SERE
2203533
224266181
2008-07-08T01:57:21Z
98.227.99.41
[[Image:SERE.png|thumb|right|200px|West coast, Navy SERE Insignia]]
'''SERE''', an [[acronym]] for '''S'''urvival, '''E'''vasion, '''R'''esistance and '''E'''scape, is a [[United States military|U.S. military]] program that provides [[military personnel|personnel]], [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] civilians and [[private military company|contractors]] with training in evading capture, survival skills and the [[The United States Military Code of Conduct|military code of conduct]]. Established by the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] at the end of the [[Korean War]], it was extended during the [[Vietnam War]] to the [[United States Army|Army]] and [[United States Navy|Navy]]. Most of its students are [[aircrew]].
==The SERE uniform patch==
The SERE patch is said to have the following symbolic significance: The color green represents freedom; the patch is halved with a yellow strip to signify that survival, evasion, resistance and escape all require caution, with the knife the basic survival tool; the severed barbed wire represents captivity but freedom regained; the word 'tiger' in Chinese alludes to the [[Here be dragons|''Here be dragons/tigers'']] legend found on early maps; finally, the black surround honors symbolically those who have given their lives in service of country. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
== Curriculum ==
The curriculum may be regardred as falling into three key parts: survival and evasion; resistance and escape; and water survival:
===Survival and evasion===
The greater part of SERE training focuses on survival and evasion. Skills taught include [[woodcraft]], and wilderness survival in all types of [[climate]]. This includes what is known as [[wilderness first aid|emergency first aid]], a variant of the battlefield variety, [[orienteering|land navigation]], [[camouflage]] techniques, methods of evasion, communication protocols and how to make improvised tools. This list is by no means comprehensive, and some of what is taught is [[Classified information in the United States|secret]].
===Resistance and escape===
Training on how to survive and resist the enemy in the event of capture is largely based on the experiences of past American and allied prisoners of war. The bulk of this aspect of the course is secret. Several official websites, however, give a general overview. Official sources insist that SERE students are not themselves taught how to apply coercive techniques or interrogate prisoners since most are aircrew who would not normally be involved in handling enemy [[POW]]s.
===Water survival===
How to survive in water is taught at a separate Professional Military Education ([[Professional military education in the United States Air Force|PME]]) course; it takes two days and is typically attended after the main SERE course. In addition to training in the use of aquatic survival gear, more academic skills include [[first aid]] tailored to an aquatic environment, communication protocols, ocean [[ecology]], and equipment maintenance.
===Code of conduct===
SERE training is intended, above all, to provide students with the skills needed to live up to the [[Code of the U.S. Fighting Force|US military code of conduct]] when in uncertain or hostile environments. It is recited as follows:
'''''1.''' I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense. '''2.''' I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender those under my command while they still have the means to resist. '''3.''' If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy. '''4.''' If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way. '''5.''' When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause. '''6.''' I will never forget that I am an American, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.''<ref>http://docs.usapa.belvoir.army.mil/jw2/xmldemo/r350_30/head.asp</ref>
==Levels==
SERE training takes place at four levels:
* '''Level A''': Entry level training. These are the Code of Conduct mandatory classes taken by all at induction (recruit training and OCS). All service personnel get this basic training annually.
* '''Level B''': For those operating or expected to operate forward of the [[division (military)|division]] rear boundary and up to the what's known as the forward line of own troops or FLOT. Normally limited to flightcrew of the army, air force, navy and marine corps. Level B focuses on survival and evasion, with resistance in terms of initial capture. Because of reports of captured British sailors being broken easily as a result of lack of resistance training, the US Air Force now requires all aircrew to receive Level B SERE training.{{Fact|feb08|date=February 2008}} By 2008 the effectiveness of this aspect of air force training was being questioned by some, now consisting as it does, they allege, of "an online course which, with reading, videos and quizzes, takes 3-4 hours to complete."{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
*'''Level C''': For troops at a high risk of capture and whose position, rank or seniority make them vulnerable to greater than average exploitation efforts by any captor. Level C focuses on resistance in terms of prison camps and serious military interrogation.
