Pararescue's Contribution to the Thai Cave Rescue, a podcast series
In the summer of 2018, the world was glued to the captivating news that 12 children and their soccer coach were trapped deep inside a cave system in Thailand. The team went missing on June 23rd as the caves flooded with monsoon rains during their exploration. They were located 9 days later, all alive, by an intrepid pair of British cave divers. What followed over the course of the next week-plus was one of the most dangerous, brave, and logistically complex rescues ever undertaken.
Like many medical and rescue professionals, I soaked up every bit of information I could get on this event. The details were enticing, as every day brought new questions and complications. The media introduced us to the gritty Thai Navy SEALs, and the otherworldly skills of technical cave divers.
Members of Air Force Pararescue were prominently featured in the news; a portrait emerged of the mission’s scope, as well as the possible solutions offered by the diverse capabilities of the career field.
Once the dust settled on the successful rescue of the team and their coach, Dr. Stephen Rush did a series of interviews with the Pararescue Team Leader on his podcast, PJ Medcast.
Revealed in this five part series are tantalizing and fascinating details of the entire mission from the Pararescue perspective - from pre-mission planning, to early expectations and misunderstandings, all the way through planning and execution.
Although the humble professionals did not let on in the media, it is clear that the contributions of Pararescue to Operation Wild Boar were substantial and essential. Since technical overhead cave diving is not a typical part of the broad PJ expertise, they made a difference on many other levels, including advising the government, organizing the innumerable groups of rescuers, brainstorming and analyzing courses of action, rehearsing every conceivable detail of the plan, and planning dozens of steps ahead.
These are exceptionally fascinating listens, and there is much to be learned. Click on the icons below to hear the interviews, or search for PJ Medcast episodes 133-136 on your favorite podcast app/player.
