US Air Force,
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam: B-2 Spirit pilots from the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deployed to Guam to practice their flying skills, but they also trained how to survive on the ground Feb. 6 at Northwest Field, Guam.
For more than 10 hours, pilots and other 393rd EBS members were taught proper survival, evasion, resistance and escape techniques in the jungle including how to build a fire, find food, water and shelter, use a Global Positioning System, and radio procedures.
Staff Sgt. Brooks Steinbacher, a SERE specialist from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., came to Andersen AFB to recertifying 12 members of the 393rd EBS on SERE tactics.
“The pilots are required to retrain in SERE triennially,” Sergeant Steinbacher said. “Because of the nature of their job, they may encounter various terrains and climates and should be prepared survive and evade the enemy. One of the biggest challenges is the wet environment in the jungle. It makes doing things like, building a fire in the jungle, hard because it's difficult to find dry wood.”
After spending an entire duty day in the jungle on Andersen AFB, the SERE trainees returned to Northwest Field around 7 p.m. to participate in a joint search, rescue and medical evacuation exercise with the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two-Five.
393rd EBS members waited in groups of four in Northwest Field, as if they were injured in a war zone, for a helicopter.
“Participating in the night helicopter training rescue recoveries with HSC-25 was a great experience because we were able to practice our recovery procedures in a real-world environment,” said Maj. Geoffrey Romanowicz, the 393rd EBS chief of weapons and tactics. “By simulating realistic combat recoveries, HSC-25 made the pilots of the 393rd EBS more confident in their ability to succeed in a survival situation.”
Another advantage of participating in a joint training mission is learning the differences in rescue procedures between branches of service, Sergeant Steinbacher said.
“The Navy's recovery procedures are a lot different from the Air Force, so we have to reteach all the little things they do differently and will expect from our men,” he said. “For example, the Navy allows the flight engineer to sometimes steer the helicopter from the rear; little things like that are important for us to know to effectively complete a rescue mission. It's important to know these differences because all military branches are represented overseas and we must work as one military to win the war on terrorism.”
“I do not train with my survival equipment on a regular basis,” Major Romanowicz said. “Training in SERE techniques as well as working together with HSC-25 allows us a great opportunity to refresh our proficiency with both the equipment and tactics that we will need to use in a survival situation to save our lives.”
