Air Force's evasion experts teach pilots survival techniques

  • Published
  • By Marine Cpl. Ashleigh Bryant
  • Det. 10, Air Force News Agency
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) --  Slathered in mud and dressed in Australian military camouflage, you might not recognize Senior Airman Jason Davis as the Pacific Air Forces Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Specialist Airman for 2006. But that is his uniform of the day for the outdoor survival portion of the SERE training course at Tama Hills Recreation Area, Japan.

While he leads two Air Force captains through the forest filled with bamboo stalks and shin-deep mud bogs, he recalls a time when Mother Nature was not part of his nature.

"I was a city boy. I had concrete in my backyard. I saw this...it looked like it would be fun and I didn't want to sit at a desk and once I started going through all the training, I realized the teaching part was a lot of fun," Airman Davis said.

In addition to teaching his students life-saving skills, he enjoys the benefits of a career with a scenic view. "The best part is coming out here. This is my office out here. I don't have to sit behind a computer all the time," Airman Davis said. "I can come out here and teach, there's nice weather out here right now, and I can get away from base."

Airman Davis is entrusted to train pilots and aircrew members. The approximately 325 enlisted SERE specialists teaching this course are instrumental in aiding personnel at high risk of capture survive in austere conditions, according to the Air Force SERE Web site.

"His performance is simply outstanding. In my nine years of aviation service this is absolutely the best I've seen out here. Especially for a young man at this point in his career," said Capt. Gregory Davis, a student of Airman Davis' SERE course.

Although Airman Davis raised his hand for this all-volunteer career field only a few years ago, Air Force SERE Specialists have been teaching American service members to 'return with honor' since 1947. An average of 6,500 students completes this training each year through the program.
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