Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape

Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a program, best known by its military acronym, that provides U.S. military personnel, U.S. Department of Defense civilians, and private military contractors with training in evading capture, survival skills, and the military code of conduct. Established by the U.S. Air Force at the end of World War II, it was extended and consolidated during the Vietnam War (1959–1975) to the U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy and in the late 1980s to the U.S. Army. Most higher level SERE students are military aircrew and special operations personnel considered to be at high risk of capture.

Based on the experiences of the British and American pilots who managed to escape and evade from the Germans during World War II, and return to friendly lines, several private "clubs" were created during World War II. One such club was the "Late Returners Club". This club, which had a "Flying Boot" as its identifying symbol, was strictly non-military. However, under the left collar of his uniform, the individual who had successfully escaped and/or evaded the enemy pinned the "Flying Boot" and although everyone knew it was not official, they did not question its wear. The experiences of these evaders was passed on in lectures, guest appearances, and small regional specific training programs by the US Army Air Corps and in British military programs. Consolidation into a formal (then called "Survival") program of instruction came in 1943. Under the direction of General Curtis LeMay it was realized that it was much cheaper and more effective to train aircrews in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape techniques, than to have them languishing in enemy hands. He was responsible for the establishment of SERE training at several bases/locations. In 1943, the US Army established a small program for Cold Weather Survival at RCAF Station Namao in Alberta, Canada, and in 1945 it was moved to Camp Carson, Colorado, and in 1948 at Marks Air Base, Nome, Alaska. The first instructors were composed of experienced wilderness "civilian" volunteers and USAF military personnel with prior instructor experience. This initial cadre also included "USAF Rescuemen" from around Alaska, Greenland, Colorado, etc. General LeMay attended the first class of instruction as a student. As time wore on, the expense and wisdom of having multiple locations for training was questioned and consolidation was begun. The hardest part of that consolidation was where to locate the training base that offered the best environmental and logistical support for such a small but convoluted training program. Ultimately, the USAF consolidated at Stead AFB, Nevada. In the mid 1960s, the school was moved to Fairchild AFB, WA.

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