An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July / August 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 20 | FORGING RESILIENCE & EXPERTISE: INSIDE THE 14TH SERE LEVEL C INSTRUCTORS COURSE BY LT STEPHEN KING INTERVIEW BY CPL ERIC RYAN PHOTOS BY CPL JONATHAN TUFT S ERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) training is designed to equip military personnel with the necessary skills and knowledge to survive and operate in hostile environments. The training is extremely robust, as it involves physical and mental challenges that test the limits of the students. The SERE Course is 4 Weeks in duration, and is ran out of the Military Training & Survival School in Baldonnell. The failure rate for the course is variable depending on the student's physical and mental capability, coupled with their personal attitude towards the course. We have had courses with the full complement of students finish and another course where only one student passed. SERE instructors are highly trained professionals who impart skills such as survival, evasion techniques and resistance during enemy captivity. The instructor's job is to prepare military personnel for worst case scenarios, ensuring that they have the mental and physical stamina to overcome any obstacles. In this article, we delve deeper into the SERE Instructor course and ask Lt Stephen King from the Military Training & SERE School questions about the course. Can you describe the qualities you look for in a soldier looking to complete the course? SERE Instructor candidates are expected to have mental and physical robustness. Due to the demanding nature of the course, candidates should expect to be tested in pressurised settings and various environments. Students must be capable of operating individually and as part of a team for different lengths of time during certain phases of the course. What are some of the key skills that are taught on the course? Some of the key skills taught on the course are: • Basic survival (fire, shelter, water, butchery, field cooking, improvised tools, nutrition, snares and traps) • Escape & Evasion (Escape & Evasion techniques, escape from restraints, evasive plan of action & isolated personnel reports, foreign weapons training, basic combat tracking and counter dog techniques) • Resistance Training (Conduct after Capture, psychology, Geneva Convention, Law of Armed Conflict and Open Source Intelligence) • Extraction (NATO Standard Heli Extraction Procedures, Ground To Air Signalling) • Isolated Personnel Recovery (Intro to personnel recovery, personnel recovery operations, reintegration from isolation) How would the SERE instructor course differ to that of Special Forces SERE level courses? Special Forces Operators SERE, will qualify SOF personnel as SERE Level C, but not as a SERE instructor. (Level C is an international requirement for personnel operating in hostile environments and will enable you or your team to facilitate your recovery by personnel recovery forces, if required). While both are physically and mentally demanding courses, SOF SERE approaches the course from an angle that is unique to their Unit, and as expected, the Conduct After Capture phase is longer in SOF training. The SERE Instructor course also differs to that of Special Operations SERE as there is an emphasis on instruction on top of qualifying as SERE Level C. Successful students will be expected to return to their units as a potential USI (Unit SERE Instructor). This will involve running all elements of SERE training ranging Sgt Eddie O' Neill Mil Col Students shortly after being captured Students & Instructors after course completion

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