What is the history behind the Jolly Green Giant

Three legendary SAR helicopters have carried the title of the Jolly Green Giant, the HH-3, HH-53 & HH-60. There are some who may think the Pavehawk shouldn't be included in the history of the jolly green giant, however I'm not one. The reason, simple. The CH-3 & CH-53 started the legacy in Vietnam, as they were the only credible assets the USAF had to perform CSAR and adopted the Jolly Green Giant. Since the CH-3 & CH-53's have retired the HH-60 is again the only credible USAF helicopter to perform CSAR, and wear the jolly green patch. Also the CH-3 & CH-53's were supported by HH-43's in Vietnam (Pedro's), only by chance due their being no other helicopters available, the HH-60 carries this mission too, so, again in my opinion, can use the callsign of Pedro and Jolly while on active duty.

In the campaigns in the far east in Iraq and Afghanistan the HH-60G worked in both theatres, so posed a unique modern day problem. The SATCOM frequencies used by the Pavehawk were the same for both AOR's, so to differentiate where the were working the Jolly callsign was used in the Iraq theatre, & Pedro was used in the Afghanistan theatre. Because they were controlled by CENTCOM using one frequency they could differentiate which theatre they were operating in.

Air Force pararescue men are among the elite when it comes to special operations, however they need to get their, fast. Their main task is to rescue pilots who have been shot down behind enemy lines. It's never been an easy task, but at least the technology has improved since World War II, when the chance of rescue was very low.

Helicopters first appeared in a small capacity during the Korean War before they really came of age during Vietnam, proving to be the SAR asset America needed.

The Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant was the beginning of the Jolly Green Giant. Its boat like hull and colour lead to its unofficial christening. When a HH-3 landed in the rice paddies of Vietnam, it would leave a big impression in the mud, looking like a giants foot had been there, plus the green camouflage gave its name, the Jolly Green Giant. The helicopters were slow, underpowered, and under armed, but continued to serve after the SEA conflict & some seeing service in Desert Storm and the last ones serving until 1995.

Legend CMSgt. Wayne Fisk explains the green feet tattoo and how many toes you should have on your tattoo. 

The Air Force recognised the importance of recovering downed aircrew in Vietnam, so the even larger HH-53 was procured, and called them Super Jolly Green Giants. They also took part in SAR missions during the Vietnam War, but after that war, the HH-53s were upgraded into the Pave Low configuration, making them capable of operating at night and bad weather. They also became used as special operations transports. The last Pave Lows were retiring in 2008.

The Air Force though, was looking for more SAR assets – mostly because they only had 41 of the Super Jolly Green Giants. The HH-60A was initially used until a specially modified version became available as the HH-60G. Its primarily tasked with the CSAR, and it usually carries .50-caliber machine guns or 7.62mm miniguns to protect itself. Like the Pave Low, the Pave Hawk can carry out missions at night or day.

The USAF plan to replace the HH-60G with the newly made HH-60W.
The HH-60W is a modified version of the Army's UH-60M Blackhawk & has a combat radius of 195 nautical miles, and is equipped with new displays to reduce the air crew's workload, and to help the pararescue jumpers do their job more efficiently. The Air Force plans to buy 112 HH-60Ws to replace the 99 HH-60Gs currently in service.

A Jolly Green Giant and the HH-60G. (920th RQW photo)

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