"PJ's"... The Elite Rescuers

The PJs are special operators within the Air Force, a kind of cross between a Green Beret and an emergency trauma paramedic. These elite troops need to remain anonymous to work behind enemy lines, so actual names are avoided in this story. Their job is considered one of the military's toughest, and they are in constant demand. Lately, headline after headline about aircraft that have gone down in Iraq and Afghanistan have reinforced that fact.

The PJs are the only unit designated by the Department of Defense primarily to rescue and recover U.S. personnel trapped behind enemy lines. These units take on other special duties that they do not talk about, but their main mission is to save and bring people home from hostile territory.

PJs head into war zones with an array of equipment: rafts, snowmobiles, scuba gear, 4-wheelers, mountain-rappelling equipment, souped-up jet skis, medical equipment, off-road motorcycles, parachutes and oxygen masks for high-altitude jumps from aircraft. They also carry a variety of weapons, from combat machine guns to sniper rifles. This is what the PJs call "traveling light."

PJ training is among the toughest in the U.S. military's special units, which include SEALs, Green Berets, DELTA Force and Marine Force Recon. Nine out of 10 people who try to be PJs do not make it through the selection process. PJs have to train in a variety of disciplines: parachuting, underwater combat, wilderness survival, trauma paramedic training and more. If candidates don't do well in one thing, they are out.