problem is if nobody knows what you do the pencil pushing accountants and politicians trying to get a quick promotion by recommending a cut or change that saves money can easily recommend something to a decision maker who is not aware of the purpose the to execute operations capability has existed and should continue to exist.

The pararescue speciality description summary is:

Performs, plans, leads, supervises, instructs, and evaluates pararescue activities. Performs as the essential surface, air link in Personnel Recovery (PR) and materiel recovery by functioning as the rescue and recoveryspecialist on flying status as mission crew or as surface elements. Provides rapid response capability and operates in the sixgeographic disciplines: mountain, desert, arctic, urban, jungle and water, day or night, to include friendly, denied, hostile, orsensitive areas. Provides assistance in and performs survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE). Provides emergencytrauma and field medical care, and security. Moves recovered personnel and materiel to safety or friendly control whenrecovery by aircraft is not possible. Related DoD Occupational Subgroup: 105000.

The materiel recovery capability pupose mentioned in the description is often overlooked these days.
 
Good stuff. I recall reading those years ago and would recommend them to anyone interested in PJ history. I do thank you for takinig the time to create those.
 
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