"That Others May Live" 1976 — 2000

"That Others May Live" 1976 — 2000. . After Southeast Asia, the ARS modified nine of its HH-53s with a night/all-weather capability. However, after the failure of the Iranian rescue mission in April 1980, these aircraft were transferred from the ARS to Air Force Special Operations Forces (AFSOF) for another rescue attempt. The mission was never flown, but the AFSOF retained the modified HH-53s, called Pave Low III. When the USAF converted all HH/CH-53s to the Pave Low III, designated MH-53Js, they were also assigned to AFSOF as that force evolved into the AF Special Operations Command (AFSOC). ARS retained the HH-3Es for what was now called combat search and rescue (CSAR). However, they were not survivable in high-threat areas. One historian stated, "On the eve of Desert Storm, Air Force CSAR capability had been dramatically reduced from its peak during the war in Southeast Asia ... the HH-53s had been transferred to special operations. The remaining HH-3s were marginally combat- capable." The ARS began to replace its HH-3Es with the new HH- 60G "Pave Hawk," but none would deploy., Instead, for Desert Storm, AFSOC deployed its MH-53Js, MH-60GS and AF Reserve MH-3Es for CSAR duties and special operations missions. Its crews executed several rescue efforts deep into enemy territory, including the recovery of an F-14 pilot. In 1993, the ARS was inactivated and its personnel and equipment transferred to the new Air Combat Command (ACC). During combat operations in the Balkans in the late 1990s, AFSOC deployed a task force of MH-53J/Ms and MH-60GS for CSAR taskings.