JACK ARMY, scanning my sector!
OH...SHE UNDERSTANDS BECAUSE SHE SENDS YOU TO SLEEP THERE!!!HEE HEE...I SURE AM PROUD OF ALL YOU HAVE DONE!
Oh the squat toilets...that picture could be of any restroom in Beijing. America truly is a wonderful country! Thanks for the post!
Hey, I remember the bombsight commodes from Korea! Of course, our POW camp gave us a plastic-lined coffee can. I know what you mean by the graduation formation and how the National Anthem sounds different now.
BTW, great blog!
All I can say is I am glad I went before the USMC and USN figured out how to do it right...I evaded until about 5 minutes before the "knock it off," so I just had to wrestle myself free, and listen to the other stories on the bus ride back. I missed the black eyes and broken ribs...that's what my buds get for waiting til they were majors to go! Anyway, great blog, and I completely understand the National Anthem thing...gets me just watching NASCAR.
Thanks, everyone for the comments and stopping by the blog.
SERE is a topic that I think hits all service members in a place we don't like to think about, but we all should. Korea and Vietnam really opened the American military's eyes to this type of thing. Thankfully, people like COL(R) Nick Rowe found a way to translate their experiences in to training that benefits many in their wake.
Well, I wasn't going to comment on this, but... the first book I ever read on Vietnam was "Five Years To Freedom" by COL James "Nick" Rowe. I was a sophomore in high school. My parents are Cuban, and my dad spent 3 years in a Castro-dungeon because he was caught carrying his Bible. He never told me this, but I overheard him talking to a friend of his that came to visit one night when I was 15. I went to the local bookstore and started reading as many books as I could find, and came across Col. Rowe's book a few months after. I've read it a few times since then. My dad's voice has always been hoarse, and I used to get embarrased when he'd sing too loud in church. And there's this rash that shows up in his back unexplicably every few months. Finally, 9 years later, I sat down with my mom this past Christmas, and she told me as much as she knew about the time he was in prison.
COL Rowe was truly a hero. Not only for surviving, but because he managed to turn his terrible experience into such a productive one. Every day I look at a picture of my dad, or talk to him on the phone, I'm thankful for the full, sheltered, safe life I lead and for the people that risked and continue to risk so much to make it possible.
Oh, squat toilets are common in Japan. :D And I know one place here in my hometown that have those. Heheh believe it or not, as long as there's water, I actually prefer those for public toilets because they're more sanitary. :P I bring my own tissues, too, just in case there's none. Heheh. 
They're common in public restrooms in India as well. The hotels I stayed in had "Western" facilities (that is how the guide books referred to them).
I've heard SERE training referred to as the place "where you find out that your worst day on the run is better than your best day in captivity". I believe it.
I get teary at ball games and car races when the Star Spangled Banner is played.
NIce write up. But for a guy like myself trying to research this school before I go, how do I know you just didnt take the pics of the SERE website and write statements based off what u and I both viewed? Yes Im challenging your crediblity.
Ah, you got me. I did just take the pics from the SERE website. And based on my "write up" you really don't know enough to decide whether I've been or not. But for a guy like you researching the school before you go, knowing practically nothing about the school or its attendees, who the hell are you to question me? Go to the school and decide for yourself. Yes, I'm questioning your maturity and sense.
Oh, not very professional of you, despite your moniker.
Thanks and move along!
you people know its not right or authorized to talk about sere. Talking about wut you went through and all this is unauthorized. You people disgust me!
I found your post very interesting. It actually reassures me that you special forces guys are so well prepared to avoid capture or survive if captured.
As for Mark's comment,lighten up guy. He revealed nothing not revealed on the "sere" site. I appreciate your reasons for concern. Protecting the integrity of the program and not telling our enemy too much is of paramount importance. He did not betray that trust!
Do you not remember the disclosure statement you signed or did you not even really go to sere school. I would think a sergeant first class that was special forces would be more professional than to post a website like this. Silent Professional?
This is a breach of trust with the format of the school house- I graduated from Fairchild's SERE and know how much it changes you, but keep it between you and I, not a broadcast that I can stumble on through an incidental Google result. Come on, this risks the enemy knowing what we go through- thus increasing the liklihood they will modify their tactics. Thanks for the breach.
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