CHRIS WARREN Reporting for induction into the U.S. Air Force this week, 2009 Fairfield high school graduate Chris Warren embarks on a rigorous training course of almost two years to become a member of the elite pararescue team.

Pararescuemen, also called PJs, are special forces troops tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in hostile environments.

PJs are the only Department of Defense military personnel specifically trained to conduct conventional or unconventional rescue operations.

Warren left Monday for induction at Dallas and will initially report to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for basic taining, then start 10 weeks of special forces training.

Over the course of his preparation for the elite unit, the FHS grad must complete scuba training in Florida, parachute training at Fort Benning, Ga., and 40 weeks of combat medic and emergency medical technician training in New Mexico.

Because of the specialized training, Warren committed to four years of active duty and four years of inactive status. He plans, though, to make the air force a career after completing pararescue courses.

“Once I have gone through all the training, I’m not going to want to do anything else,” he declares.

His elite status will be marked by the right to wear a maroon beret with his uniform.

Warren signed up for pararescue training in November and had to pass a rigorous set of physical tests before being accepted.

The tests included swimming underwater for 20 meters and on the surface for 500 meters, a 1.5- mile run, chin-ups, pushups, sit-ups and “flutter kicks.”

The recruit played football at FHS and ran cross country for two years. He has been working on a physical conditioning program required by the air force prior to induction into the program.

“It will be fun to jump out of airplanes, and my job will be to save people’s lives,” the 18-year-old says.

Although he has been accepted for the specialized training, Warren reports that the program is hard and that 90 percent of those that start do not finish.

“I’m a little nervous. I started getting nervous Friday, but it will be alright,” he says.

Warren notes that when he completes training, he will be shipped to assignments on an as-needed basis for much shorter times than other military troops.

The recruit is the son of Larry and Sara Warren of Fairfield, and Donna Jeffries of Mansfield.