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All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Visions of War

    • February 18, 2013
    • National Geographic

    It's their most dangerous mission yet; the PJs take on enemy fire while rescuing two American soldiers from an active battle zone in the heart of Kandahar City. Surrounded by gunshots and explosions, pilots fly in fast and low to evade Taliban gunners and possible rocket launchers. Once on the ground, rescuers race against time to reach the injured men and evacuate them to the nearest hospital before they bleed out.

  • S01E02 Whatever It Takes

    • February 25, 2013
    • National Geographic

    With heartfelt goodbyes, the men of the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., leave their loved ones behind, bound for a war zone half a world away — Afghanistan. A 22-year-old rookie is put to the test when a soldier is gravely injured with a gunshot wound to the chest, and clinging to life. Back at base, an expecting father on his third deployment awaits word from his wife of the gender of their first child…but just as the news comes in, he gets pulled away on a rescue mission.

  • S01E03 Into the Fire

    • March 4, 2013
    • National Geographic

    They call it the “golden hour,” the critical window of time in which PJs strive to complete a rescue and offer the injured their best chance of survival. The PJs can't land in an area littered with enemy mines until a full sweep of the zone confirms that it's safe to land and this setback jeopardizes the life of an Afghan soldier with a severed leg. On another call, frustration mounts when defensive jamming techniques block radio communications, complicating the rescue of several U.S. soldiers.

  • S01E04 In the Crossfire

    • March 11, 2013
    • National Geographic

    The team medevacs two Afghan allies who have been shot in a firefight. When one of the guns on their chopper breaks in midair, the men must change their tactics to land safely. With the threat of improvised explosive devices at the landing zone slowing down the process, the men are feeling the pressure to get their allies back to safety. Back at base, each man must deal with the stressors of the job in his own way.

  • S01E05 Fog of War

    • March 18, 2013
    • National Geographic

    Go inside an elite Air Force paracrescue unit as they deploy to Afghanistan. One PJ, Chris, is eager to prove himself and save lives.

  • S01E06 Coming Home

    • March 25, 2013
    • National Geographic

    As their deployment draws to a close, the 38th Rescue Squadron PJs count down the days until they can return home. But when two suicide bombers detonate a bomb near the city of Kandahar, injuring dozens of civilians, the PJs are reminded that they are a long way from home. Later, the team takes to the air to rescue a U.S. serviceman who has lost three limbs and is quickly losing blood.

Additional Specials

  • SPECIAL 0x2 The Golden Hour

    • May 17, 2015
    • National Geographic

    The elite Combat Rescue members of the U.S. Air Force , Pararescuemen, or PJs, have one mission: rescue American or Allied forces in extreme danger. For the first time in their history, the PJs allow camera crews to extensively cover their missions in Afghanistan. Inside Combat Rescue is the story of the lives of these elite airmen on and off the battlefield.

  • SPECIAL 0x3 This Is A Nightmare!

    • November 9, 2015
    • National Geographic

    In this new compilation episode, the PJs face their worst “nightmares”. An attack by the Taliban on an American forward operating base causes mass confusion and multiple injuries. The PJs land to pick up an Afghan National Army soldier who has stepped on a land mine. They also face one of their worst nightmares: treating a wounded child — an Afghan boy has been shot in the head and is in grave condition. This gritty one-hour program highlights the dedication of these men and the dangers they face “so that others may live.”

  • SPECIAL 0x4 Into the Hot Zone

    • June 28, 2016
    • National Geographic

    The PJ’s begin a 4 month deployment in Afghanistan and fly into hot landing zones with busted weapons in order to rescue wounded soldiers.

  • SPECIAL 0x5 Horrors of War

    • January 22, 2018
    • National Geographic

    In this compilation episode of Inside Combat Rescue, the PJ’s of the 38th Rescue Squadron rush to pick up injured children in war torn Afghanistan.