Television series documents combat rescue missions in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Capt. Erin Dorrance
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The summer of 2012 brought a first for the U.S. Air Force, when a television production crew covered Air Force combat rescue officers and pararescuemen conducting missions in Afghanistan. The resulting six-episode series, "Inside Combat Rescue," aired on the National Geographic channel in February and March. It became the channel's highest-rated new series of 2012-13, according to National Geographic.

Capt. Seth Davis was the detachment commander during the filming, and he is now the commander of the U.S. Air Force Pararescue / Combat Rescue Officer School at Kirtland.
Davis, originally from Kissimmee, Fla., earned his beret in 2010 after completing three grueling years of training to become an elite CRO. The career field has fewer than 100 officers, including active-duty, Air National Guard and Reserve.

Air Force special operators are like other special forces teams, preferring to be silent heroes. CROs and PJs rescue American and Allied forces behind enemy lines, and rarely talk about what they do.

Davis said that he was approached about the TV show, he was getting ready for his third deployment as a CRO, and he didn't exactly jump at the opportunity.

"Absolutely not," said Davis. "No, no, no way do I want cameras following us around and getting in our way."

However, when Air Force leadership approved National Geographic's request to do the show, Davis said he saluted smartly and complied with the order.

The National Geographic crew filmed out of Kandahar, Afghanistan, for seven weeks, which was about half of the deployment for Davis' team during the summer of 2012. During filming, the 17-man team completed 130 missions, saving 108 lives.

Davis said his family was among the viewers who tuned in to watch the series.

"My mom loved the show," he said. "She is a nurse and it gave her and my family in New England a glimpse into what I really do. And my nephews think I am super-cool now."

Since the show has aired, Davis said he's recognized around the base.

"Sometimes at the BX or commissary, people will point and say that they think they know me, or just come up to me and ask if it was me on the show," he said.

The TV series shined a light on the special operations career fields. Davis said he wants people to know that the footage on the series is only one small part of what CROs and PJs do. During National Geographic's' filming, most of the calls that came in were for medical evacuation, although personnel recovery is a large part of the mission that was not shown.

"It is not an easy road to become a PJ or a CRO," Davis said. "My indoctrination class had 122 students, and eight of us graduated. But I believe it is the best career field out there, and it is what I always wanted to do."

National Geographic will broadcast the series again in a few weeks. Tune in Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. to watch the show, or log onto http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/inside-combat-rescue.