The Geneva Conventions is the final nail that resulted in Air Rescue Service not being a helicopter aeromedical service and the helicopters being armed casualty evacuation and armed combat rescue helicopters.
However, the capability development and utilization of helicopter to do comat rescue and the development of Pararescue has it teeth cutting infancy utilization in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater during WWII.
The utilization has always been the global reach out and cross borders nature with the Pararescue capability being the first response on the ground giving medical, SERE, and security aid and assistance to survivors of downed or went missing aircraft. The use of Pararescue also from the immediate post WWII onset of the cold war has included recovery of sensitive materiel that went missing in ross border situations (Film capsules from reconnaissance satellites, equipment gondolas from extreme high altitude reconnaissance balloons, sensitive classified materiel/devices/weapons on downed or went missing aircraft, drone/UAV went missing clean-up, astronaut rescue and recovery.
From the Air Force Enlisted Classification Directory:
1. Specialty Summary. 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 recovery specialist on flying status as mission crew or as surface elements. Provides rapid response capability and operates in the six geographic disciplines: mountain, desert, arctic, urban, jungle and water, day or night, to include friendly, denied, hostile, or sensitive areas. Provides assistance in and performs survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE). Provides emergency trauma and field medical care, and security. Moves recovered personnel and materiel to safety or friendly control when recovery by aircraft is not possible. Related DoD Occupational Subgroup: 105000.
2. Duties and Responsibilities:
2.1. Performs mission planning and preparation. Studies operation mission requirements. Studies terrain and situation. Organizes and selects personnel, equipment, and weapons. Rehearses mission plan, makes reconnaissance, conducts back brief, safeguards information, and loads and configures aircraft. Issues warning order and provides mission plan objective brief.
2.2. Supervises and performs insertion, infiltration, exfiltration, and extraction functions. Conducts flight following, and confirms waypoint passage. Provides enroute emergency trauma and medical care. Provides and performs SERE. Provides recovery zone security and aircraft reception. Performs aerial and surface deployment methods to reach objective area. Uses aerial and surface methods to load and assist in loading objectives. Off-loads and transfers personnel and materiel. Prepares and dons mission and personal equipment. Performs inflight duties (if on flying status) to avoid and suppress air and surface threats through scanning, navigation assistance, and aerial gunnery operations. Performs nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare defense. Provides guidance and input to aircraft commander for on-scene operations and confirms insertion and extraction points and infiltration and exfiltration methods.
2.3. Performs, supervises, and evaluates surface movement. Navigates on land or water. Performs overt, low visibility, or clandestine movement in friendly, hostile, denied, or sensitive land and water areas. Conducts surface search, contact, and on-scene authentication. Designates rally points. Selects bivouac sites. Conducts discrete surface-to-air and surface electronic and visual communications and signaling activities. Uses firearms and munitions to provide movement security and perform immediate action drills. Directs emergency close air support (ECAS). Provides reception for resupply operations. Conducts scuba, adverse terrain, and mountain rescue and recovery operations. Provides on-scene triage and survivor handling. Provides survival and evasion assistance. Provides photographic documentation. Recovers priority aerospace personnel and material.
2.4. Provides intelligence and operations information in debriefings and mission reports.
2.5. Supports the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in recovery of aerospace personnel and materiel. Guides recovery of priority NASA space materiel.