*'''Level D''': For aircrews, but more recently phased out; what would have been SERE-D students in future undergo SERE-C training at Fairchild (see below).
==Service schools==
===Air Force===
The main air force SERE training center is at [[Fairchild Air Force Base]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]; training for medical aircrew happens at Brooks City-Base, [[Texas]]. The air force conducts arctic survival training at [[Eielson AFB]], Alaska, and parachute water survival training at NAS [[Pensacola]], [[Florida]].
SERE training was at the [[United States Air Force Academy|U.S. Air Force Academy]] in Colorado Springs from the late 1960s until 1995, at which time the resistance/escape element of the course was abolished (see ''Controversies'' below), leaving the survival and evasion classes in a program called [[Combat Survival Training]] (CST). The academy discontinued CST entirely in 2005, but has more recently announced the reinstatement of the program, including some portions of resistance training, in summer 2008.<ref name=gazette>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazette.com/articles/training_31846___article.html/cadets_program.html|title=Hostage Training to Resume for Cadets|author=Swanson, Perry|date=[[2008-01-12]]|accessdate=2008-01-14|publisher=Gazette (Colorado Springs)}}</ref>
===Army===
The army's two SERE schools are at [[Fort Bragg, North Carolina|Fort Bragg]], [[North Carolina]] and [[Fort Rucker]], [[Alabama]]. The former is run by the army’s [[John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School]], or USAJFKSWCS. The program began in 1981 under the supervision of LTC [[James N. Rowe|James "Nick" Rowe]], a [[United States Army Special Forces|special forces]] officer who suffered under [[North Vietnam]]ese captors for 62 months before managing to escape. SERE at USAJFKSWCS, a 19-day intensive, also serves as a phase of the [[Special Forces Qualification Course]], or Q course. It happens 25 miles southwest of Fort Bragg, at [[Camp Mackall]].
The Fort Rucker SERE school is at the [[Army Aviation Warfare Center]] and serves the entire army. Its 21-day course, one of several prerequisites for would-be pilots wishing to do what are known as initial entry Rotary Wing courses, is designed mainly for student pilots and aircrew.
===Navy/Marine Corps===
The Navy and Marine Corps SERE level C training is held at [[NAS Brunswick]], [[Maine]] and at the Navy Remote Training Site, Warner Springs, administered by [[NAS North Island]], both near [[San Diego]], [[California]]. The Marine Corps also conducts SERE level B training at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport CA, and at the North Training Area [[Camp Gonsalves]], [[Okinawa]], [[Japan]].
==Controversies==
===1995 U.S. Air Force Academy scandal===
One of the U.S. Air Force's SERE training programs was conducted at the [[United States Air Force Academy]] from the late 1960s until 1995. Because a large number of pilots and other aircrew members graduated from the academy, it was more efficient for the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] to send all cadets through SERE training while they were still at the academy. Cadets would normally complete the training during the summer between their fourth-class (freshman) and third-class (sophomore) years. A number of selected second-class (junior) and first-class (senior) cadets would serve each year as SERE training cadre under the supervision of [[enlisted]] Air Force SERE instructors.
As a result of [[Prisoner of War|POW]]s' experiences during [[Operation Desert Storm]], sexual assault resistance was added to the SERE curriculum. However, some of the training scenarios allegedly were taken too far by SERE cadet members at the academy during practical portions of the program. In 1995, the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television news program [[20/20]] reported that as many as 24 male and female cadets in 1993 had allegedly been [[sexually assaulted]] at the Academy during SERE training. One of the cadets sued the government, which eventually settled for a reported $3 million in damages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?command=viewone&id=10&database=Unlisted%2edb|title=AFA Scandals Confirm Senate Oversight Failure|author=Charles, Roger|date=[[2004-03-04]]|accessdate=2007-07-31|publisher=DefenseWatch}}</ref>
As a result of the scandal, the SERE program at the Academy was reduced to the survival and evasion portions only, and called Combat Survival Training (CST). All graduates going on to aircrew positions were then required to attend the resistance portion of the training at [[Fairchild Air Force Base]] before reporting to an operational flying unit. The CST program was discontinued entirely in 2004. The Air Force Academy is currently preparing for the return of the SERE program in the summer of 2008. The curriculum of the revived program will contain some resistance elements, but will not contain sexual assault resistance.<ref name=gazette/>
===Use of techniques in interrogation===
In July 2005 an article in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine alleged that psychologists who help direct the SERE curriculum have been advising the military at [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo Bay]] and other sites on [[enhanced interrogation|interrogation techniques]].
