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Level A courses are little more than an introduction to
the subject and are generally geared towards reporters and NGO personnel heading to 'hotspots'. Level B is the basic course, where students learn to build a shelter and obtain food and water, and receive lectures on escape and evasion. Level C is the advanced level, which trains and tests the student comprehensively in all aspects of SERE. The Military Survival Instructors Course is a Level C course
and also incorporates the 'instructor' element, which en- ables successful students to teach the subject and conduct courses at unit level. "SERE training doesn't only apply to operational situa-
tions," Cpl Declan Ryan (MTSS Instr), "If something was to go wrong on an exercise at home, say very bad weather comes in during an exercise in the mountains and a section or platoon gets cut off, having troops with SERE training means that we know they can survive for at least 24 hours.
They can build a shelter, make a fire, get water, and keep warm and relatively dry." "While at home Defence Forces personnel would rarely
find themselves in a survival situation for more than 24 hours, as we are never too far from assistance," added Flt Sgt Jay Curley (MTSS Instr), "our personnel regularly deploy overseas to very harsh and hostile environments. In the past, while operating in Congo and Lebanon, we have had personnel cut off, who have run out of ammunition, food and water, and in some cases captured and interrogated. SERE training prepares you to cope with such eventualities." The Military Survival Instructors Course spent their first
week going over the basics and principles of SERE and tips on aspects of survival as varied as ways of obtaining food to putting together a survival tin, which is a box of essen- tial items that can be of assistance in a survival situation. (The survival box must be small enough to fit into a shirt
An Cosantóir March 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie
