ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
Four members of the Andrews 89th Airlift Wing aircrew recently found themselves in a perilous position that could have proven to be their worst nightmare: they were stranded in deep water, with an Airman unconscious, rain poured down on them and a good-sized hole in their life raft.
Though not a real life-threatening event - as the body of water the aircrew found themselves in was really the deep end of the base pool, the unconscious Airman was really a volunteer pretending to be injured and the pouring down rain was really water from a hose, the exercise was meant to give them a glimpse of what could be reality, should their plane go down in the open waters. But truly, what are the chances of that happening?
Recent real world events such as the U.S. Airways pilot's landing the jet in New York's Hudson River, show that while an accident like this is not likely, there is still a chance that could happen. For this reason, the 89th Operational Support Squadron Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists train for and provide training to aircrews and others who may find themselves in a comparable situation.
"We did not plan on there being a hole in the raft, but it gives these guys a real world example of what could happen - especially if the raft gets cut in the debris," said Staff Sgt. Jonathan McGrath, 89th OSS SERE training NCO in charge. "That's what we're here for - to teach class participants real world survival techniques in a real world scenario."
The water survival SERE class started with classroom academics, where participants learned basic water survival techniques. These included how to avoid shark and barracuda attacks and how to identify stinging marine animals, and treat venomous bites in the water. Participants learned the ins and outs of common and not-so-common water life-forms, such as the hazardous Portuguese Man-of-War, a jelly-fish like creature that tangles humans quickly in its long tentacles.
SERE training comprises of five survival technique classes, including water survival, combat survival, local area survival, high risk of capture training and conduct after capture training. These classes are taught to individuals who are thought to be at high risk of capture, including aircrew, as identified by the Air Force, Sergeant McGrath said.
"This refresher course is very worthwhile and while we, as aircrew, have many flying hours, a class like water survival training is essential to maintain our Airmanship," said Lt. Col. Todd Staudt, 99th Airlift Squadron pilot.