WEBVTT 00:04.408 --> 00:05.241 - Arms. 00:07.457 --> 00:10.290 (inspiring music) 00:41.090 --> 00:42.962 - [Narrator] Very few enlistees walk down 00:42.962 --> 00:45.681 the demanding path of a battlefield airman, 00:45.681 --> 00:47.393 but for a 60 year old chief, 00:47.393 --> 00:50.149 his historical 41 year legacy of this selfless 00:50.149 --> 00:53.837 dedication to service is just his way of life. 00:53.837 --> 00:55.582 ^- [Koester] We're a tenth of one percent 00:55.582 --> 00:57.008 of the Air Force's population. 00:57.008 --> 00:58.512 I mean, we're ground combatants. 00:58.512 --> 01:00.250 We're the outliers when you look at the overall mission 01:00.250 --> 01:01.083 of the Air Force. 01:01.083 --> 01:01.916 I get it. 01:01.999 --> 01:04.249 (gun fire) 01:05.319 --> 01:07.499 We have a very specific task and that is 01:07.499 --> 01:09.575 to kill the enemy, destroy his ability to fight, 01:09.575 --> 01:11.805 save American lives and bring them home and 01:11.805 --> 01:13.388 reunite them with their families. 01:13.388 --> 01:16.885 So that hasn't wavered since I came in in '74. 01:16.885 --> 01:19.406 - [Narrator] At age 60, Chief Koester is the oldest 01:19.406 --> 01:21.712 and longest serving pararescueman 01:21.712 --> 01:24.629 in United States Air Force history. 01:24.644 --> 01:26.270 - [Koester] So, back then we didn't have 01:26.270 --> 01:27.611 the internet or computers and it was 01:27.611 --> 01:30.130 a whole lot better time. (laughs) 01:30.130 --> 01:31.793 And you actually had to talk face to face. 01:31.793 --> 01:33.458 You know worst case you'd pick up the phone. 01:33.458 --> 01:36.993 Back in the day, PJ candidates or students would 01:36.993 --> 01:40.116 come from the school over to basic training 01:40.116 --> 01:42.516 and they'd show you a 16 millimeter movie, 01:42.516 --> 01:44.957 live footage, shot over in Vietnam at the time 01:44.957 --> 01:46.624 of different rescue missions. 01:46.624 --> 01:48.612 So they'd play that little movie for you, 01:48.612 --> 01:51.125 and say "show of hands, anybody want to try out?" 01:51.125 --> 01:53.849 Of course you had no idea what you were getting into. 01:53.849 --> 01:54.807 - [Radio] Okay, just stand by we're coming in to get you. 01:54.807 --> 01:55.825 Just stand by. 01:55.825 --> 01:57.863 - [Koester] They said come meet us at the pool 01:57.863 --> 02:00.200 on Saturday, we'll give you a PT test. 02:00.200 --> 02:01.709 - [Radio] Hold your hover, hold your hover. 02:01.709 --> 02:03.009 - [Koester] When I came in with the intention 02:03.009 --> 02:05.093 to be a jet engine mechanic for four years, 02:05.093 --> 02:06.756 and that was it, and I don't know what 02:06.756 --> 02:08.992 happened along the way but here I am. 02:08.992 --> 02:10.946 - [Narrator] Chief Koester still spends a lot 02:10.946 --> 02:14.032 of his time serving, by teaching his vast accumulation 02:14.032 --> 02:16.959 of knowledge and skills to service members who 02:16.959 --> 02:18.749 are preparing to deploy. 02:18.749 --> 02:20.777 - This is about the most exposed you can possibly be. 02:20.777 --> 02:23.213 So this is very much a high stress scenario 02:23.213 --> 02:25.168 and we're going to find out what decision they're 02:25.168 --> 02:26.996 going to make; whether it's worth exposing themselves 02:26.996 --> 02:29.191 jeopardize the team, get forward and treat this guy, 02:29.191 --> 02:31.666 or if they're going to leave him and come back 02:31.666 --> 02:33.416 and get him later on. 02:34.469 --> 02:35.690 Let's see how they play it. 02:35.690 --> 02:37.517 - Tighten that thing up as much as you can, 02:37.517 --> 02:38.934 just crank on it. 02:39.794 --> 02:42.962 - [Koester] So you really gotta watch yourself, 02:42.962 --> 02:44.467 your back side and your wingmen. 02:44.467 --> 02:46.700 As corny as I know that may sound to some. 02:46.700 --> 02:48.930 Let them know that you're ready to go. 02:48.930 --> 02:50.727 You've got to be on your toes all the time. 02:50.727 --> 02:52.554 You know, eyes up, head on a swivel, 02:52.554 --> 02:55.116 looking out for yourself and your teammates, 02:55.116 --> 02:56.784 doing the right thing both home station 02:56.784 --> 02:58.651 as well as being deployed. 02:58.651 --> 03:00.313 - [Narrator] Along with battle tactics, skills, 03:00.313 --> 03:03.406 and survival techniques, Koester believes connection 03:03.406 --> 03:06.787 between the loved ones at home and the brothers in the field 03:06.787 --> 03:09.120 are all of equal importance. 03:09.827 --> 03:11.412 - Two different lives that you live. 03:11.412 --> 03:13.118 You just try and maintain a balance. 03:13.118 --> 03:15.151 Sometimes it gets a little bit insane because no one 03:15.151 --> 03:16.777 is ever happy because your family at home never really 03:16.777 --> 03:18.985 understands what it is you do until they 03:18.985 --> 03:22.309 go to a ceremony or they meet some of the old guys 03:22.309 --> 03:24.989 that you served with and they start talking about 03:24.989 --> 03:27.107 their experiences, and then there's the guys 03:27.107 --> 03:29.714 that you work with who really don't have a grasp 03:29.714 --> 03:32.235 of what it is like to be a family man or 03:32.235 --> 03:33.853 a grandfather in my case. 03:33.853 --> 03:36.175 Most of the guys, the airmen, that I deployed with 03:36.175 --> 03:38.247 were younger than all of my kids, 03:38.247 --> 03:40.399 so that is kind of different. 