Airmen train under water so that others may live Published Nov. 6, 2012 By Airman 1st Class Christopher Reel 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Typically the words water and Air Force rarely fall in the same sentence however, at the Naval Support Activity Panama City, Air Force members submerge themselves in combat diving and underwater search and rescue training. The Air Force Combat Dive School, housed in NSA PC, instructs Airmen on the fundamentals for combat diving and underwater search and rescue as they train to become pararescuemen and combat controllers. The course is one of eight training courses Airmen must endure before being fully certified in their career fields. The school conducts more than a dozen classes per year with a nearly 70 percent successful completion rate. Air Force pararescuemen are highly trained emergency trauma specialists that often perform life-saving missions in hostile territory, according to Air Combat Command officials. They are also tasked with recovering personnel and providing medical treatment in humanitarian and combat environments. Once fully certified, the role of combat controllers is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to establish assault zones or airfields, according to Air Force Special Operations Command officials. They will also maintain their air traffic control qualification skills throughout their career in addition to other special operations skills and joint terminal attack control procedures. At the dive school, Airmen train to become combat divers, where they learn to use scuba equipment to include open and closed-circuit diving systems. "Airmen learn everything from scuba diving basics to advanced emergency, procedural, navigational, combat and recovery diving," said Staff Sgt. Mark McHan, Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center pararescueman combat dive instructor. "It's important that our servicemen hold the same qualifications as our other Defense Department counterparts. If our pararescuemen or combat controllers need to assist other DOD personnel in an underwater mission, this training permits them to do so." Prior to being an instructor at the Air Force Combat Dive Course, Sergeant McHan was a pararescueman assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. He is the recipient of a Bronze Star Medal with Valor for his heroic actions while deployed to Afghanistan. On July 29, 2009, his team came under enemy fire and he selflessly placed himself between enemy fire and trauma patients as they were being loaded onto an aircraft. "Though I love what I used to do, it's an awesome experience to help Airmen get to the next step in their training," said Sergeant McHan. "Being able to take Airmen with zero diving experience and train and mold them into qualified combat divers is just as rewarding." The course, which hosts approximately 20 to 40 Airmen per class, lasts two to three weeks depending on the specifics of the Airmen's training, explained Sergeant McHan. By the end of the course, Airmen are able to perform open-water dives in the bay and ocean and successfully execute combat dive exercises. When they graduate, they go on to the next course in their eight-course technical training. "Both the pararescue and the combat controller career fields provide great career experience," said Capt. S. Nicholas Graves, Air Force Combat Dive School commander. "I recommend those interested in these career paths do some research. We can even be used as a resource. We will gladly point them in the right direction." Those who wish to become special tactics Airmen, they will pursue a career that upholds the Air Force joint special tactics' motto, 'First there...That others may live.' Although, fighting the battle in the skies may be what the Air Force is known for, through non-standard missions such as pararescue and combat control, the air dominance branch reaches an all time high. Through hard work and dedication, these selfless individuals save countless lives every day. Editor's Note: Due to the sensitive nature of much of this training, we are not authorized to freely discuss the specifics of training at the dive school; however we simply provide an overview of a unique, local Air Force mission.