Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Morris | Members of the 317th Airlift Squadron (AS), Joint Base Charleston, S.C., prepare to...... read more read more
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Charleston, S.C.—More than 20 Reserve Citizen Airmen gathered on the sandy beaches of Isle of Palms to complete essential mission preparation. Led by Air Force survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) specialists, members of the 317th Airlift Squadron (AS) took to the surf to practice the fundamentals of surviving at sea Friday, June 4.
Because of the unique situations they may encounter, aircrew members must undergo specialized preparation to become fully mission qualified. Mission qualification is one way the Air Force ensures its Airmen are ready to safely and effectively deploy whenever, wherever. One such qualification for aircrew is water survival.
“It’s important to get reps in with any kind of training,” said Staff Sgt. Eli Stokes, 145th Operations Support Squadron SERE specialist, Charlotte Air National Guard.
Water survival is critical to Air Force aviators; it teaches them how to not only survive at sea after an in-flight emergency, but also how to ensure they are found and rescued in a timely manner. The school is normally held at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington. This weekend, a local mini course was offered in Charleston so local Reserve Citizen Airmen could stay current while balancing their Air Force careers with their civilian obligations.
“Our goal today is to first see if our crew members can successfully help each other into the life-raft,” said Tech. Sgt. Brian Billington, 437th Operations Support Squadron SERE specialist, Joint Base Charleston. “Then we’ll see if they can use the survival equipment aboard their aircraft to facilitate a rescue, and if there are any issues, we can address them and fill in those gaps.”
While beach-goers observed, the people of the 317th AS worked as a team to board the raft. After succeeding to help one another into the raft, they immediately began the rescue process, attempting to contact rescue personnel as soon as possible. The instructors demonstrated and coached along the way, but the aircrew did the heavy lifting throughout the entire process.
“We’re not here to do the work for them,” Billington said. “Of course, we’ll help if a dangerous situation presents itself, but it’s important we have an accurate picture of what they would do if they actually found themselves in this kind of situation.”
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.27.2021 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 405250 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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