68th Rescue Squadron completes Combat Leader Course
to the 68th Rescue Squadron completed the Combat Leader Course at Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, Arizona, Sept. 18, 2026, enhancing their operational readiness and
combat search and rescue skills.
The 68th RQS put students through multiple simulations to achieve four course
objectives: search and rescue operations, confined space rescue missions, mass
casualty extraction training and recovery mission practice. These simulations took place
in caves, lakes, deserts and ocean water across Arizona and California, creating the
realism that makes for effective training.
“This training has to be realistic for the students to get the full benefit,” said Senior
Master Sgt. Hopper, 68th Rescue Squadron operations superintendent. “You can
instruct leading technical rescue in confined space, but until you’re executing a mission
in a tight, dark cave, you don’t fully realize all the challenges. We can teach triage
during a mass casualty event, but until the students experience a hundred people
screaming for help, they may not fully understand that level of stress. Critical thinking
under pressure can’t be taught in the classroom, stress and realism must be induced
often in training.”
The exercises do not just teach technical skills; they enhance leadership and decision-
making under stress. The students had to work together as a team, not just to pass the
scenarios, but to achieve success in the course.
“I am incredibly proud of the students who completed this iteration,” said Maj. John, 68th
Rescue Squadron commander. “These Airmen have demonstrated their ability to lead
and operate as a team. Our motto, ‘That Others May Live,’ reflects the purpose behind
everything we do, and I am honored to lead Airmen who work every day to uphold it.”
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