SERE Challenge tests skills of Air Force's "Guardian Angels"

Published June 19, 2007
By By Tech. Sgt. Mike Hammond
Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- A pair of water survival instructors assigned here earned the Col. Bud Day trophy Thursday as winners of the 2007 SERE Challenge -- a physically grueling and mentally exhausting competition among some of the Air Force's elite special operators.

Staff Sgt. Michael Garcia and Staff Sgt. Matthew Zimmer -- Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists -- were tops among the 15 two-man teams after four days of trials at Fairchild and in the Colville National Forest north of Spokane, Wash.

Competitors endured swims across frigid, leech-infested waters, hikes up and down mountain ridges thick with downed timber and dense vegetation, plus rock climbing and rappelling. Each team also demonstrated shelter building, fire craft, and overcoming food aversion.

The challenges took place with little or no rest between each skill set.

"I am physically and mentally exhausted," Sergeant Zimmer said on the second day of the field portion of the challenge. "Yesterday, we pushed ourselves really hard to take the lead and now we are pushing even harder to maintain it."

Sergeant Garcia said the team's strategy was very simple: putting one foot in front of the other. "We just kept going, kept moving -- because there are plenty of tough teams right behind us."

After the teams completed all required skill sets -- including evasion, resistance, and escaping from captivity -- they got little time to relax. Upon returning to Fairchild they continued the competition with Combat Arms skills and marksmanship, and then finished with push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and a six-mile ruck march.

Each team demonstrated incredible determination while pushing through the final stages. "For me, the first thing was I wanted to win," Sergeant Zimmer said. "But another thing was that this whole challenge was a lot like the familiarization phase of the training we all do -- it's one task right after another and no rest. And from my experience, I just know there is always something left in reserve."

The inaugural SERE Challenge was open to members of the Air Force's "Guardian Angel" weapons system -- SERE specialists, Pararescuemen and Combat Rescue Officers. The competition attracted teams from across the country and around the world
-- one team came from as far away as Misawa and Kadena Air Bases, Japan, to compete.

The challenge was the brainchild of two SERE specialists, Staff Sgt. Jon Hopkins and Senior Airman Michael Gerry. "Last year, we each developed an in-house contest to test our skills and foster some friendly competition," Sergeant Hopkins said. "Each of our challenges featured different skill sets, and this year's SERE Challenge is the combination of elements from both contests last year."

That combination proved so tough that not all of the teams were able to finish.

Of the 15 original teams, 10 made it to the end. Three teams were pulled for medical reasons, all involving severe blistering and other foot ailments from the brutal marching combined with moisture. Two teams did not make their checkpoints in time. However, not a single competitor quit.

Staff Sgt. Brandon Klein, who had what other SERE specialists looking on described as "the worst looking foot ever," had a suggestion for medics considering treatment for a bad case of immersion foot. "Just duct tape 'em -- I'll be fine!" But the staff stopped his team for safety reasons, determining the potential for further injury was too great. His teammate, Staff Sgt. Steven Raethel, refused to go on without Sergeant Klein. "This is a team event, and I won't even think about crossing the finish line without my teammate."

Named after the most decorated living veteran, the Col. Bud Day trophy was a fitting tribute and honor for the top team, according to Sergeant Hopkins as he announced the winning team at an awards ceremony. Colonel Day was shot down while flying a mission over Vietnam, captured, and tortured before escaping and eventually being recaptured. He survived, returned, and is the most decorated veteran since Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Though only one team was victorious, the 2007 SERE Challenge provided a glimpse of the dedication and training the Air Force's Guardian Angel weapons system puts into living out the mottos: "That Others May Live," and "Return With Honor."

Swimming to Shore