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Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. (October 17, 2024): Since World War II, American air crews have been captured, brutalized, and exploited by our enemies. In this photo by Senior Airman Tiffany Del Oso, Airman 1st Class Joe Trybus and Airman 1st Class Benathan Deman participate in Survival Escape and Evasion (SERE) training conducted by the Air Force’s 66th Training Squadron. In this phase of their training, SERE students are taught techniques to adapt to their surroundings to survive. This is the “evasion” part.

What is expected of an American warfighter if captured? This is the resistance part, and by far the most difficult both physically and emotionally. The need for escape and evasion training has its origins in the number of allied pilots downed over the skies of Germany. The training has been expanded in recent years due to the extreme mistreatment of POWs by our adversaries. During the Korean War, enemy prisoners were beaten and publicly displayed for propaganda purposes. In Vietnam’s infamous Hanoi Hilton prison, GI’s were subject to years of torture, starvation, and degradation.