Posted on 12/19/2015 1:50:18 PM PST by Mariner
Anyone who has ever attended the US Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school will never forget Rudyard Kipling's poem "Boots," according to SERE graduate and Navy veteran Ward Carroll.
Carroll, who attended SERE in 1984, particularly remembers Kipling reciting his poem "Boots" over and over again in a very haunting voice while he was detained in a small cell.
SERE school is designed to train US troops on how to survive if they are captured and tortured.
Recruits enter a simulated prisoner of war camp that retired Navy SEAL Brandon Webb explained was a "boot camp on steroids," in his book "The Making of a Navy SEAL." "It was far and away the most intense training I'd encountered so far," Webb wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
It's a little creepy how this recording can bring back the fear and disorientation of SERE.
Forgive me for not understanding but is that recording suppose to give the candidates some grounding to fall back upon or is it to terrorize them?
I still have my Code of Conduct Wallet Card and carry it ever Day (U.S. Army/Ret.)
I’ll never forget it now. Boots ... boots ... boots ... boots ... movin’ up and down again!
Interesting. The article says, “This is the full poem,” but it actually quite bit longer—and more tiring, even than that:
Boots
INFANTRY COLUMNS
We’re foot-slog-slog-slog-sloggin’ over Africa -
Foot-foot-foot-foot-sloggin’ over Africa -(Boots-boots—boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again!)
There’s no discharge in the war!
Seven-six-eleven-five-nine-an’-twenty mile to-day -Four-eleven-seventeen-thirty-two the day before -(Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again!)
There’s no discharge in the war!
Don’t-don’t-don’t-don’t-look at what’s in front of you.
(Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again);
Men-men-men-men-men go mad with watchin’ em,
An’ there’s no discharge in the war!
Try-try-try-try-to think o’ something different -
Oh-my-God-keep-me from goin’ lunatic!
(Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again!)
There’s no discharge in the war!
Count-count-count-count-the bullets in the bandoliers.
If-your-eyes-drop-they will get atop o’ you!
(Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again) -
There’s no discharge in the war!
We-can-stick-out-’unger, thirst, an’ weariness,
But-not-not-not-not the chronic sight of ‘em -
Boot-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again,
An’ there’s no discharge in the war!
‘Taint-so-bad-by-day because o’ company,
But night-brings-long-strings-o’ forty thousand million
Boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again.
There’s no discharge in the war!
I-’ave-marched-six-weeks in ‘Ell an’ certify
It-is-not-fire-devils, dark, or anything,
But boots-boots-boots-boots-movin’ up an’ down again,
An’ there’s no discharge in the war!
Repeating endlessly.
I believe it was designed to disorient and discourage, but one would have to ask the designers of the program.
Listen to the full recording at the link
That's pretty tough to do on the Waterboard lol
I was Waterboarded to unconsciousness and never asked a question.
Greetings.
No thinks. I'm already shaking so bad I can barely type.
Time to get a beer...
Bookmarking
Col. Nick Rowe set up the SERE school at Bragg as he had been a POW of the VC since 1963 when he escaped in late 68. In fact, Rowe was promoted to Major during his 5 plus years as a POW in the U Minh Forest region of IV Corps. He came to our camp (CCS, MASCVSOG) on New Years Eve 68. I regret I missed him as I was with one of my platoons of yards plus a fine SF NCO west of Duc Lap. We had a recon team in trouble across the border, so; that was more important. Martha Raye was at camp in our club. I recall our XO saying he found a bottle of her favorite vodka. No problems. Glad they had a good time.
You sir...and others here who will post on this thread because they recognize the acronym SERE...have my ultimate respect and thanks.
SEAL training compared to SERE seems to be more or less a cake walk.
Warner Springs 1975. Waterboarded until I passed out, intentionally just to get it over with. You see they had to punish me for flipping one of the officers of the camp over my shoulder while waiting in line. Really pissed that Lieutenant Commander off. I think the worst part of the training was in the courtyard on her hands and knees and shoulder shoulder dragging straight lines litter with her finger courtyard on our hands and knees lshoulder shoulder dragging straight lines in dirt with our fingers.
They kept us in little dog houses. They kept us in little dog houses. We had a peephole and number 10 can for business. In the middle of the night to take us out to stand in a 55 gallon drum of water in subzero weather buck naked.
No regrets.
I didn't know I did until I told my ex wife one evening about 4 years ago that she should move because when they come to confiscate my guns that I would fight to the death.
Capture was not an option. I would never be taken alive.
Think about it...go to the VA and talk about it.
Based on our short experience, I'm amazed at how many real POWs resisted so well for so long.
I never heard of this and just gave it 20 minutes.
Dreadful——and really made me think about the human mind and what it can take before a complete meltdown.
Very,very scary stuff.
.
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