Page 11 - PJ MED OPS Handbook 8th Ed Preview

PJ Medical History
1940: Captain Leo P. Martin, MC, USAAF Chief Flight Surgeon at Walla Walla Army Air Base com-
pletes parachute training conducted by U.S. Forest Service at Missoula training center and becomes
the first “jumping doctor”.
1940–1944: Parachute rescue proven effective by USAAF search and rescue parachute teams (doc-
tor, medical corpsmen and survival specialists) operating in the remote areas of the Rocky Mountain
States and Canadian-Alaskan wilderness.

1943, 2 August: Wing flight surgeon Lt Col Don Flickinger and enlisted combat surgical technicians
Sergeant Harold Passey and Corporal William MacKenzie rescue jump into Northern Burma proving
rescue jumps can be done into remote areas under enemy control and inhabited by potentially
dangerous indigenous peoples (head-hunters).
1946, January: USAAF Air Rescue Service proposes and requests that permanently ready and avail-
able Pararescue teams be formed.

1947, 18 September: USAAF Air Rescue Service becomes USAF Air Rescue Service (ARS).
1947, November: First permanently constituted Pararescue teams (physician and at least four en-
listed medical-survival personnel) are mission-ready.
1947, July–December: USAF Air Rescue Service requests merging medical corpsman and survival
specialty into a new rescue survival MOS 3383. P suffix designates parachuting.
1952, June: An International High Altitude Training Exercise in the Italian Alps resulted in the re-
quirement for mountaineering skills and peak physical conditioning.

1953, December: Medical officers and techs removed from Pararescue teams.
1953, 30 June: Ground Rescue Survival Teams discontinued as helicopters prove reliable.

1955: ARRS (Air Rescue/Recovery Service) enlisted Pararescue medical capability is recognized.

1974: Pararescuemen are instructed and trained to provide higher medical care distinguished from
an Independent Duty Medical Technician (IDMT).

1981: Pararescue School offered option to obtain EMT-Basic and Paramedic qualification.
1986: Directive for the PJ to function as a physician extender. In the event no physician guidance is
immediately available, the PJ will provide treatment as best indicated by training and experience.
1986, 18 September: DOD requires EMT-Basic or higher level of certification be implemented for all
personnel (including USAF Pararescue) who provide medical support for the transport of patients
other than active duty military members.

Chapter 1. Introduction n 9