The 31st Rescue Squadron is part of the

18th Wing The United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force's largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force. The Wing's 18th Ope ...

at Kadena Air Base, Japan. It trains, equips and employs combat-ready pararescue specialists.

History

The 31st Rescue Squadron was constituted as the 31st Air Rescue Squadron on 17 October 1952. They made combat rescues in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, 1965–1966 and also operated the Joint Rescue Coordination Center for

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stat ...

, Apr 1967 – July 1975. They took part in

disaster relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

missions in the Philippines between 16–31 July 1990. As a USAF

Special Operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

Squadron the 31st was forward deployed at Osan Air Base, Korea from 1992–2001, while its headquarters at the

353d Special Operations Group The 353rd Special Operations Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The Wing's first predecessor was activated in 1944 as the 3rd Air Commando Group. The unit ...

was stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Inactivated for a couple of years, in 2003 the squadron was redesignated the 31st Rescue Squadron under the

and stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 31st Air Rescue Squadron on 17 October 1952 : Activated on 14 November 1952 : Discontinued on 18 September 1960 * Organized on 8 July 1963 : Redesignated 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 1 July 1975 * Activated on 8 January 1981 : Redesignated 31st Special Operations Squadron on 6 April 1989 : Inactivated on 31 August 2001 * Redesignated 31st Rescue Squadron on 16 May 2003 : Activated on 31 July 2003

Assignments

2d Air Rescue Group 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

, 14 November 1952 * Air Rescue Service, 24 June 1958 – 18 September 1960 * Air Rescue Service (later Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), 8 July 1963 (attached to Pacific Air Rescue Center (later Pacific Aerospace Rescue and Recovery) Center, until 31 March 1967) * Pacific Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Center (later 41st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing), 1 April 1967 – 1 July 1975 * 41st Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 8 January 1981 * 353d Special Operations Wing (later 353d Special Operations Group) 6 April 1989 – 31 August 2001 * 18th Operations Group, 31 July 2003 – present

Stations

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...

, Philippines, 14 November 1952 * Naha Air Base, Okinawa, 12–18 September 1960 * Clark Air Base, Philippines, 8 July 1963 – 1 July 1975 * Clark Air Base, Philippines, 8 January 1981 * Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, 10 May 1965 – 31 May 1975 *

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military ai ...

, Okinawa, Japan, 29 June 1991 * Osan Air Base, South Korea, July 1992 – 31 August 2001 * Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, 31 July 2003 – present

Aircraft

Grumman SA-16 Albatross The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large, twin–radial engined amphibious seaplane that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue (SAR) aircraft. Origina ...

, 1952–1960 * Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw, 1952–1955 * Sikorsky SH-19 (later HH-19), 1955–1960, 1963–1964 * Douglas HC-54, 1964–1965 *

Kaman HH-43 Huskie The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter with intermeshing rotors used by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps from the 1950s until the 1970s. It was primarily used for aircraft firefighting and re ...

, 1964–1970, 1971–1972 * Boeing HC-97, 1965–1966 *

Lockheed HC-130 Hercules The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/ combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed for ...

, 1966–1975 *

Sikorsky HH-3 The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engin ...

, 1968–1975, 1981–1990 * Sikorsky CH-3, 1981–1990 *

Sikorsky MH-53 The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stall ...

, 1990–2001 * Boeing MH-47 Chinook, 2001

References

External links

31st Special Operations Squadron History

The PAVE Cave (unofficial PAVE LOW website)
031 {{USAF-stub