Can someone here explain to me the purpose of SERE Specialists and why they warrant their own MOS/AFSC? I'm not trying to downplay their role but maybe I just don't see the whole picture. I live near Fairchild AFB and ran into a couple and they seem very professional and squared away. I didn't get a chance to ask any questions
Are they part of Air Force Special Warfare? Do they go to all cool guy schools like Ranger School, dive, or MFF? Do they deploy or are they a teacher/training/advisor only job? It seems they're the only branch that has a job dedicated to that niche category.
It just seems like they're locked into that job forever, unless they can transfer to be a PJ or something.
Thanks for reading, it's just a thought that I had, and wondered if there was anyone here familiar with this field.
In order- SERE Specialists totally warrant their own AFSC, at least here in the AF. Because we have WAYYYYY higher numbers of "at risk of capture" personnel is the simplest explanation. More pilots, more possibility of the plane breaking/crashing somewhere they might need to survive drives the need for a dedicated force of specialists to instruct and train those at risk personnel. They do have a (limited) operational function, not direct combat- but important and interesting.
No, they are not AFSPECWAR. Yes, they *can* get those schools- not combat dive, cause that shit is hard and no one wants to do dive (there are a small contingent of SERE instructors that are salvage dive qualified to support some water training they do, and I am sure some guys have wend to a combat dive school, but it's definitely rare)- but Ranger, Basic Airborne, MFF, sure. IF their command supports it and they can make the standard, then yes, they can attend. I know several SERE MFF Jumpmasters, and Tandem dudes, and Ranger qual-d guys (and girls).
Yes they deploy, and we covered their operational capability already.
And yeah, we have a dedicated niche capability (just like "everyone else does PR too", yet we have an AFSC that focuses solely on that) that is filled by our SERE AFSC. I would just say- when you dedicate your entire life to a career field, you don't treat it like an additional duty. You treat it like your profession and can focus on it. SERE does this for all things PR.
While it may seem like they're locked into that job forever- I think you just don't understand how cool that job can be. They can "just be a SERE instructor"... or a resistance training instructor... or a test parachutist... or work at our Tier 1 unit... or get into special activities... or work at any Rescue or STS or Schoolhouse they fit in... they're really, really diverse. And yes, they could crosstrain into PJ (and lots have gone from SERE to CCT to SR to PJ), SERE is their goal, and rightfully so.
Just like I have zero desire to be a SERE guy, there are TONS (the vast majority) of our SERE Specialists that have no desire to be a PJ, and a lot fo them would have no problem doing so. Their calling is SERE.
And I now have to stop, this is as nice as I have been to any SERE person in my professional history, so I have to stop before any PJ friends read this.