SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape

When I went to SERE school, I was prepared for a severe ass-kicking. I don't talk alot about SERE school, but every now and again something slips out that came from that experience ("Work more quicklier!").

This site gives you a little bit of info.

This guy was there when I went through:


I hated this:

Conditions are spartan in the mock POW camp. These are the 3rd World latrines that trainees use while they are "imprisoned." No toilet paper is provided.

But when this happened:

And when the prospective Special Forces soldiers complete the course, the finale brings a flood of emotion to the surface.

I cried like a baby. I was never so proud to salute the American flag and hear the national anthem. To this day, the anthem still chokes me up some.

I still have those pajamas, and my wife doesn't understand why I sometimes sleep in a corner of the garage on the cold cement floor.

UPDATE: Apparently, one can enjoy the pleasures of the middle photo above with just a short trip! Thanks, JA.