Realism gives Air Force pilot new perspective

  • Published
  • By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Hendrick Simoes
  • Det. 12, Air Force News Agency
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) --  Evasion training helps the Air Force's pilots stay up-to-date on survival techniques in emergency situations.

Staff Sgt. Anthony Raciborski, a Survival, Evasion Resistance, Escape specialist, with the 35th Operations Support Squadron likes to give pilots the most realistic experience possible.

"The more realistic we can make for these guys the easier its going to be for them if it happens for real," Sergeant Raciborski said.

The training begins with an element of surprise. Capt. Matt Belle, a 13th Fighter Squadron pilot, went to work May 5 thinking he was going to fly.

"I went into the building today and they told me I had been shot down," the captain said.

Sergeant Raciborski set up a scenario where Captain Belle had to evade enemy soldiers, make contact with aircraft in the area and get rescued by a convoy.

The NCO stayed close as the captain went through his scenario.

"Number one is safety and number two is to assess his performance," Sergeant Raciborski said. He gives pilots a debriefing at the end to provide them feedback.

Captain Belle was able to communicate his location to aircraft, and the aircraft relayed it to ground personnel who then picked him up. It was the first time Captain Belle talked with planes in the sky from the ground.

"I got to see exactly how the communication flow works and exactly what the guys on the ground go through," he said.

When Sergeant Raciborski joined the Air Force, the idea of working in an office environment didn't intrigue him.

A friend of his told him about the SERE specialist career field.

"He said you have the possibility of jumping out of airplanes, your office is the woods and you get to do some pretty neat things," he said.

This inspired the NCO to do some more research and talk to a recruiter.

"The one thing I really liked about it is they straight up told me this is not for everybody," he said. "They also emphasized the high wash-out rate."

But this did not deter him.

"As soon as I heard that, it was kind of like a challenge, so I said yeah, that's definitely something I want to do."

And according to the NCO, he made the right choice. Sergeant Raciborski believes he's doing something good for the Air Force every day.

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