SERE Immersion Training Tests Mettle Of Intrepid Journalist
In the fifth part of this series about Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas (links to other four parts below), I participated in a simple Survival, Escape, Resistance, Evasion training (SERE) exercise. The idea was we had successfully ejected from a crippled aircraft over enemy territory and needed to find a safe place for helicopter extraction by our own forces.
The setting was an open field near woods with thick underbrush. All we had was what was in our packs in the ejection seat package. Saving time and moving quickly, polar opposites, were paramount as enemy troops were all around us, possibly having seen our parachutes descend.
Earlier in the day, as preparation for my B-1 bomber flight, I had learned to manage a parachute fall using virtual-reality goggles and hanging in a harness. Right after my virtual chute had opened, I looked up and saw a twisted canopy. Using the "bicycle-peddling" technique, I managed to untangle it, then scan the ground a few thousand feet below for a suitable landing site.
Forbes writer Jim Clash with TSgt Kyle Bartlett during a SERE field training exercise, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025.
A noticeable wind was pushing me toward dangerous trees, and I had to maneuver, using a pull chord on each side of my head, to avoid hitting them. I did miss them, barely, and landed at the edge of some undergrowth.
Back to the field exercise. First thing we did, under the guidance of TSgt Kyle Bartlett, SERE NCOIC 7th OSS, one of four SERE specialists at Dyess, was to hide the sprawled-out parachute on the ground, making it more difficult for the enemy to spot. Then we hightailed it to the woods and fired up our walkie-talkie radio to formulate a rescue plan with friendlies. Codes were used to verify it was actually us calling. The Airmen are trained in both survival and in how to handle enemy interrogation situations.
Forbes writer Jim Clash takes direction from TSgt Kyle Bartlett in the field during SERE simulation training, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025.
Right off, I learned I shouldn't have worn shorts. Cutting through the thick underbrush, a combination of mesquite and thorny bushes, made for painful going. Contacting friendlies every few minutes on the radio kept them abreast of our progress. We were told to aim for a lake ahead as the extraction target.
About to cross a dirt road, I spied a machine gun-toting enemy soldier on patrol. I motioned to the others to stay down and keep quiet. Evidently, he didn't see us because he kept walking. Just as I was about to signal it was safe, the soldier stopped for some reason. Again, we all hunkered down and kept radio-silence.
Once it was finally deemed safe, we crept across the road in the direction of the lake. Once we saw it, I made a bee-line, but TSgt Bartlett warned me to stay in the brush as that path was taking us into the open. Upon reaching the water, I was instructed to attach a bright flag we had been carrying incognito to a low branch of a close-by tree, then alert the rescue team via radio. They arrived within minutes. Somehow, we had made it.
SERE field training, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025.
This was nothing but a simple training exercise with dummy soldiers and predictable parameters. The entire SERE course for Airmen lasts about six months, with 85% of those who attempt it flunking out. I was stressed enough just participating, even though I had done something similar under brutal arctic conditions at Eielson AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Now imagine what it's like for Airmen under real combat conditions. Again, respect for our military. They do a hell of a job under incredibly challenging conditions. There is a lot more at stake for them than just cut-up knees.
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