Aircrew train in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape Published July 29, 2015 By Senior Airman Jake Eckhardt 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs 7/29/2015 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- -- Air Force pilots and aircrew prepare for a mission. The crew is well-rested, they have all the necessary equipment, and the plane has been properly inspected. They then depart to begin their mission. While in flight, the plane encounters a problem and begins to go down. The plane could crash-land on land or in water, and the team will know what to do to survive and return home because of Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, or SERE, training. Scott has a team of specialists who teach pilots and aircrew SERE techniques each month. The training is split up into two portions: combat survival training and water survival training. During the morning of the combat survival training portion of the training, aircrew reviewed combat techniques for roughly two hours. The participants are then brought up to speed with equipment that would be used should the crew be isolated. In the afternoon portion of combat survival training, the participants were taken to the SERE training grounds in Sparta, Illinois, where they had to use the equipment and skills they were refreshed on to retrieve coordinates of two checkpoints and get there without the "enemy" catching them. "I think one of the biggest things I've learned today is the hands on with the new technology that they have," said Maj. Matthew Clausen, U.S. Transportation Command headquarters. "It's been a while since I've been actively flying, so there has been a lot of changes, and being able to get our hands on the new radios and the new toys that the SERE folks have has been a great help." The second portion of the training, water survival, was spent at Carlyle Lake near Carlyle, Illinois. The first half of the day was spent reviewing pre-ditching techniques, or what to do before leaving the aircraft during or after it hits the water; post-ditching, or what to do after leaving the aircraft; and equipment, such as life-vests and flares, to ensure everyone could safely get themselves and their team to an inflatable raft. The second half of the day was spent exercising the participant's knowledge of the information. The team had to survive "rough sea conditions" and an evasion scenario created by the instructors, as well as demonstrate they could swim as a team. The biggest emphasis during water survival is personal protection, health, sustenance, travel, and recovery. "I'm very confident I could help my crew and patients survive during their time of need if we were in open waters," said Staff Sgt. Ian Thomas, 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. Pilots and aircrew have to complete SERE training every 36 months to remain current on their training. Staff Sgt. Jeffery Campbell, 375th Operation Support Squadron, SERE Training NCOIC, said, "Accidents happen. We have seen it throughout history; we see it in the news day in and day out. People get put in hard spots, especially when it comes to survival and evasion. This preps them for success in order to come back to their day to day life, their families, and their units."