That Others May Live
Find out what it's really like to be an Air Force Pararescueman
Air Force people have all been there. We've all seen the films at Basic Training and said, "Wow! I'd love to do that!" Out of the thousands who watch the film every month, perhaps 100 will actually volunteer. Out of those 100, about 9 will complete the 12 months of grueling training and graduate to become an Air Force Pararescueman.
That Others May Live takes you through this training, and into the daily lives and adventures of some of America's greatest unsung heros. Senior Master Sergeant Jack Brehm takes us along on his twenty year journey as an Air Force Pararescue Jumper, beginning with the trials and tribulations of a young man attending "Superman School." This basic training for PJs is unlike any other special operations course in existence, in that no one flunks out -- it just gets harder and harder until most guys simply quit.
Brehm does a great job describing the challenges, doubts, fears, and feelings which these unique warriors face each and every day. Jumping out of an aircraft at 25,000 feet, fast-roping from the door of a hovering helicopter, diving in ice-cold water, and climbing the highest mountain peaks are all in a days work for a combat pararescueman. They unfailingly place their lives on the line, whether in peacetime or combat, so that others may live.
 That Others May Live The True Story of a PJ, a Member of America's Most Daring Rescue Force Senior Master Sergeant Jack Brehm and Pete Nelson Biography / Autobiography / Letters | Crown | Hardcover | February 2000 | $ 24.00 | 0-609-60504-6 |
One theme reads solidly throughout
the entire book, and matches my experience as a first sergeant assigned to an Air Force combat rescue squadron:
Pararescuemen don't play by the rules and they don't give a damn about being "PC." They risk their lives
daily, even in routine training, and they party hard when the day is through. The average pararescueman only lasts
about 8 years in the career field, and the average pararescue marriage lasts even less than that. Brehm's career
and marriage are the exception.
While overall an enjoyable
read, the book does contain some glaring errors which will drive a military enthusiast up the wall. In one section,
Brehm tells of a mission to recover the remains of two crew members who's "F-15" crashed in the ocean.
He describes the aircraft "escape pod," and explains how the "pilot" and "copilot"
sit side-by-side in tandem. He obviously means an F-111 aircraft, not an F-15. The two-seat version of the F-15
has two separate cockpits - one in front of the other. Additionally, fighter aircraft do not have a "copilot."
They have a pilot and a WSO (Weapons Systems Officer) or B/N (Bombardier/Navigator). Calling a WSO or B/N a "copilot"
will likely get you into a fist-fight. In another section, Brehm describes the "Outbound Assignments"
Section as the place to go when you don't want to reenlist. That would be the "Separations/Retirement"
Section. "Outbound Assignments" is the place to process when you are moving from one base to another.
A 20 year veteran of the Air Force, Reserves, or ANG should know these things.
While these types of errors, especially in a factual account, always bother me, they will probably not be significant to the average reader. Most people will glean a clear understanding of what it takes to be one of the Air Force's elite -- so that others may live.
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Related Sites:
Pararescue - Information and News about Air Force Pararescue
