An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March / April 2026 www.military.ie/magazine S urvival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) is widely regarded as a modern military training system, formalised during the twentieth century. Yet the principles that underpin SERE are far older. Long before the acronym existed, armies were developing ways to survive hostile environments, avoid capture, resist exploitation, and return to friendly forces. Among the earliest practitioners of these ideas were the Roman legions. Although the Romans did not operate a centralised "SERE school", they embedded survival and evasion into their military culture through discipline, engineering, and doctrine. Their approach was simple and practical: a soldier who could not survive the environment would never reach the battlefield. Roman Foundations of Survival and Evasion Roman survival doctrine centred on logistics and routine. Every legion on campaign constructed a fortified camp (castra) at the end of each day's march. These camps followed a standardised layout, with defensive ditches, ramparts, and organised internal streets. The system provided protection from attack and the elements while ensuring troops were never exposed overnight. In effect, this daily practice functioned as an early environmental survival protocol. Roman soldiers were also trained as engineers and foragers. Writing in De Re Militari, the military author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus stressed the importance of locating clean water sources, building bridges, and sustaining troops during winter campaigns. These capabilities mirror what modern SERE training identifies as core survival skills: shelter, water, fire, and movement. The importance of evasion was reinforced by defeat. The catastrophic destruction of three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest forced the Roman army to rethink its methods of operating in hostile terrain. Greater emphasis was placed on scouting units (exploratores) and small-unit movement through forests, deserts, and mountain regions. The ability to withdraw unseen and regroup with friendly forces became as important as victory in battle. 26 | THE ORIGINS THE ORIGINS OF SERE OF SERE ARTICLE BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD (RETIRED) Wayne is pictured making tools on a course with FROE Ross, Wayne and Joe pictured together on a course in Gormanston, 2024 AND HOW AND HOW TO LEARN MORE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BUSHCRAFT ABOUT BUSHCRAFT

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