88 Tactical August SERE 1 Trip Report

[IA Woodsman]

To start with I would like to say this class is not meant to be a replacement for any SERE training from the military. It was designed by specops folks though. The folks who take this program are getting some great real world skills taught by a lot of great people.

I am only going to go over the portion of the training I was involved with. I had a lot of help from (Nick), and (Kurt).

Almost as soon as we got there it was raining, and some big storms were on the way.The chute kept the big stuff off or us while we got camp ready. We started at about 1700.

Since we had a heads up on the weather we decided to put up a framed group shelter. We made it big enough for 6 students and gear.

At about 2100 the nettles were cleared,canopy and shelter up, and fire was going. All we needed was students.

At 2230 the boys stumbled into camp. We started talking about prioritizing, and did a gear inventory.

Several subjects were covered that night. Nick taught basic bushcraft knots.

Needless to say there was a lot happening into the night and early morning. At 0330 the participants layed down. At 0630 they were up hydrating and trying to get some calories.

Myself, Nick, and Kurt also had a quick cup of instant Joe to start the day.

At about 0645 we headed out to start the lessons for the day. After a quick signaling lab, we started on Firecraft. It was wet but not a problem. The prep work went well.

All of the boys did a great job getting the fires going.

The fires went very well. The next task was to put a few hasty evasion shelters up. I wish they all would have had some Multicam tarps, but they did well without them. I had to move in close to get good pictures.

Once they were tucked away, Opfor was called in.

By this time it was about 1100. We humped back to camp and they hydrated and had a little dehydrated lunch.

If you like what you see in this thread and you are into a challenging class, you should check it out. I cover tactics and firearms with several other instructors. There are also lessons on self defense, first aid, and teamwork. The cool thing is that all these lessons are all part of a weekend long scenario in which you get to apply what you are learning in situations with role players.

 

[sicily02]

Cool pics, Terry. It looks and sounds like a good time out.
I love the fire pics lol.

Bryan

 

[bored2deth]

Very well done! Love that group shelter. I bet you guys had a ball of it, wish I could've been along. If I were in the area, I'd have been glad to offer up my skills,
which range the gamut. Also, I will say there is nothing like a good cup of coffee out in the wilds..then you get to actually enjoy the brew instead of pondering on the aggravations of the day. I wouldn't mind to see more pictures of the trip, I enjoyed sitting here checking them out. Made me forget the pain in my shoulder for a lil' while.

 

[Quirt]

Ah flashback to similar good times!!! Notice their campfire!! No rock ring and they know how to manage a fire so all fuel is fully combusted to white ash. Minimal smoke. When they leave they'll be able to safely conceal it and no one will ever know. Granted they had to clear the area for the class but your seeing a great example of how to live in the wild with minimal footprint or disturbance. They're not doing this because they wear tie die and hug trees - they are doing this to leave no trace in a hostile environment and can safely return back home undetected.

I'm with Byran loving the fire building. That is exactly how I was originally trained. The course format appears to be an abbreviated version using the same curriculum I learned under. It is clearly evident these guys came from the same originating source as my training. Only we would never have been allowed to set our knife down on the ground. If we left anything on the ground or laying anywhere we lost the privilege to use that tool. "Gear adrift is a gift!". Leaving mission critical gear lying around is a invitation for it to be lost forever or worse found by locals sealing ones fate. Thanks for posting!!!!