Ask me anything about going through SERE

DeadMoney_J · #1 12-05-2006, 05:12 AM

In another thread I asked if there was any interest in a couple of topics that I have experience in. One of those topics was me having gone through Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) training and some questions developed from that so that is the topic I will address.

So if there are any questions, feel free to ask. I will answer as much as possible but I will not discuss anything classified (to include OPSEC and FOUO inforamtion). Other than that though, anything is fair game.

DeadMoney_J · #2 12-05-2006, 05:25 AM

Asked by WhoIAm --
My questions would be:
Q:Why were you given the training?
A

ue to my job. I was in Intelligence Operations.

Q:Were you likely to be near the front lines?
A: Yes. More likely to be "beyond the line" though

Q: Did you possess sensitive information?
A: Comes with the job

Q: Were you level A, B, or C?
A: Went through Army SERE level C training plus other specialized training in this area. The AF doesn't classify in this same nature, I went through SV-80 for the AF and then went through other specialized SERE courses.

Q: Without giving away any classified information, can you give a basic itinerary of the SERE training?
A: You basically do some course work. Go to the field and practice survival craft. Get captured, be a POW. Get released, review what's happened and how you can improve. Go back to being a POW and finish it out.

Q:I'd be most interested in the "resistance and escape" phase. What was done to you? How well did you hold up?
A: I was put in stress positions (with and without equipment assistance) and had enviromental stressors put upon me (put in hypothermic states at times, sleep/food deprivation, sensory deprivation, etc.). I believe I did well.

Q: How are you advised to escape from captivity?
A: Through any means possible which are leagal. It's in the Code of Conduct to attempt to escape at every possible oppurtunity and to aid others to do the same.

Q: How well have those who have actually been captured held up to interrogation?
A: The tactics taught have been shown to be very effective. I know I'd much rather go through it for the first time in this course opposed to first experiencing it real-world.

WhoIam · #3 12-05-2006, 05:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Q: How are you advised to escape from captivity?
A: Through any means possible which are leagal. It's in the Code of Conduct to attempt to escape at every possible oppurtunity and to aid others to do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]
What kinds of things are legal? Could you kill a guard? I assume things like taking civilian hostages would not be allowed. Are there different rules for being in an "official" POW situation vs, say, being captured by a warlord?

DeadMoney_J · #4 12-05-2006, 05:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Q: How are you advised to escape from captivity?
A: Through any means possible which are leagal. It's in the Code of Conduct to attempt to escape at every possible oppurtunity and to aid others to do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]
What kinds of things are legal? Could you kill a guard? I assume things like taking civilian hostages would not be allowed. Are there different rules for being in an "official" POW situation vs, say, being captured by a warlord?

[/ QUOTE ]

You are no longer a "combatant" once you are a POW. This is an important concept as it dictates how one is to be treated under the guidelines of the Geneva Convention. So, under this premise you would not want to kill a guard. You could then be tried as a criminal even if your captors were following the Geneva Convention. You would never in this situation want to take a civilian hostage either. Of course this is all situationally dependant but the above would be the official "on-record" government training stance.

In a situation where there was a "non-state" group that had you captive, it is a whole other situation. Their goals, command and control, and decision matrix are completely different from a nation state holding you. So you certainly would want to handle being held by a terrorist group or warlord differently. You want to do whatever you can to up your chances of survival.

eviljeff · #5 12-05-2006, 05:48 AM

describe in as much detail as possible what you would consider to be the most difficult environment that you could possibly survive in and why.

edit: if you have a specific location in mind that would be cool too

cardsharkk04 · #6 12-05-2006, 05:55 AM

how much training did you get with firearms or hand to hand combat?

DeadMoney_J · #7 12-05-2006, 06:04 AM

[ QUOTE ]
describe in as much detail as possible what you would consider to be the most difficult environment that you could possibly survive in and why.

edit: if you have a specific location in mind that would be cool too

[/ QUOTE ]

Probaly something in the Boreal Eco-Region. Although I'd have water, food would be scarce the majority of the time and the cold would be brutal.

I know some people are going to rebuttle with a desert being the worst but with most desert there are ways to harvest water and I feel more confident in gaining food in that kind of enviroment.

DeadMoney_J · #8 12-05-2006, 06:05 AM

[ QUOTE ]
how much training did you get with firearms or hand to hand combat?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have had training of this nature but not during SERE phases.

Colonel Kataffy · #9 12-05-2006, 11:44 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Q: How are you advised to escape from captivity?
A: Through any means possible which are leagal. It's in the Code of Conduct to attempt to escape at every possible oppurtunity and to aid others to do the same.

[/ QUOTE ]
What kinds of things are legal? Could you kill a guard? I assume things like taking civilian hostages would not be allowed. Are there different rules for being in an "official" POW situation vs, say, being captured by a warlord?

[/ QUOTE ]

You are no longer a "combatant" once you are a POW. This is an important concept as it dictates how one is to be treated under the guidelines of the Geneva Convention.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting. If you escape, at what point in time to are you a "combatant" again. Does it just have to be the immediate restraint, like your particular cell? Or off prison property entirely? If you get out of prison complex, and you tag non-prison ground, could you then go back and kill a guard in an effort to free other prisoners? Seems like there could be a lot of grey area here.

RunDownHouse · #10 12-05-2006, 11:51 AM

[ QUOTE ]
describe in as much detail as possible what you would consider to be the most difficult environment that you could possibly survive in and why.

edit: if you have a specific location in mind that would be cool too

[/ QUOTE ]
OP,

Have you seen Survivorman on The Discovery Channel? If so, how would you rate his survival knowledge compared to yours?