USAF SERE Water Survival Personnel

Watercraft Training Manual

By: Caleb Thompson
Table of Contents iii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Training Personnel ...................................................................................................................... 8
Safety .......................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Safety While Conducting Class ................................................................................................ 13
Boating safety ........................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 17
Course schedule ........................................................................................................................ 17
Budget ........................................................................................................................................... 20
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 20
Index ............................................................................................................................................. 21

Introduction v
Introduction

The SERE office in Langley Virginia has a water survival training course for the aircrew
members in the squadron. The purpose of this training encompasses Code of conduct training,
Code of Conduct Continuation Training, and Personnel Recovery operational support required to
enable military, civilian, contractor, and other designated personnel to return to friendly control
after isolation due to enemy actions, aircraft emergency, or other unforeseen events. This training
is conducted in the Chesapeake Bay and personal watercraft are necessary for training purpose
and the safety of the aircrew. With the amount of aircrew and the need to have the watercraft,
additional support is needed besides the SERE instructors. The additional personnel who are
assigned to help the instructors lack the proper training to perform their duties safely and
efficiently. This lack of training has led to multiple incidents causing thousands of dollars in
damages that could have been avoided.
This manual will propose a new training system that will ensure the proper training of
personnel and will result in a safer and more efficient training program. The new training manual
will consist of
Proper training of personnel
Safety while conducting class
Use of watercraft while conducting class
Overview of course









8 USAF SERE Water Survival
Chapter 1
Training Personnel

The current procedure for selecting personnel to help to SERE instructors is simply
picking someone from the nearby life support office and have them review a power point lesson
on operations of watercraft. These personnel are not trained in SERE operations and are not
properly trained in watercraft operation and safety. To ensure proper personnel are trained we
would assign 5 people to be permanent helpers that would participate in every training session.
By selecting 5 permanent members we will establish a foundation of proper training and
safety. To ensure the five personnel are the right choice we will require the rank of at least Senior
Airman and have them first qualify for this role by completing several courses. Personnel must
also be able to
Swim 300 yards continuous using front crawl (using rotary breathing and a
stabilizing, propellant kick), and breaststroke (using an effective pull, breathe,
effective whip kick, and glide sequence.)
Tread water using legs only for 2 minutes
Swim 20 yards, retrieve 10-lb. brick from 10 ft. depth, and tow back to start point
with both hands on brick and exit water in 100 seconds.
















Chapter 1 9
Safety

For safety, candidates will be required to complete or be enrolled in a certified American Red
Cross life guarding course. Through videos, group discussion and hands-on practice, candidates
will learn
teamwork
rescue and surveillance skills
First Aid
CPR/AED
Other skills you need to work as a professional lifeguard.

This course is a weeklong and can be taken at the base swimming pool or at the local community
college. Candidates must be able to pass a swimming test. Successful completion results in a 2-
year certification in life guarding that includes first aid, professional-level CPR and AED in one
certificate.




10 USAF SERE Water Survival

Second, candidates will be required to complete the Virginia Boater Safety Education Course.
Not only is this course great for the safety of trainers and the students, it is required by the state
of Virginia for anyone under the age of 40. All boaters in Virginia with a 10hp or greater motor
will be required to hold a safety course completion card by 2016.
Course contains
Online based
6 lessons
one 10-question per lesson, must score at least a 90% to pass the lesson
Must spend a minimum of 6 hours studying the course material

This license is good for life and does not need to be renewed.






Chapter 2 13
Chapter 2
Safety While Conducting Class

During the course the aircrew will be conducted through a series of different training scenarios.
Aircraft ditching procedures
Use of water landing procedures
Survival living in an open sea environment
Determining evasion procedures considering open sea survival
While these scenarios are underway, support personnel will be solely responsible for the safety
of the aircrew. There will be a max of 10 aircrew in the water at any time, and they will transition
from being on land to being on floatation devices and using their personal life preservers. Two
members will constantly patrol near the training on the Jet Ski and be responsible for containing
the aircrew in a
designated area while
conducting surveillance
over the aircrew. The 3
other members will patrol
on the boat with rescue
equipment easily
accessible and keeping
non class persons out of
the training area.
Personnel should not
have to be reminded that
they are not instructors
and should only be
conducting their duties
during lessons.

When aircrew are not in the water, support personnel should be maintaining SERE equipment
and continue to enforce the boundary of the training area.







14 USAF SERE Water Survival
Boating safety

At Langley in 2013 there were 2 boating accidents that resulted in $5000 worth of
damage. The Coast Guard reported that in 2013 that there were 4,062 accidents that involved 560
deaths, 2,620 injuries, and approximately $39 million dollars of damage to property as a result of
recreational boating accidents. While our watercraft will not be used for recreational purposes we
will still be on open water and have to be aware of other boaters. The most common types of
vessels involve in boating accidents are open motorboats (46%) and personal watercraft (18) %
both of which are our only watercraft available to use. While in the water or using watercraft, all
members will




Wear life jackets
Abide by Virginia boating laws
Practice boating safety
All keys to watercraft will be
attached to the craft and not to be
removed



In 2013, the coast guard
reported that wearing a life jacket will
improve your risk of drowning to 1 in
66 chance, while not wearing one is a 1
in 11 chance of drowning. Wearing a
life jacket will always be mandatory,
any personnel caught without a life
jacket will be removed from the
program.








Chapter 3 17
Chapter 3

Course schedule

The Water Survival course is taught 6 times per year with a maximum of 10 aircrew per
class. The average number of aircrew on base ranges from 130 to anywhere near 160. Aircrew
personnel will complete this training every 36 months. Aircrew will demonstrate proficiency in
Tactics Techniques and Procedures for survival and recovery from a water environment using
weapons system specific survival equipment.
Course procedures
During the course the aircrew will be conducted through a series of different training scenarios.


Aircraft ditching procedures
Puts aircrew through an egress procedure to simulate the exiting of a downed airplane.
Aircrew will inflate their personal life preservers and perform rescue operations of their fellow
aircrew, then move as a team to the life support 20 man life raft.

















18 USAF SERE Water Survival
Use of water landing procedures
Simulates a fixed winged aircraft landing on water or riding it in. Crew will go through
the proper procedures for crash landing and practice proper egress techniques.




Survival living in an open sea environment
While on the life raft,
crew will be put through
different weather and sea
conditions to simulate living at
sea for an extended period. Will
use
flares
radios
fishing equipment
sea dye

Chapter 3 19


Determining evasion procedures considering open sea survival
Crew will simulate evasion actions in case of enemy vessels in the local area. Life raft will be
deflated to sink low into the water and uses raft canopy to conceal themselves and blend in with
the water.










20 USAF SERE Water Survival

Budget

The budget for 5 personnel will consist of the two classes and life vests. All other
equipment will be provided.





Conclusion

The objective of this training is to provide a clear and direct SERE/Personnel Recovery
linkage from initial training through refresher and continuation training, exercises, and combat
operations to ensure efficient training and effective support occur throughout the member's
career. Any event that places any US forces member in a situation where he or she is isolated and
no longer in friendly control triggers the need for Personnel Recovery. These triggering events
can occur through hostile enemy actions during military operations other than war, terrorist
actions, or as a result of natural or manmade conditions. SERE personnel insure the proper
training and are confident that military members that are caught or detain without friendly forces
will return with honor

$ [VALUE]
$ [VALUE]
$ [VALUE]
Cost of Equipment
LifeGuard Class Boating Class Life Vests
Index 21


Index
Boating, iii, 14
Personnel Recovery, v, 20
safety, v, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14
SERE, 1, v, 7, 13, 20
Training Personnel, iii, 7