The 212th Rescue Squadron (212 RQS) is an elite unit under the umbrella of the Alaska Air National Guard’s (ANG) 176th Wing . This specialized force is one of the most highly units in all of the US Armed Forces. They are tasked with providing Personnel Recovery Operations (PRO), which means Combat or peacetime Search and Rescue (CSAR/SAR), emergency and disaster response, medical and mass evacuation operations, or humanitarian aid missions.
Their home field is at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The 212 RQS deploys all over the globe in support of the US Air Force ( USAF ) strategy and providing emergency response in their own backyard of Alaska. Elite mission readiness The ranks of the 212 RQS are composed of specially designated Combat Rescue Officers (CROs) and pararescuemen, aka Para-Jumpers (PJs).
The officers and airmen who serve in the USAF's elite combat rescue units undergo some of the most rigorous training of any military unit on the planet. These elite soldiers are routinely tasked with missions alongside SEALs, Army Green Berets, Delta Force, and other special forces operators. Due to the exceptionally dangerous, high-stakes missions they are sent on, the CROs and PJs receive training in virtually every environment, skill set, and weapon system in the US arsenal.
Their primary skills focus on mastering combat medicine, survival techniques, and special tactics. As a function of achieving those skills, they also develop proficiency in parachu.