Every nightmare for different members of the United States military that go behind enemy lines, either as a pilot or aircrew, or others that serve on the front lines, is to be captured by the enemy.
Not Your Everyday School!
Because soldiers need to know how to survive, SERE training was created. SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, and the United States Navy holds their SERE training in the remote mountains of Maine.
The course is a model in how to survive, and how to come home with honor. It is a code of conduct course as much as it teaches the practical issues of survival. Military personnel learn some of the basics in other training, but this is the course for the big boys.
?We teach different skills, but more than anything we teach individuals what to do when bad turns to worse,? said Instructor Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Harry Haug.
Haug is a SERE instructor that is assigned to Fleet Aviation Specialized Ops, working in Brunswick, Maine at the U.S. Navy SERE school.
Navy Seals, Force Recon, aircrew members, aviators, and others all are required to take SERE training and become SERE qualified as part of their jobs.
The students that undergo SERE training learn as much from their mistakes as from their successes, according to Haug. ?Students never forget the lessons they learn here, we prefer they screw up here and learn then to screw up in real life,? he said.
Glad to see SERE SCHOOL is still in operation. I was an instructor from 1974 to 1977, best duty i had out of my 20 years in the Navy, at 70 years old i still think about it & talk about …
My son actually leaves for SERE this Friday. He is Aircrew and will report to Tinker AFB after this training. I have my concerns, but my son is geeked about SERE and tells me to relax, lol. He reminds me that I’d rather see him prepared for the :just in case” and I know he is right. I trust the Navy to prepare him and I have all the faith in him that he will not only survive, but excel!
This was the most challenging training I’ve ever had. I lost over 20 pounds that week but gained a ton in knowledge. My hat is off to you. “I’ve been there” SERE Tiger!
Ed O’Connell . I saw your reply top article and I went through Navy SERE School in 1975 from the 1st Ranger Battalion out Ft Stewart, GA. I escaped the prison compound and was half out of my mind and kept going deep in the woods. They had to lock everyone down and tracked me with many teams and dogs. Do you recall that in cident by any chance while you were cadre there? I’m interrested in talking to you if you do. Sincerely Mike Marshall
Thanks Ed for your service!!
I was stationed in Cuba at Fleet Training Group, GTMO when I got my orders to Vietnam through Little Creek, Va.
That SERE training was one of the best that I have ever had. Of course I had no idea what kind of training it was of course it did not take me long to find out.
I had a platoon and it was a great ptatoon except at the end when one of members of the platoon broken down.Well by the time we got to Little Creek we were going to kill him however we found out, they had discharged him area. Of course we had to love for the instructors. I will always remember the peoples bath.
Jack E. Butler
YN1,USN,RET
I went to SERE at Little Creek and field training at Camp AP Hill in Feb/March 1969 before going to Vietnam and served with IUWG from Apr 69 to Apr 70. It was really good training. It was realistic and how someone didn’t get emotional or were filled with pride when they raised that American flag and took down that red star at the end prison camp I can’t understande. Since that day every time I here the National Anthem and see the flag raised I get chill bumps.
Me too I went sere trng in 1968 and I still remember all the details. Jose Alejandro Cpo USN-Retired
Thank you for your service Mr. Butler! I had the pleasure of also serving in Little Creek and the five star AP Hill resort! I’m touched by your pride in the American Flag. Although, perhaps its not the flag as much as what the flag stood for then… it’s a new day. New generation. But for those who get it, we salute and our humble respect is theirs. Thank you again, sir.
I went through the Little Creek SERE school in December 1968…prior to my duty station at NSA DaNang from Dec 1968 to Jan 1970. Barracked at Camp Tien Sha and worked at the Deep Water Piers facility.
SERE school had a lot of rumors…was not as bad as some other training programs. A very na
I also went through the SERE training in Feb/Mar 1969 at AP Hill. I was one of the sailors pulled from the line to face the firing squad. I will always remember the command “Ready, Aim, F……” At that point the American Flag was illuminated by a bright flood light and the Star Spangled Banner was played over a loud speaker. Many tears were shed at that time, a moment in time that will be with me forever! The training served me well during my year in Hoi An with a special unit working with the brown water Navy on the Cu Dai River, south of DaNang.
Went to SERE training ay Little Creek, Va September 1967,
Looking in my DD 214 there is no listing of the training I received, does any one else have this problem, Thanks, Jerry
I cycled through SERE at Little Creek, VA and Camp A.P. Hill in August ’69. Great training that stood me well. Our field session at AP had us out when Hurricane Camille roared through the state Aug 19-20 ’69. By the time they decided to evacuate us, they couldn’t get to us so we were out in the storm in the field. One of chiefs going through the training had a heart attack that night and he was pulled out the next day when they could get to us. Quite a time. After SERE it was off to NSA DaNang and the Lighterage Div where I spent 9-months running ammo throughout I-Corps and sometimes doing troop insertions or extractions. After we turned boats over to the Army and the Vietnamese in May ’70, it was off to being on security at the Triangle in DaNang with some time down at Hoi An.
I was NAVY went through SERE in San Bernardino mountains and on to Viet Ham 67 to 68. camp TenSha. Operated with NSA and 3rd Marine Div. Got caught escaping and beat up. It was awesome. I was 18.
I was NAVY went through SERE in San Bernardino mountains and on to Viet Nam 67 to 68. camp TenSha. Operated with NSA and 3rd Marine Div. Got caught escaping and beat up. It was awesome. I was 18.
