I guess the grass will always be greener elsewhere.....
When I was a SAR Tech, the PJs wanted our job because the civie-rescue role meant we were usually busy with real missions. Many of us, predominantly ex-Cbt Arms, wanted their's because they were doing Combat Rescue. Back in the '80s however we had a large number of SAR Techs who simply could not have done the PJ role. They were the old RCAF-bred, "SAR is just a fancy Safety Systems Tech or Medic," for whom PT was just a nasty rumour....with all that that mindset entailed. Mind you, that did create some good situations - when we started doing trials on steerable reserves and square chutes, for example, it was "you new guys do that." "Fine by me"
![Big grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
That started changing for the better in the early-80s, with the influx of new blood - - perhaps arrogantly, infantry, engineers, and clearance divers.
My primary motivator for leaving the trade when I did was simply seeking other challenges.1 It got to the point that I was doing dopey things (hmmm.....how can I do a back-flip off the ramp without getting tangled in the static-line....)
Having a PJ-type role would certainly have kept me around longer.
When I left SAR, coming back to the army via UTPNCM, there was some minor debate on a requirement for SAR officers, which garnered a resounding "NO!" With the PJs creating a Combat Rescue Officer classification in 2000, perhaps this too may be revisited, but that would be another thread.
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1 It's been pointed out elsewhere that I have "career attention deficit disorder"; every few years, I get bored and remuster/reclassify
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)