Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract
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The Defence Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract (SERE) Training Organisation (DSTO), is a military training organisation based at RAF St Mawgan,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, in the United Kingdom. It is tri-service and trains personnel in survival techniques, evading capture and resistance from interrogation.


History


Background

The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) have what has been described as a "rich history of survival training". Crews were often lost at sea during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, with an attrition rate of 80%, which prompted the training to be initiated. Prior to the DSTO being established, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force provided their own survival training and the Resistance Training Wing provided the services with conduct after capture training.


Royal Navy

Before 1943, Royal Navy survival training and equipment was the responsibility of two ratings trained by the RAF. The significance of the work, however, resulted in a reorganisation whereby the Navy would train its own Survival Equipment Officers and ratings. The new Royal Navy Survival Equipment School (RNSES) initially took up residence at Eastleigh, Hampshire, before it was moved to improved accommodation at Grange Airfield ( HMS ''Siskin)'' in March 1947. In 1955, the school moved to a former boys' preparatory school ( Seafield Park) at Hill Head. It remained there until September 1991, when it relocated to the former Naval Aircraft Technical Evaluation Centre (NATEC) building at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus''). In February 1995, the RNSES become part of the Royal Navy Air Engineering School, which was renamed to Royal Navy Air Engineering and Survival School (RNAESS). When Lee-on-Solent closed in March 1996, the RNAESS was relocated to a purpose-built building at in
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...
. The unit was renamed the Survival Equipment Group and formed part of the Air Engineering and Survival Department. It remained at HMS ''Sultan'' until 2008.


Resistance Training Wing

Formerly 4 Conduct after Capture Company (4 CAC Coy), the Resistance Training Wing (RTW) was part of the now-disbanded Joint Services Intelligence Organisation (JSIO) based at Defence Intelligence Security Centre Chicksands, in
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
. The wing trained personnel
resistance to interrogation Resistance to interrogation, RTI or R2I is a type of military training to soldiers to prepare them, after capture by the enemy, to resist interrogation techniques such as humiliation and torture. The trainees undergo practices such as hooding, ho ...
techniques.


Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) can trace such training back to May 1943 with the formation of the School of Air/Sea Rescue, located near RAF Squire Gate, in Lancashire. The school taught RAF and USAAF crews rescue procedures and familiarisation with rescue equipment. It relocated to
RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamps ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
in 1945, when it became the Survival and Rescue Training Unit, before moving to RAF Thorney Island in
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
during 1946. It disbanded in April 1949, but was replaced by the Survival and Rescue Mobile Instruction Unit (SRMIU), again at Thorney Island, in January 1950. The SRMIU would provide training to personnel during annual visits to RAF stations, but that method was considered inadequate, and in 1955, the Search, Rescue and Survival School was established as part of No. 2 Air Navigation School. The School moved to
RAF Mount Batten Royal Air Force Mount Batten, or more simply RAF Mount Batten, is a former Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England, UK. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal ...
, near Plymouth, in June 1959, when it was renamed the School of Combat Survival and Rescue (SCSR) to reflect the combat environment in which it was expected that survival and rescue skills would typically be used. RAF Mount Batten closed in 1992, with the school relocated to RAF St Mawgan, in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, where it remained until 2008.


Establishment

The Defence Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract (SERE) Training Organisation (DSTO) was created in 2008, when the RAF's School of Combat Survival and Rescue was amalgamated with the Royal Navy's Survival Equipment Group and the Resistance Training Wing. Although DSTO is a tri-service organisation, it comes under the control of No. 22 Group within
RAF Air Command Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshi ...
. Until then, training was undertaken at three different sites across the three services at diverse locations such as Chicksands and at . The Royal Air Force is the lead on aircrew-focused training for military personnel in the United Kingdom and has a second training centre (ASTC) located at
RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the RAF Colleg ...
, in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. The patron of ASTC is Ray Mears, who was in a SERE situation during filming in 2005 when his helicopter crashed in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
. Mears managed to recover all of his crew to safety after the incident.


Role and operations

SERE is an acronym for
Survive Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
, Evade, Resist and Extract. At a basic level, that is a core aspect of training for all UK military personnel on an annual basis.
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...
personnel are tested as part of their Military Annual Training Tests (MATTs) as befits their frontline nature (similar processes are run by the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
and
RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by Royal Warrant in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated ...
) with non-frontline personnel mandated to watch a DVD detailing SERE methods. UK armed forces personnel who train at the SERE school may be subject to methods of interrogation that are prohibited under international law. That training is carried out under strictly-controlled conditions and is delivered only to enable the trainees to understand the methods that may be used against them if they are captured by hostile forces who are not signatories of or adherents to the
Geneva Convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
or of
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
. SERE is mandated for all aircrew from all services and involves sea drills for those that require it. Sea drills involve jumping into the sea and spending some time adrift before hauling oneself into a
dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...
from where the servicemember can be rescued. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
aircrews practice it with regularity. SERE training is also delivered to aircrew because the nature of their job makes them vulnerable to capture if they must bail out over or crash an aircraft into hostile territory.


Notable students

*
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...
– went through the training as part of his survival training for being a helicopter pilot *
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to t ...
– went through the training as part of his survival training for being a helicopter pilot *
Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...
– underwent the survival training as part of his world record ballooning attempt * Guy Martin – trained at St Mawgan for his pedal-powered blimp challenge across the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
*
Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Her media career began when she joined the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'', appearing with Richard Whiteley from 1982 until his death in 2005, ...
– undertook sea drills SERE training at RAF St Mawgan as part of her effort to become the ninth woman to fly solo around the world.


See also

*
United Kingdom Special Forces Selection UK Joint Special Forces Selection is the selection and training process for candidates of the United Kingdom Special Forces: Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Special Reconnaissance Regiment. Members of the SAS and SBS undergo selectio ...
*
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) is a training concept originally developed by the British during World War II. It is best known by its military acronym and prepares a range of Western forces to survive when evading or b ...
an analogous program in the United States armed forces


References

{{Reflist Military training establishments of the United Kingdom Psychological warfare Survival training 2008 establishments in the United Kingdom