Scott survival specialists experience Mt. Rainier Published July 13, 2011 By Christi Spargur 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs Scott Air Force Base, Ill. -- On June 14, Tech. Sgt. Robert Graham and Staff Sgt. Jeremy Casinger began a climb up Mount Rainier in Washington state--but not for charity, sport or hobby. The sergeants are Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape specialists with the 375th Operations Support Squadron. It's their job to teach aircrews how to survive in nature's most austere environments. As SERE specialists, the sergeants are required to undergo biannual biome training. "We must be able to survive any biome in the world--deserts, tropics, open waters, the arctic," said Graham. "We have to be credible when we are teaching aircrew how to survive in these challenging environments. This training gives us the personal experience and knowledge to relay to them what we've seen, what our bodies went through, and how we adapted to survive." The sergeants choose the biome location based on training needs and requirements. Casinger said, "We chose Mount Rainier because we were already going to be at Fairchild Air Force Base nearby. It is a credible mountain where we can actually experience altitude injuries, see what it is like to be on a snowfield and on glaciers, and practice using ice axes and crampons. It gave us a vast training capability because of the amount of elevation covered." The sergeants started the climb at 8 a.m. at just above 5,000 feet. It was about 60 degrees and they each carried a 50-55 pound pack. "It was a good uphill climb," said Casinger. "At 7,800 feet, we broke cloud cover. The temperature and winds shifted. We stopped briefly by some rocks to throw on extra layers of clothes and to put bandanas on our faces." At this point in their accent, the winds were about 25-30 miles per hour and, as the sergeants climbed higher above the clouds, the sun grew heavier and brighter. "We were starting to get dehydrated even though the wind was cold," said Casinger. Camp Muir is a rest area on Mount Rainer. It sits at 10,188 feet. Around 1 p.m., the sergeants made it to the camp where they ate freeze-dried meals and slept. The next day the sergeants focused on training requirements. They familiarized themselves with their equipment, measured out rope, and set up rescue systems. "Usually, people mountaineer in three-man teams. It is much more difficult with a two-man team because there isn't a third body, that extra guy to help," Casinger said. "In a two-man team, if my partner falls into a crevasse and I am anchored onto a glacier with an ice ax, I not only got to hold my own weight but I also have to bear his weight too, while at the same time I have to build a pulley system to use the mechanical advantage to get him out. Sergeant Graham and I both were able to practice doing that." On the second day on Mount Rainier, the sergeants also practiced walking on crampons, spiked iron plates attached to their shoes to prevent slipping on the ice. "The main thing for the second day was giving our bodies a chance to acclimate to the altitude," said Casinger. "People can get Acute Mountain Sickness starting at 6,000 to 7,000 feet. They may get headaches from the lack of oxygen. Their blood is thicker and it will be harder to breathe. You're not able to move as quickly." The sergeants ended the second day back at Camp Muir, going to bed late in the afternoon. Their alarm sounded at midnight. The winds were howling. "You have to start accent early because when the sun comes up it hits the rocks, which creates hazards as the ice melts and falls off, sometimes sparking avalanches," said Casinger. The sergeants woke again at 2 a.m. and the winds had died down. They drank and ate quickly, re-filled their water supplies, roped up, and adjusted their packs to carry only the minimal safety equipment. By 3:30 a.m., they were back on the trail up the mountain. At 11,500 feet, the sergeants met a team of climbers coming down the range at a part of Mount Rainer called Disappointment Cleaver, a common route to the summit. "It is a very exposed part of the climb," said Casinger. "You are basically on a knife's edge where you are skirting rocks. There is a little trail. If you fall off of it, you fall off the mountain." After speaking to the other climbers and taking the 40 miles per hour sustained winds into consideration, the sergeants made a safety call and decided to head back down. Despite not reaching the summit, the sergeants did meet their training objectives. "We climbed 6,500 feet in two days. We got to experience altitude sickness, to use crampons and ice axes, and to create rescue systems," said Sergeant Casinger. "We met three-fifths of our currency requirements on this training," said Sergeant Graham. "The big take away from this is not just what our bodies experienced but we did it with equipment that was designed for that environment. Our aircrews won't have all that equipment. They will have to rely on their training and what their unit requires for survival equipment based on their mission sets and flying locations. "This training gives us the ability to help determine an aircrew's survivability if something were to happen to their aircraft and they found themselves in this kind of Arctic environment. It enables us to better prepare them and teach them what to expect. "It's all about the aircrew. We're the aircrew's advocates for the worst day of their lives." Casinger said, "This training is a perfect example of how SERE specialists can be employed and how the Air Force is starting to use us more. Let's say you have an aircraft go down in the mountains of Afghanistan. You have PJs (pararescue) who are dedicated to finding the pilots and bringing them home. You have medics who can provide some basic care. There are servicemembers who are trained to do all that. But, when it comes to the environmental aspects, there is nobody else in the Department of Defense that can say 'Ok, we got 20 people sitting on top of a mountain. Here's how we are going to keep them alive.' Nobody in the DoD is trained and knows how to do that except a SERE specialist."