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Service members participate in SERE training

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  • By 1st Lt. Jonathan Russell
  • 117th Air Refueling Wing
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. --  Approximately 30 aircrew from the 106th Air Refueling Squadron and crew chiefs from the 117th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron participated in survival, evasion, resistance and escape refresher training here on Saturday.

During the training, the service members practiced techniques they would use if their aircraft was shot down behind enemy lines. The training included land navigation, evasion techniques and procedures for being rescued by a helicopter.

"The hardest part of the training is always navigating across rough terrain, and doing that in a way that is not going to reveal your location to the bad guys," said Capt. Mike Adams.

Adams, a KC-135R pilot, went through initial SERE training nine years ago in Washington state. The aircrew retrain every two years to practice with the equipment and to learn how to use new equipment.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the Alabama Army National Guard was called in by the aircrew and crew chiefs to perform the rescue and complete their training.