U.S. Airmen assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron in Madison, Wisconsin, participate in water survival training off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii Jan. 12, 2022. Forming a chain and counting off one-by-one ensured all members were accounted for before they swam together to a nearby life-raft. Survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructors ensured the team of Airmen reached their raft safely, and continued reviewing vital survival techniques with them while they floated in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Rhode)
HONOLULU — The 115th Security Forces Squadron, Truax Field, Madison, Wisconsin enhanced their survival and technical skills during a two-week jungle and water survival training at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii Jan. 13 – 23.
The group of approximately 25 Airmen faced challenges in land navigation, evasion tactics, combative training and water survival that would have otherwise been unavailable to them in the Midwest.
U.S. Airmen with the Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron in Madison, Wisconsin, board an emergency life-raft during water survival training off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan. 12, 2022. Coast Guardsmen assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Base Honolulu transported the Airmen to their Pacific Ocean training site where they practiced water survival techniques previously taught by their survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructors. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Rhode)
“Getting hands on in the jungle and the actual ocean has been amazing versus just going over it in a classroom,” said Airman 1st Class Felix Eggl, a defender with the 115th SFS. “Now that I’ve been exposed to the jungle and water I feel way more prepared if I am ever placed in such positions.”
U.S. Airmen assigned to the Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron in Madison, Wisconsin traverse a tropical rainforest near Wahiawa, Hawaii, Jan. 14, 2022. The navigation exercise was part of a two week jungle and ocean survival training course which provided the security forces defenders hands-on experience with skills required for world-wide military deployment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mary Greenwood)
To maximize the Airmen’s training in a non-familiar environment, a survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructor assigned to the 134th Air Refueling Wing, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee joined the group.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathanael Holbrook, noncommissioned officer in charge of survival, evasion, resistance and escape operations for the 134th Air Refueling Wing at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee, demonstrates critical jungle survival techniques for members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron near Wahiawa, Hawaii Jan. 14, 2022. The instruction was part of a two week jungle and ocean survival training course which provided the security forces Airmen hands-on experience with skills required for world-wide military deployment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mary Greenwood)
“The SERE instructors have been awesome in sharing knowledge,” said Eggl. “Getting to talk to SERE instructors and getting hands-on experience has been awesome.”
Learning to adapt and innovate in a location far different from home provided the security forces Airmen with hands-on experience required for world-wide military operations.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brandon Ripp, left, and Airman 1st Class Eli Davidson, security forces defenders assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron in Madison, Wisconsin, engage in navigation training during a jungle and ocean survival course near Wahiawa, Hawaii, Jan. 14, 2022. The Airmen spent an entire day traversing a Hawaiian rainforest while learning vital evasion and survival techniques from certified survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructors. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrea Rhode)
“Between survival, evasion, resistance and escape training and the different environments that created new challenges, we are creating a more agile defender,” said Master Sgt. Kevin Hamm, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the training. “Our security forces now have jungle and ocean survival skills that they previously were never exposed to.”
