SERE: Training soldiers to survive

The goal of the United States Army's training in survival, evasion, resistance and escape, or SERE, is to teach personnel how to survive if they become separated from their unit; to evade a hostile force and make their way back to friendly forces; and to avoid capture. In the event that soldiers are captured, SERE training will have prepared them to resist the enemy's attempts at exploitation, to escape from captivity and to return home with honor.

Department of Defense Directive 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support Code of Conduct, establishes three levels of SERE training: A, B and C.

Level A. Level-A SERE training is initial-entry training that is included in the program of instruction during basic training and during all entry-level courses of instruction for officers.

Level B. Level-B SERE training is designed for officers and enlisted personnel who operate (or who could potentially operate) near enemy lines. Unit-level instruction in Level-B SERE is accomplished using a training support packet, or TSP, that contains 16 standardized lesson plans that support training in 38 tasks.

Level C. Level-C SERE training is designed for personnel whose wartime position, military occupational specialty, or assignment entails a high risk of capture, and whose position, rank or seniority would make them targets for strongerthan-average exploitation efforts by a captor. Personnel who operate in enemy-controlled areas, such as Special Forces, Pathfinders, selected aviators, flight-crew members and members of Ranger battalions, should receive Level-C training.

Level-C SERE training is conducted by the JFK Special Warfare Center and School's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group. Company A is one of four advanced-skills companies within the 2nd Battalion. Because nearly 70 percent of Company A's instructor positions are allotted to its two SERE detachments (the Field Training Detachment and the Resistance Training Detachment), the company is commonly referred to as the "SERE Company" or as the "SERE School." Company A is the only Army unit that is authorized to conduct Level-C SERE training.

History

The Army's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course traces its roots to the Vietnam conflict. On Oct. 29, 1963, Captain Rocky Versace, First Lieutenant Nick Rowe and Master Sergeant Dan Pitzer were captured in South Vietnam after an intense fire fight. All three...