I was at Little Creek in August 1967 for survival training and then off to Da Nang. After checking in at camp Tien Sha and the White Elephant I spent 18 months with the 507th Transportation Group(USA) as a liaison. I felt like a hybrid of Army-Marine by the time I left in April 1969.
[email protected]
I went through SERE May 1969, it started in Little Creek , Va and for me finished at Camp Picket. The other half of our group went to Camp AP Hill. It was a eye opener , got us in shape , made us think about where we were going and at the end of the final day when they raised the American flag , it brought me to tears . I saw many of those same faces a few weeks later at Camp Tien Sha in Da Nang .
I’m confused. I went through Counterinsurgency School,Little Creek before going to NSA DaNang in January 1969. My certificate was named ‘Amphibious
Training’ Counterinsurgency Training (NAMS G-000-6250)I read all the postings here about SERE training and it sound exactly what I did. Being attacked by Navy intelligence while trying to build a escape and evasion shelter. Living in the woods in a shelter we built,Compass marches 24 hrs a day for three or four days before being ‘captured’ and spending three days in a POW camp being abused by various means before the American flag being raised on the 3rd day. Trapping animals to eat in December in Virginia meant not eating. They gave us a chicken and a few veggies for 8 guys.
My question, were both these the same training?
Yes, Got the same document and training. Went from Gitmo 2/8 FMF as HM to Little Creek SERE/Counterinsurgency May-June 69 and off to the Rung Sat Special Zone, RVN with the Marines at Can Gio and last RVN orders Hoi An, 69-70
Great Training with Seals/UDT chasing us all the way and the POW Camp where we were all treated to a dose of reality..
I went through counter insurgency training at the Naval Amphibious base in Little Creek, Virginia in the fall of 69. During hell week, we were givin 1 potato and a live chicken. The first night it snowed 6 inches. There wasn’t an animal alive within 10 miles of the place. It was cold, wet, and hungry out by day 2. They rounded us all up on day 3 because they were afraid we would freeze and took us to the concentration camp. Nothing to eat and no sleep for 3 days and 3 nights really messed up my head. The thing that really got to me though is when we were ready to head for the Nam at a briefing we were told that the concentration camp training was mute because the NVA were no longer taking prisoners. I learned a lot at Little Creek but I also thought there was a bit of mind games going on there.
Made my appt. at SERE Brunswick in Sept. of 75. Required training (VS-31 aircrew). It was getting a little chilly up there especially in that 2′ by 5′ cell butt naked with a concrete floor and a coffee can to whiz in. Funny how some things you never forget.
Went to SERE BRUNSWICK in Sept of 75. VS-31 aircrew required training. Flew up there on a Navy C-9 out of CECIL FIELD, FLA. Rabbit blood and billy goat grass was all I had to eat for several days. P.O.W. part of course was interesting to say the least. One of our instructors in classroom phase was former 5 year resident of the Hanoi Hilton. Some things you never forget.
Dismal Swamp in Virginia…..January 1964…The People’s Pond….Tiger Cage…that damn log they bounced you on……the room with all the mattresses on the wall…..forced march carrying a .50, while a big guy carried tripod!….Marine Capt. did our PT….it’s been a while but I won’t forget it.
My late twin brother served in Vietnam with the Navy. I have been going through his belongings and just located a certificate stating that he completed Counterinsurgency Training (NAMS G-000-6250) Amphibious Training at Little Creek Naval Amphibious School, United States Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia Presented 25 July 1969.
My brother never mentioned this training and wouldn’t talk about Vietnam. The certificate seemed to be hidden among unrelated items. What is this training? Is it SERE? I would appreciate any information you can share.
Thank you, Jane Marsh
Hello Larry,
Thank you for responding. I doubt it. Jack went to DaNang and worked in the huge supply base there. We wrote regularly and I have all of his letters. I see above that Mike asked the same question I did on October 8, 2017. Sounds like the designation has changed but it was survival training for those in the Navy. What is UDT-21?
Does anyone remember going to Counterinsurgency at A.P. Hill in fall of 1968 and being shut in a foot locker as part of punishment? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. This was my first experience ever of having panic attack.
Do to some poor medical care at the VA, I have begun experiencing panic attacks again. I have applied for disability compensation related to the POW camp experience. I need some verification that the foot locker punishment was used.
Spent my 21st bday at Aug ’68 Little Creek SERE. Friend and I met group of guys to train with after after pt class. Included some SEALs. Unforgettable last week. No food and near constant 24hr movement to avoid capture. Most memorable was POW camp. Rifle butts, full force open handed head strikes and interrogation techniques. At time did not know what it was called but saw my first water boarding. Did not look so bad considering 90+ heat and humidity. One guy did escape. He was caught, returned and escaped second time stealing a guard’s lunch. Subsequently recaptured and paid a heavy price, albeit on a full stomach. My understanding that only other SERE training at time was at Coronado .
WOW! Mike, that means you’re just beyond your teen age years. I was in Coronado ’76 but don’t recall SERE school going on. I was in Brunswick ME during my day and I believe it still is. Check out: https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-its-like-at-sere-training-2014-12
And I embrace your friend’s perseverance with each escape. In real-time battles, such gutsy on-going warrior-like attitudes are necessary for survival. Enjoy your day and THANK YOU big time for your service! Hooyah!