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AF Survival School becomes reality TV

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt Matthew McGovern
  • Air Force News Agency
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  Americans get the opportunity to step into the boots of an Air Force Survival School student by watching the reality show Survival School starting Sept. 9 on the MOJO HD channel at 9 p.m. EDT.

The ten half-hour episodes will track 47 Airmen as they face the limits of their skill during the Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape program located at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash.

"It's an all access pass to one of the most intense survival training programs in the military," said Rebecca Toth-Diefenbach, an executive producer of the show.
"The Air Force was so wonderful to let us in to show what it's like for these guys going through this program - where normally, they have a 50 percent drop-out rate."

The Airmen withdrawal rate may stem from the extensive hands-on portion of training where Airmen spend six days in an isolated forest performing tasks including food gathering and preparation, shelter construction, and day and night land navigation techniques.

Viewers of the show will become aware of the various challenges students, primarily with aircrew backgrounds, face and see whether they can overcome and graduate as the show progresses.

"The biggest moments are the ones where people got into problems, either disciplinary or life-threatening ones," said Ms. Toth-Diefenbach. "In fact, when I was out there visiting the set, there was a guy that had to get medically evacuated twice because of hypothermia."

The two-man film crew were exposed to the same environments as they stayed with the students and bonded with the Airmen as they shared the experience.

Ms. Toth-Diefenbach said the cameraman and sound man had to do almost everything the Airmen did and the film crew needed two weeks off after every shoot to recover. Some misconceptions the crew had about the Air Force may have changed after the filming.

"Based on the experiences on the show, we certainly think the Air Force guys are tough," said Valerie Haselton, the show's other executive producer. "They're not just sitting in planes and flying around.

"This was hardcore and they were fit and worked incredibly hard," she said. "They were all running and hiking up miles of trails with 70 pound packs on their back."

The students who attempt the training have the goal to graduate, and they learn how to survive if the unexpected occurs. The television show expects to convey to the public how the Airmen live up to the school's motto, "Return With Honor."