In 1940, two United States Forest Service Smokejumpers, Earl Cooley and Rufus Robinson, showed that parachutists could be placed very accurately onto the ground using the newly invented 'steerable parachute'.

As the war progressed, a U.S. strategic bombing campaign was launched, and air rescue began to play a key role.

The CAP would usually send in ground crews after locating a crash site; however, they would sometimes land small aircraft and they did experiment with parachute rescue teams.

With Canada's entry into WWII in 1939, former Canadian fighter ace Wop May was put in charge of training operations and took over command at the No 2 Air Observer School in Edmonton, Alberta.

Edmonton was one of the common stops for A-20 Boston, B-26 Marauder and especially B-25 Mitchell bombers being flown to the Soviet Union as part of the lend-lease program.

After six weeks they returned home with borrowed steerable equipment to train two other volunteers, Wilfred Rivet and Laurie Poulsom.

As crashes during over-water flights created a great many casualties, the Eighth Air Force initiated a 'sea rescue' group.

Dominating the flying in the CBI was 'The Hump' route: cargo flights that left India carrying thousands of tons of vital war supplies had to cross the spine of the Himalayas to reach their destinations in China.

Declaring the rescue organization to be a 'cowboy operation', he appointed Maj. Donald C. Pricer commander of the 1352nd Army Air Force Base Unit and assigned him several aircraft for the mission.

The commandant of that first school was pilot 1st Lieutenant Perry C. Emmons, who had been assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.

On 21 December, the "Clobbered Turkey" hit a mountain and when the wreck was spotted on the 27th, Medical Corps 1st Lieutenant Albert C. Kinney, First Sergeant Santhell A. London, Air Force cold weather expert and T-5 Leon J. Casey—none of whom were trained Pararescuemen—volunteered to jump onto the crash site, located 95 miles north of Nome.

When civilian bush pilots William Munz and Frank Whaley finally arrived at the crash site two days later, they found that the remaining six members of the crew—who had stayed with the aircraft—had all survived.

In 1949, due to a shortage of available doctors, Medical Service Corps officers replaced Para-doctors on the teams, receiving the same training as the enlisted Pararescuemen.

Designed to teach Pararescuemen the skills needed to determine the nature and extent of injuries and to administer treatment, the course was taught by Medical Corps officers with previous Pararescue experience, including Dr. Pope B.

As Pararescue grew, PJ teams were assigned to every Air Rescue Service squadron to provide global coverage.

This, along with evacuating critically wounded men from aid stations close to the front, were Air Rescue's primary missions.

Pararescue team members would be inserted to conduct LSO (Limited Surface Operations) searches while the escorts maintained an aggressive patrol to provide instantaneous support.

[19] Pararescue trainees are first required to complete United States Air Force Basic Military Training at Lackland AFB,[20] then they are required to pass the Special Warfare Preparatory Course and Special Warfare Assessment and Selection at Lackland AFB (replacing the previous Pararescue Indoctrination Course).

Following that is a long string of courses including Combat Dive School, Army Airborne, National Registry for Paramedic, Survival (SERE-C), and Military Free-fall Parachutist.

[21] Indoctrination Course (currently A&S) Training Gear is essentially made up of a high volume face mask, a silicone snorkel, rocket fins and booties.

[22] This is the actual selection course, where aspiring PJs will learn water confidence techniques, rehabilitation, physical conditioning, running, and nutrition, among other vital skills.

Pool work consisting of surface swimming, water confidence, running, rucking (walking with a loaded backpack), grass & guerrilla drills, calisthenics, and extended training days.

AFCDC provides diver training through classroom instruction, extensive physical training, surface and sub-surface water confidence pool exercises, pool familiarization dives, day/night tactical open water surface/sub-surface infiltration swims, open/closed circuit diving procedures and underwater search and recovery procedures.

The course provides wind tunnel training, in-air instruction focusing on student stability, aerial maneuvers, air sense and parachute opening procedures.

This includes instruction of principles, procedures, equipment and techniques that help individuals to survive, regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments, and return home.

Also includes Underwater Egress Training (1 day) at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, this course teaches how to safely escape from an aircraft that has landed in the water.

APJOC builds upon the skills learned at PJOC and exposes cadets to life in an operational Pararescue or Special Tactics Squadron.

This tradition arose during the Vietnam War, at which time the most commonly used USAF helicopter was the CH-3E, nicknamed the Jolly Green Giant due to its enormous size and olive drab exterior.

After these personnel were rescued, they would proceed to receive the temporary ink-stamped "tattoo" of the green feet on their buttocks due to the fact that the Para Jumpers "saved their ass."

The blue shield is indicative of the sky which is the field of operations and the golden light represents a ray of hope for those in need of the Air Rescue Service.