SERE Instructor Technical School 336TRG/66TRS

Greg Davenport during the evasion and resistance phase of training to become a USAF SERE Instructor.

Course S-V81-A Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape Instructor Training School Instructor training flight (ITF) is located in Fairchild AFB, WA. Students go through 6 months of intense training to become a entry level USAF SERE instructor. During this phase of training, students learn physical training, survival skills, instructorship, teamwork, leadership, followership, attention to detail and the core values necessary for this demanding job.

This school is one of the most physically and mentally demanding technical schools in the Air Force. ITF offers two classes a year, broken down into a summer class (starts beginning of June) and a winter class (starts beginning of Jan.) The longest field trip during training is 22 days during Familiarization and Land Navigation phases. After that the time away from home varies from about 5 - 12 days.

A typical (on base) day for a SERE Instructor student often starts at 0700 in the gym with a 3 to 5 mile run (7:30/minute mile pace) followed by calisthenics. The exercises may consist of, but are not limited to, 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 200 flutter kicks, 50 pull-ups, and 50 8-count body builders. The rest of the day is filled with academic lessons, labs, and homework that often lasts until well after midnight.

A typical (field) day for students usually starts before the sun is up and ends long after the sun has gone down. Field trips cover familiarization, navigation, desert, coastal, tropics, rough land evacuation, medical, evasion, arctic, teaching techniques, and integrated (see below for details on these trips).

For those who graduate S-V81-A they then enter another 6 months of grueling training focused on obtaining the skills necessary to safely teach survival to USAF Aircrew members. Successful completion of both phases is required before the USAF SERE Instructor is allowed to carry its first group of students without direct supervision.

During Greg Davenport's military career he went on to become a SERE Instructor trainer's trainer and taught future instructors these same skills. This early foundation was key to Greg's ability to advance and hone his modern and primitive survival skills over the next 17 years.

SERE Instructor Training Field Trips

Familiarization Phase

The familiarization phase of training develops long-term temperate and sub-arctic survival skills. Students learn in how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation and cooking techniques to meet their survival needs. Students also learn to call in recovery assets to there location for recovery. These skills are the core of what follows in each of the various survival environments.

Land Navigation (Mobile) Phase

During land navigation students gain a working knowledge of map and compass work. Students are trained in the intricate details of map orientation, compasses, triangulation, land navigation, travel techniques, packing gear, and all the other skills learned in the previous phases of training. A typical summer mobile may take a student 70km and a winter mobile may take the student 50km over the training area.

Desert Phase

The desert phase is designed to teach students how to survive in the extreme heat of the desert while maintaining their survival needs. Students learn in how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation, cooking techniques, land navigation, and desert travel to meet their survival needs. Students also learn to call in recovery assets to there location for recovery. These skills are similar to the ones they learned in the previous phases but are practiced so they apply to the desert region.

Coastal & Open Water Phase

Open Water Survival: Students are taken out into the open ocean on Coast Guard Cutters and released into the ocean on 20 man survival rafts. Once on the rafts cadre conduct scenarios and expect the students to apply what they learned in the academics classroom while maintaining their survival needs. Sea sickness is a contributing factor to dehydration so the students are taught how to procure fresh water from salt water. Once all objectives are accomplished each member from the element practices calling in the Coast Guard rescue helicopter and are recovered in a rescue basket and flown to shore. The students also practice surf penetration on one man life rafts.

Coastal Survival: Students learn how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation, and cooking techniques, to meet their survival needs. Students also learn to call in recovery assets to there location for recovery. These skills are similar to the ones they learned in the previous phases but are practiced so they apply to the coastal region.

Tropics Phase

Students learn how to navigate down rivers and through rapids using manmade and improvised rafts. In addition, students learn how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation, cooking techniques, land navigation, and white water rafting to meet their survival needs. Students also learn to call in recovery assets to there location for recovery. These skills are similar to the ones they learned in the previous phases but are practiced so they apply to the tropical region.

Rough Land Evacuation Phase

Students learn the details of rock climbing techniques to include; bouldering, rappelling, safety belying, anchor techniques, climbing knots, care for equipment and improvising. All these skills are graded as the students learn the skill in a stair step (easy to hard) fashion.

Medical Phase

The Medical and Rough Land Evacuation phases of training are combined. Students learn the details of survival medicine while using improvised material and medical supplies to treat injuries on both themselves and other victims. Students learn high and low angle evacuation techniques using a backboard, litter while at the same time keeping the victim in the litter in stable condition.

Evasion Phase

Students learn in how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation, cooking techniques, map work, compass work, camouflage techniques, and recovery procedures. Students are taught to accomplish these tasks while maintaining an evasion posture and meet survival needs at all times throughout this phase of training. The student's goal throughout this training phase is to evade capture while navigating from various points and eventually to reach friendly forces or get rescued. Realism is created as the enemy hunts for them (24 hour a day using NVG's, and thermal imaging devices) and interrogates those who are captured.

Arctic Phase

The Arctic phase is designed to teach students how to survive in the extreme cold of the Arctic regions while maintaining their survival needs. Students learn in how to build and use shelters, fires, ground to air signals, improvised tools and equipment, food procurement, sustenance preparation, cooking techniques, and arctic travel to meet their survival needs. Students also learn to call in recovery assets to there location for recovery. These skills are similar to the ones they learned in the previous phases but are practiced so they apply to the arctic region.

Teaching Techniques Phase

Students learn how to safely teach global survival skills. Students learn lesson plan building, presentations, demonstration, student practices, critiques processes, basic computer skills and how to do research. Students teach to classmates and are critiqued with the use of videotapes, student, and instructor feedback. Lesson topics may vary from a 3 - 5 min extemporaneous on how to sharpen a knife to a one and a half hour lesson on how to use a map and compass properly.

Integrated Phase

Students learn how teach an entire day in the field as if they were teaching a S-V80-A element of their own. Students are put in the role of the instructor and are expected to teach fire, shelter, sustenance, and follow the steps they learned on base during teaching techs. Students are graded on their ability to follow the steps of teaching techs, presentation and their ability to live and work outdoors as a team member and an individual. This is typically the final phase of training.