03:40.399 --> 03:42.649 It's always a juggling act. 03:42.999 --> 03:46.255 - You know how every James Bond movie starts out with... 03:46.255 --> 03:47.600 (laughter) 03:47.600 --> 03:49.430 A guy jumps out of an airplane, you know, 03:49.430 --> 03:51.872 he's coming down, he's fighting his way down his parachute 03:51.872 --> 03:54.308 and he lands right on the spot he needs to land on, 03:54.308 --> 03:56.795 somehow next he's on skis, he skis down to them, 03:56.795 --> 03:59.793 passes, takes out a couple bad guys then he ends up 03:59.793 --> 04:02.631 in the water, he's SCUBA diving through the water, 04:02.631 --> 04:05.671 comes up with the sniper rifle, takes out a couple of them 04:05.671 --> 04:07.451 (laughter) 04:07.451 --> 04:09.327 And the next thing you know he saves the damsel in distress, 04:09.327 --> 04:12.335 the world's all great, and 007 is a winner again. 04:12.335 --> 04:15.335 That's how I think of Chief Koester. 04:15.712 --> 04:19.323 - [Narrator] General Hawk Carlisle, ACC commander, 04:19.323 --> 04:22.287 said he was more than honored to preside over 04:22.287 --> 04:25.287 Chief Koester's retirement ceremony. 04:25.337 --> 04:27.041 - You know I thought about doing that, like Letterman 04:27.041 --> 04:29.075 used to do, that top 10 reasons you know it's time 04:29.075 --> 04:31.916 to retire from active duty, except for I lost the list, 04:31.916 --> 04:34.471 I couldn't remember what was on it. 04:34.471 --> 04:36.710 (laughter) 04:36.710 --> 04:39.475 You know the purpose of this life, rather our lifestyle, 04:39.475 --> 04:42.719 our career, is not to arrive at the end, 04:42.719 --> 04:46.886 that being retirement, in a well wrapped, polished, 04:46.982 --> 04:49.839 spiffy looking package, but rather, 04:49.839 --> 04:53.006 to slide into home plate bruised, bloody and broken, 04:53.006 --> 04:55.318 dragging parts behind you, screaming out 04:55.318 --> 04:56.906 "Man, what a hell of a ride." 04:56.906 --> 05:00.804 Well, that's where we're at, and it has been one great ride. 05:00.804 --> 05:04.869 I have absolutely no regrets about that whatsoever. 05:04.869 --> 05:07.885 I wish I'm still here for that very same reason, 05:07.885 --> 05:12.052 battlefield airmen do it best, no question about it. 05:13.373 --> 05:15.733 - [Narrator] From Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 05:15.733 --> 05:18.733 I'm Airman First Class, Michael Fox. 05:27.139 --> 05:30.139 (jet engine sounds) 05:38.628 --> 05:40.462 - So the training that we're doing out here today 05:40.462 --> 05:42.255 is not really training within itself, 05:42.255 --> 05:44.697 it's actually an operational assessment with 05:44.697 --> 05:48.864 the handheld link 16 radio device that Viasat has produced. 05:49.101 --> 05:52.911 Dismounted JTACs and ground troops now have the ability 05:52.911 --> 05:55.546 to conduct true DA CAS and act as a gateway 05:55.546 --> 05:57.296 for all link players. 05:59.280 --> 06:02.613 Being able to put this radio on an operator down range 06:02.613 --> 06:06.517 is going to allow that operator connected to the link 06:06.517 --> 06:09.645 to reach back and build situational awareness 06:09.645 --> 06:12.286 to his pilot while he is on one of the air bases 06:12.286 --> 06:15.530 getting ready to take off to support that JTAC 06:15.530 --> 06:17.613 in his area of operation. 06:18.538 --> 06:20.788 (jet roar) 06:24.029 --> 06:27.236 The advantage of having a tactical data link technology 06:27.236 --> 06:31.403 enables digitally aided close air support integration. 06:31.869 --> 06:35.362 This facilitates timely, successful employment 06:35.362 --> 06:37.359 of air power for the, in support of, 06:37.359 --> 06:41.109 the ground force commander, and will allow us 06:41.459 --> 06:44.470 to have full situational awareness of the battlefield 06:44.470 --> 06:48.617 and that reach back capability to more air assets. 06:48.617 --> 06:50.921 (indistinguishable radio transmission) 06:50.921 --> 06:53.393 There's actually going to be some data collected 06:53.393 --> 06:54.315 out here today. 06:54.315 --> 06:56.426 They're going to go back to the developers, 06:56.426 --> 06:58.988 work on some shortfalls that we found within the radio 06:58.988 --> 07:01.426 itself, do a couple more operational assessments, 07:01.426 --> 07:04.596 and then you can expect it to be put out to 07:04.596 --> 07:08.096 the operator community around March, 2017. 07:09.717 --> 07:12.467 (dramatic music) 07:26.454 --> 07:29.215 - [Voiceover] There's a simple beauty in pouring everything 07:29.215 --> 07:31.123 you have into something you love. 07:31.123 --> 07:33.240 It's something the whole world can see. 07:33.240 --> 07:36.490 Something that reflects the kind of person that you are, 07:36.490 --> 07:40.657 and the pride you have for yourself and what you represent. 07:41.244 --> 07:44.077 (inspiring music) 07:53.423 --> 07:55.256 Come see for yourself.