JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Airmen assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing conducted a Water Survival Preparation Course at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. on 7 June, 2023.
Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape is an established career field dedicated to increasing survivability of personnel when isolated in remote or hostile locations. SERE Specialists are generally assigned to bases with flying squadrons, and work to keep the aircrew qualified and mission ready.
“Water covers roughly 70% of the Earth's surface, so it is very likely that aircrew will be flying over it at some point in their training or career,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Samuel Neitzer, 305th AMW SERE specialist. “As great as our aircraft are, there is always a chance that something won't go as planned. Our WSPC is designed to give them critical survival skills should they become stranded in an open water situation.”
Each SERE shop usually operates on a small number of manning billets, and as a result, may seek support from other base personnel.
Locally, the 305th AMW SERE Operation has an augmentee program with personnel from five different units around the Joint Base. The augmentees assist with logistics for some of the courses that have many moving parts and additional safety considerations.
“For this particular training, we had assistance from two of our augmentees with the 305th Operations Support Squadron and one from the 6th Airlift Squadron,” said Neitzer. “The 87th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Transportation Flight also provided support getting aircrew to and from the course location. When possible, the 87th Medical Group Flight Medicine team comes out to provide on-scene medical coverage.”
The team also offers a variety of other courses for aircrew members to attend, allowing them to maintain currencies without having to travel to do so.
“As SERE specialists, we also have courses we must complete to maintain our currencies,” said Neitzer. “It’s essential that we’re up to date on our training so we can best prepare service members to survive what could be a worst-case scenario.”
Although Joint Forces are welcome to attend training with the 305th AMW SERE team, each service branch has its own unique requirements and ways of meeting them.
“If a member from another service wanted to come through this particular WSPC, they wouldn't get to see or use the equipment if it differed from what our Airmen have available to them,” Neitzer. Because of this, we are mostly Airmen-focused because of the equipment we have on hand.
However, both Mission and Coalition Partners that can benefit from the training in its entirety are encouraged to attend.
“The U.S. Coast Guard from Air Station Atlantic City provided a helicopter and crew to conduct hands-on hoist training, which gives our aircrew first-hand knowledge on factors faced during possible recovery methods for open water scenarios,” said Neitzer. “We also had one of our Canadian Coalition Partners embedded within the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron in attendance.”
The 305th AMW SERE team recently won multiple awards, including the 2022 Air Mobility Command SERE Specialist, Trailblazer, and Program of the year awards.
“Training service members to survive in what could be their worst situation is a responsibility our team takes very seriously,” said Neitzer. “To be acknowledged for doing that well is a great feeling to say the least.”