The SERE program's chief psychologist, Colonel Morgan Banks, issued guidance in early 2003 for the "behavioral science consultants" who helped to devise Guantánamo's interrogation strategy although he has emphatically denied that he had advocated the use of counter-resistance techniques used by SERE instructors to break down detainees. <!--see New Yorker article for denial--> ''[[The New Yorker]]'' notes that in November, 2001 Banks was detailed to [[Afghanistan]], where he spent four months at [[Bagram Air Base]], "supporting combat operations against [[Al Qaeda]] and [[Taliban]] fighters".
In June 2006 an article on [[Salon.com]], an online magazine, confirmed finding a document obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union through the Freedom of Information Act. A [[March 22]], [[2005]], sworn statement by the former chief of the Interrogation Control Element at Guantánamo said SERE instructors taught their methods to interrogators of the prisoners in Cuba.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/06/29/torture/index.html|title=Torture teachers|author=Benjamin, Mark|publisher=[[Salon.com]]|date=[[2006-06-29]]|accessdate=2006-07-19}}</ref> The article also claims that physical and mental techniques used against some detainees at [[Abu Ghraib]] are similar to the ones SERE students are taught to resist.
According to [[Human Rights First]], the interrogation that lead to the death of [[Iraqi]] Major General [[Abed Hamed Mowhoush]] involved the use of techniques used in SERE training. According to the organization "Internal FBI memos and press reports have pointed to SERE training as the basis for some of the harshest techniques authorized for use on detainees by the Pentagon in 2002 and 2003." [http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/etn/dic/mowhoush.asp]
On June 17, 2008, Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times reported that the senior Pentagon lawyer Mark Schiffrin requested information in 2002 from the leaders of the Air Force's captivity-resistance program, referring to one based in Fort Belvoir, VA.
The information was later used on prisoners in military custody.<ref>Mazzetti, Mark. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/washington/17detain.html?_r=1&oref=slogin "Ex-Pentagon Lawyers Face Inquiry on Interrogation Role."] ''New York Times'', June 17, 2008. </ref>
==See also==
*[[Enhanced interrogation techniques]]
*[[Waterboarding]]
*[[Resistance to interrogation]]
==References==
<div class="references-small"><references /></div>
==External links==
*[http://www.training.sfahq.com/survival_training.htm US Army SERE training]
*[http://www.fasolant.navy.mil/sere.htm US Navy SERE training (Brunswick)]
*[http://www.faso.navy.mil/ US Navy SERE training (Coronado)]
*[http://www.gosere.com US Air Force SERE training]
*[http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/050711fa_fact4 New Yorker magazine article about SERE]
*[http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar350-30.pdf Army Regulation for Code of Conduct/ SERE Training]
*[http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/130021p.pdf DOD directive on SERE training (DODI 1300.21)]
*[http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/130023p.pdf DOD directive regarding isolated personnel training (DODI 1300.23)]
*[http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=453 A narrative of SERE Instructor School]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6YkLRAgC8 Video to promote SERE recruitment]
[[Category:Human rights abuses]]
[[Category:Military education and training in the United States]]
[[Category:Psychological warfare]]
[[Category:Survival skills]]
[[Category:Torture]]
[[de:SERE-Training]]
[[es:SERE]]
[[ja:SERE]]