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Survival specialists to show 'How To' on MTV

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Five crew members from MTV came to Fairchild Air Force Base Nov. 17 for a firsthand glimpse of what the Air Force has to offer.

MTV's "How To Show" has celebrities demonstrating how to do a variety of things through a step-by-step format, and the Air Force joined MTV to show how Airmen survive, evade, resist and escape behind enemy lines.

During the planning process, many scenarios for the "How To Show" were discussed among officials from MTV, the Air Force Recruiting Service and an Air Force marketer, as to what the Air Force could offer the show.

"Ultimately, we all agreed that the Fairchild base had the most educated group of people who would be able to provide unparalleled guidance throughout the different scenarios and shoots," said Theresa Piszczor, an MTV Networks account executive.

Senior Airman David Janossy, a 22nd Training Squadron survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist, organized personnel, wrote scripts and worked the logistics.

"Showcasing our very unique skill sets of the 336th Training Squadron in combination with a new program produced by a cutting edge director like Rich Browd from MTV was an unbeatable opportunity," Airman Janossy said. "SERE gets to put its best foot forward to the public with help from world-class television professionals, and MTV gets an exciting program which educates their audience on some very useful outdoor emergency survival skills."

The MTV crew was escorted by SERE specialists to two film locations over two days. Airman 1st Class Tiffany Zaloudek, a 22nd Training Squadron SERE specialist, explained and demonstrated for the MTV cameras how to survive when one is stranded and in need of rescue. She went through the steps starting with simply being prepared and staying calm. How to build a fire and attract the attention for rescue were also covered in her step-by-step instructions on how to survive a land-based emergency.

"I understand they wanted to show a more diverse approach and having a female show survival techniques will hopefully give confidence to anyone, male or female, to be able to perform what we have shown," Airman Zaloudek said. "I worked with some of the nicest professionals from MTV and Air Force Recruiting. They made it fun and extremely easy for me. I got to see behind the scenes of how production is run and I give them mad props for all that they do, especially listening to me repeat the same line six times in a row. I hope they were able to take away new knowledge as I did from them."

On the final day of filming, an MTV camera operator, Shawn Mattaro, attended the open water survival course required for all aircrews. Mr. Mattaro was required to take the course for the purpose of filming from inside the underwater egress training dunker.

"I helped write the script for the water survival," said Senior Airman Ethan Jago, a 66th Training Squadron SERE specialist, who was chosen to narrate the water survival episode. That episode demonstrates the steps involved to egress from a submerged vehicle safely.
"It was definitely an experience seeing how long it takes to film something as simple as a three-minute show," said Airman Jago.

After two full days of filming, MTV left with a new, and more personal, perspective of the Air Force.

"This was an incredible opportunity that exposed me to just a glimpse of the many skills learned in the Air Force," said Sheree Shu, an MTV producer. "As we will illustrate in the how-to spots, many of these skills are applicable to everyday life situations. It was an absolute pleasure working with all the individuals from the Air Force in making this happen and I look forward to working with them again."

It takes approximately four weeks from the time of filming to the time the two custom episodes featuring Fairchild AFB Airmen will launch on MTV.com and MTV mobile. Both episodes are scheduled to launch the week of Dec. 15.

"After many years at MTV, I've never had the pleasure of directing such a cooperative and enthusiastic group of individuals," said Mr. Browd, "This experience is one that we will not soon forget."