Survival School! Any tips? n/t

[Kaman]

Hello,
I would have to say the biggest tip, isn't necessarily a tip as much as it is FYI. Two of the biggest factors are locale and season. Both of these can varily greatly and add to the misery factor of survival training.
I can't comment on Air Force survival training, except that the Navy and the Air Force merged their syllabus for SERE training in the late 90's. However, if you are going through the Navy program you'll be introduced to land survival as a part of AI, OCS or NACCS. When I went through it was a 4-day course consisting of two days in the classroom and two in the field. More than likely you'll be taken somewhere out in the Eglin AFB range compex with your instructors. Part of the syllabus is a land navigation exercise. It's over before you know it, and other than the fact that it is pretty picked over we enjoyed some beef jerky and prickly pear cactus.
SERE training for the Navy is conducted in two locations, NAS North Island and NAS Brunswick Maine. I went through on the west coast at North Island and after the classroom phase we were taken out to the desert close to El Centro for Desert Environment Survival Training (DEST). Then it was onto the high chapparal area of the Laguna mountains near Warner Springs, CA. This iis where you'll do some more classroom/field work ending with the POW stuff. I went through in the summer, so it was hotter than blazes in the desert and not too much cooler in the mountains. However, I had friends that went through in winter and actually had some snow there as well as rain/wind and all that fun stuff.
Brunswick...Well, it's in Maine, so I don't need to go into great detail what that place must be like in the winter! My advice would be go west coast if you are going through SERE in winter time!

regards,

ex-Navy Rotorhead

 

[Yahtzee]

Anyone willing to comment on survival school?

Please specify which branch of service and which school....as you can already tell there are various schools for each service.

 

[luck4unme]

Actually I'm not the officer who is going but the info I'm looking for is for recent SUPT grads going to Washington. I think the base is Fairchild and it starts next week.

Thanks for all the posts so far.

 

[DaveGriffin]

Eat your oatmeal, all of it, you'll need the energy.

Don't like oatmeal, learn to love it, quick.

Oatmeal!!
You got oatmeal at SERE?
The "country club" never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Purple Haze]

Feb 1988, Fairchild AFB, Cascades, WA
-7 degrees Fahrenheit (before windchill)
5+ feet of snow
Most firewood = buried
Food?.........What food?
Snowshoes are not fun when your dawgs are frozen.
Our only water came from melting snow over a fire. If you didn't drink the nasty "smoke-water" fairly quickly, it would freeze in your canteen.

But we liked it...We loved it....That was the day

Tips:
Don't stand out--blend
Do not whine -- you will make it much worse.
If you have good camping skills you will have a MUCH easier time
Don't be an idiot -- help the others in your group who think the meat in the grocery store somehow grew from a plant.
Best advice: Just gut it out, realizing that it is the only remaining obstacle between you and a goal you set a long time ago.

Resistance Training Tips:
Don't be dumb like I was -- CHEAT! Any time they are not watching you, RELAX. Daydream -- heavily.
Don't freak out -- it isn't real -- they can't (permanently) DNIF you

 

[Cruise157]

When all else fails, remember, it's run by AETC.

 

[B52GUNNER]

I did Fairchild in March. It sucked. Well not really. If you ever did any camping in the boy scouts it is like that only a lot worse. No food so to speak. They teach you how to land navigate, make shelter, find food (you might not think it is food but...muck it on down) and how to get the hell out of enemy lines. That is the fun part.

As for the POW training. That is classified. All I will say is I would never want to go through it again.

Just remember going through all the people that have done it before you and all the people that will do it after you. It is a learining experience. As the sign says when you pull on the base "Welcome to USAF survival school. Your life may depend on what you learn here" ASK Scott Grady.


Good luck

 

[Yahtzee]

Buzzzzzzzz

I did Fairchild survial training in late May. My best piece of advice:

Bring at least three cans of "OFF" & two mosquito nets (for your face). After seven or so days camping, I came back with probably 1000+ bites. I'm still scratching from all those bites after eight years.

For a change of pace a few days later, when we started RT in June, it was snowing in the mountains and was 43 degrees and raining in our little RT world.

Yahtz

 

[HueyPilot]

Some simple rules

#1- Don't attend SERE in the winter.

#2- Don't spend the whole time complaining, it won't make you feel any better.

#3- Keep in mind it will all be over soon.

I attended SERE in November. It hadn't started snowing heavily yet, although we did get dusted a little. Worst part was the rain....everything was soaked, and the temp was about 35 degrees. By the last day in the field, both flight suits were completely soaked through, I stank like a wilderbeast, and my skin was numb to the cold.

Luckily, since I am ex-Army, I was used to carrying a heavy rucksack. Many of my classmates weren't so lucky, and this was their first real experience rucking in miserable field conditions.

Oh, one other thing to remember...if you're too tall to fit your entire body under your poncho-tent (as most of us are unless you're 5'2"), it's better to let your feet stay warm and dry, and get your face wet (and cold). Get those feet cold and wet, and the next day's rucking will s^ck in a big way.

 

[Big Duke Six]

Oh the memories!!

"Muck it on down!" **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**, who could forget those words?

Words to live by though. I did Fairchild in May. Bugs weren't bad yet though, RT was rainy. Have fun in the woods, and try to keep RT in perspective. You'll be fine!