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.”
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?