JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – Members from the SERE team at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, will celebrate their 700th save with a ceremony and search and rescue demonstration Sept. 20 at Fairchild AFB.
In addition to the demonstration, which highlights the training, coordination and intensity required for one rescue, Airmen from the 36th Rescue Squadron will reveal the 700th Save Trophy and have rescue crews available for interviews.
The 36 RQS’s primary mission is to support the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) schoolhouse through training support and medical evacuation of injured students and SERE specialists. Additionally, 36 RQS crews are sometimes tasked to use their specialized search and rescue skill to assist in civilian rescues.
SERE specialists are elite instructors who train Airmen for any situation they may find themselves be it in the desert, arctic, at sea, in the jungle or as a prisoner of war. A SERE specialist must exhibit the highest standards of leadership, followership, maturity, and communication skills.
Before a SERE candidate is eligible to begin the SERE pipeline at Fairchild AFB, they must successfully complete the 15-day SERE Specialist Training Orientation Course at JBSA-Lackland. The training pipeline to become a SERE specialist takes about one year to complete and includes training at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Fairchild AFB, Washington, and Fort Benning, Georgia.
The average SERE specialist is an expert on methods used to survive in arctic, desert, open ocean, jungle, and mountain environments. They will also understand what it takes to survive in a hostile environment while possibly evading capture and/or surviving in an isolation situation.
SERE specialists are stationed throughout the United States and multiple overseas locations.. Every location with a flying wing or rescue unit will have two or three SERE specialists assigned. Training for SERE specialists is located at Fairchild AFB, Washington, Eielson AFB, Alaska, and JBSA-Lackland, Texas. Ultimately, a SERE specialist’s job is to ensure all personnel have the ability to “return with honor.”
B-roll and photos from the event will be available to complement articles and broadcasts by end of day Sept. 20.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Media interested in covering the event or interviewing subject matter experts via phone should contact AETC/PA at 210-652-4400 or jennifer.gonzalez.17@us.af.mil
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