SERE instructor takes training to a new level

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chawntain Sloan
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho (AFPN) --  As nightfall approaches, the temperature drops to single digits. The layers of clothing that seemed more than adequate earlier, now offer little protection from the bone-chilling breeze and icy ground.

But, that is the least of the survivors’ concerns.

“They’re not just surviving,” Tech Sgt. Micheal Ferguson said. “Their main goal is to get home.”

It’s a lesson Sergeant Ferguson, a survival evasion resistance escape specialist here, is committed to teaching.

Based on the six articles of the Code of Conduct, Sergeant Ferguson’s training is focused on personnel with a high risk of capture. He teaches techniques they can use to survive in most environments, evade and resist capture by the enemy and escape should they be captured. Airmen in career fields that generally stand a greater chance of being captured by the enemy go through an initial 17-day SERE training course at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

But Sergeant Ferguson’s instruction goes more into details.

“When they go through the 17-day course at Fairchild, everything is generalized to fit the needs of a diverse audience,” he said. “At Fairchild, an instructor might be teaching a combination of pararescuemen, pilots and loadmasters. Here, these guys are going to fly a different combat mission than (airborne warning and control system) personnel or refuelers. So my training is specific to their platform and airframe.”

With more than 16 years of experience under his belt, Sergeant Ferguson has designed a series of combat survival, water survival, emergency parachute and conduct after capture training exercises tailored to the wing’s mission.

“I also cover local area survival, which familiarizes pilots with the terrain here, what to do if anything happens and they have to eject, what equipment they have and how to use it, and where they would get picked up,” he said.

“We have the fortune that (Sergeant Ferguson) is a very proactive SERE instructor, and we also have a lot of room to train in the mountain home area,” said Col. William Schaal, 366th Operations Group commander. “He has set up a strong program that allows our aircrew to be better prepared for combat.”

Although the program may seem like it is geared more toward operations support personnel like aircrew, life support and intel, Sergeant Ferguson’s said his classes are custom tailored for Airmen in a variety of career fields and are based on two advanced levels of code of conduct training -- B and C.

“Since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, (U.S. Central Command and the Department of Defense) have realized that anyone and everyone can get caught by a terrorist, not just pilots, special forces or Airmen in career fields of that nature,” he said.

Airmen receive A-level code of conduct training during their entry level training, which introduces them to the six articles of the code.

“Airmen fresh out of basic know that there are six articles of the code of conduct, but they have no idea how it applies to them,” Sergeant Ferguson said.

Because of new and emerging threats that have surfaced during the global war on terrorism, Sergeant Ferguson said it has been identified DOD-wide that everyone needs to be at least B-level qualified.

“What that essentially means is that I reiterate the six articles of code of conduct and also talk about resistance techniques,” Sergeant Ferguson said. “The only difference between B- and C-level training, which is the category most operations support personnel fall into, is that you get all the academics at the B level but no practice like you do at the C level.”

Sergeant Ferguson is a one-man shop and said he puts in long work hours and planning for the program to be a success, but he maintains that he is not alone in his efforts.

“I work very hard as a SERE specialist, but there’s a lot of people coming in on their own time to make this happen,” Sergeant Ferguson said. “If it wasn’t for the folks in life support, intel, security forces, the medical squadron, the 726th Air Control Squadron, the Boise Air National Guard and the Idaho Army National Guard, I wouldn’t be able to pull this off.”

But all that hard work and those countless hours don’t go unnoticed.

“In my 20 years, (Sergeant Ferguson’s training) is the best, other than Fairchild, for combat survival skills,” said Colonel Schaal, who recently participated in a combat survival training exercise. “He does a great job of making sure we know those skills, and we can hopefully survive and evade capture longer in a combat environment.”