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Survival training gets boost from Alabama state troopers

  • Published
  • By Gene H. Hughes
  • 908th Airlift Wing
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  As a fully qualified survival, escape, resistance and evasion specialist, Senior Airman Chad Braunschweig has one goal - to make SERE training for the 908th Airlift Wing as realistic as possible.

The opportunity for realistic training came one Sunday in May on the Alabama River in Millbrook, where about 20 members of the operations group and life support received mandated water survival training.

"The majority of them are type-A personalities," he said. "When you tell them you're going to hoist them up in a helicopter, every single one of them is like, 'Heck yeah, let's do it!' There's not a lot of selling involved."

According to Air Force instructions, water survival training has to be conducted every three years, and seven requirements have to be met. However, Airman Braunschweig didn't want to stop there. He had been hoisted up in a helicopter and blasted by rotor wash, so he wanted his people to experience it, too.

He called the Army, the Coast Guard and Air Force pararescue. They all turned him down.

Therefore, he spoke to a couple of co-workers at his civilian job, who are former Montgomery police officers. They put him in touch with Lee Hamilton, the Alabama Department of Public Safety's chief pilot, who was enthusiastic about the joint training opportunity.

The Alabama State Troopers of the marine, aviation and crisis response team divisions gladly shared their expertise with the wingmen. The state's fish and wildlife department and 42nd Air Base Wing security forces also lent support to the exercise.

The reservists, along with two members of Air University, practiced donning survival suits and carrying out emergency procedures for 20-man and one-man rafts. After a break, each in turn was hoisted out of the water and deposited safely ashore.

Getting wet, however, wasn't the only challenge. There was also the combination of a 35-knot wind and a 4-knot current, enough to carry the swimmers about 150 yards within a matter of moments and separate rescue rafts from four 50-pound cinder blocks.

"Usually, it's a refresher course in a classroom or by the pool," said Capt. John Moody. "To actually get in the water and experience the helicopter and watch the state troopers get involved was the best training I've seen in the last eight years. I think we walked away with a lot better experience than just looking at a slide show."

For Airman Braunschweig, feedback was the best part. It allowed him to make program adjustments in real time. He made a few changes, such as anchoring the rafts, but overall was satisfied with the day's results.

"I walked away thinking that if they ever had to (perform in that situation) in a real-world environment, they could," he said. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)