Also called: Air Force 13DXA, CRO, Pararescue Officer
Leads Air Force pararescue teams that parachute, dive or fast-rope in to rescue downed pilots and wounded troops behind enemy lines.
CROs plan rescue missions, brief helicopter and aircraft crews, and often go in with their pararescue teams. Training never really stops: dive, jump, shoot, and practice trauma care. In peacetime they also rescue lost hikers, sailors and astronauts after splashdown.
RMC (base pay + housing/food allowances + tax advantage) for officers O-1 to O-5, 2026 estimate. A 20-year career earns a lifetime pension.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's degree and Air Force commission, then officer selection and about 2 years of rescue training (dive, airborne, free-fall, SERE). Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, 4-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Any major (fitness matters most), Kinesiology, Emergency Management.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Low risk for 10 years. Drones and sensors help find people; leading the rescue in danger stays human.
Classes: Swimming, Physical education, Biology.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.