Imagine jumping out of an aeroplane at 40,000 feet, accelerating to reach terminal velocity at 127 mph, then deploying your parachute at 1000 feet in order to minimise your vulnerability to ground fire. Imagine jumping from 800 feet and having an instant to pull the release. Or climbing down a mountain in a blizzard with someone strapped to your back. The PJs (Pararescue Jumpers), America's most elite military unit, were originally formed after World War II by the US Air Force/Air National Guard to rescue troops from behind enemy lines. They can recover victims from deserts or at the poles, far out to sea, or just offshore in 150 mph winds. They are skilled paramedics and know how to operate a machine gun from a helicopter door. In this book, we follow Sergeant Jack Brehm and his fellow PJs from school, in 1978, to 1999. The daring missions are relived and we see how Jack and his wife have kept their marriage intact through 20 years with one parent spending a good part of that time in harm's way somewhere in the world.