That is good. I thought they had made it much to easy - but then again I like the water and was never worried about it. I know some others have a dread of the dunker and even the stroke test. One change that I did like though was that you were allowed to use your helmet and G-Suit for part of the treading water/stay afloat time. They increased the time - but allowed the use of improvised floatation devices.

I never ditched either, so I'll only take the stories of the guys/gals who had that said it was just like the dunker as the value of the trainer. Were your rides in the 9D6 blind folded and with specific exits or clear and any exit?

USMCFLYR

Do a lot of guys stress about riding the dunker? Looks like a mind game to do well.

Oh, and you guys cooked those rabbits, right?

The rabbits are cooked. The biggest reason for the rabbit is to get people exposure to killing and preparing an animal - obviously, most people have gotten no closer to butchering an animal than a grocery store. Many couldn't being themselves to kill the rabbits - you keep it alive for a few days and some become attached. The risk of illness and injury is managed - you drink water without filters, eat animals you trap (we got squirrel), etc - but you don't eat raw wild animals. As he said, you do eat worms and insects, etc if the opportunity arises just to get past the food aversions. I had to go through a semi-arid survival school (Camp Bullis, San Antonio) where we had to eat handfulls of grubs knocked out of a dead tree, grasshoppers (cooked), ants (not cooked), cactus, and we had to eat the worm that was the bait if we didn't catch a fish with it (I didn't catch a fish).

Yes - there are people that stress about the water survival in general - much less the help dunker. If you decide on going the military route - I definitely suggest that if you are not comfortable in the water, that you spend some time getting so. That would include the strokes (crawl, sidestroke, breast stroke are the big ones), treading water and drownproofing, being underwater in different positions, and being able to do certain actions while blindfolded underwater and feeling your way around. Think of it as multi-tasking - holding your breath and actually doing something with your hands. It seems that the strokes, the treading water and the helo dunker get the most people.

USMCFLYR

Now that is showing your age! ;)

Thanks LivingInMEM and USMCFLYR,

Real reason for my asking all of these questions is that I'm meeting with a recruiter soon to discuss getting on as a boomer in the guard. As long as I hear what I'm hoping to hear regarding financial assistance for education, I'll sign the dotted line. I just wanted to hear a little about the SERE experience.

I've never killed/skinned an animal but that sounds about 100x better to me than eating any sort of insect. Hate em. Oh well!

I grew up on the beach in Florida...swam and got knocked around in the ocean a good many times.

Our rabbit got free while we were shelter building. The thing was so domesticated that it just sat there on top of it's pit/cage until someone came over, grabbed it by the back of the neck, and stuffed it back inside. It did make a tasty meal that night though.

It's too bad we never managed to snare one of those squirrels that kept yelling at us every time we walked by.

Slightly ironic considering the orginal mission may involve killing people.

Amazingly - I flew the T-37 and T-38 in UPT.

I dunno - rabbits aren't shooting at us or setting up roadside bombs. Rabbits have no agenda.

I didn't eat any rabbit. I lasted fine on the granola bars they gave us. The other Lt and I got to split a PBJ for being the only two to make it all the way without capture. Cut way down on our jail time.:)