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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – He sat back in his chair, recalling the tragic events that took place that night. The explosion, the fire, the confusion.
“The first thing that comes to mind is fire,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Rogers, 57th Rescue Squadron pararescueman (PJ). “There were so many things covered in fuel and burning. It looked apocalyptic.”
Thinking back to a time before this life-altering event, Rogers explained he worked as a mountain guide and paramedic in Wyoming before he felt the call to join the U.S. Air Force in October 2014.
“I was reaching a place in my previous career where I wanted to take the next step forward, with medicine in particular,” said Rogers. “I started looking into flight-medicine and stumbled across the pararescue career field. On my honeymoon almost a year later, I got a text saying I was leaving for basic training in a couple weeks.”