The Air Force’s elite pararescue jumpers deployed to Southwest Asia don’t just sit around waiting for the next rescue operation, they constantly practice their craft. “We always train, train, and then train some more,” says SSgt. Jon McKenzie with the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Balad AB, Iraq. He told journalist SSgt. Carlos Diaz: “You can never train enough. You accomplish on mission rehearsal after another and work as a team to get the job done.” That team includes the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, and gunner who man the HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopter that routinely transport PJs to their destinations. And, McKenzie doesn’t leave out the ground crew, who, he says, “bust their tails day in and day out ensuring these aircraft are mission ready.”
Dick Cheney’s Legacy with the Air Force
Nov. 6, 2025
Dick Cheney, who died Nov. 3 at 84, is best remembered by most Americans as among the most powerful Vice Presidents in history, a consummate Washington insider who had previously served in the Nixon administration, was Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, a Congressman for a decade, and Secretary…
