SERE Live

Surviving Mann television show makes History with Livestreamed Training Segment

The Surviving Mann television show recently made history when the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape portion of the competition was streamed live – a first in television history. I was asked to explain to you, the readers of American Shooting Journal, what it was like for the show’s contestants to be part of SERE training. This puts me in a conundrum. First, one must understand the mind of the individual set on becoming a warrior; this is a lifelong, arduous journey. There are many different warrior commandments and ethos, but basically, these pretty much cover the subjects:

Protect the weak. Defend the innocent. Stand up to tyranny and unjust behavior. Take responsibility for your actions and be prepared to accept the consequences. Honor friendship with loyalty in all things. Stand tall in the face of adversity. Ask even more of yourself than of others. Never do anything without a purpose. Never do anything useless. Be honest in your intentions and actions with everyone you meet.

These words are what set the foundation of the future warrior, but what truly makes a warrior has best been stated by one of the greatest of all time, General George S. Patton: “Men, all this stuff you hear about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle.” There is more to that great speech delivered in 1944 to the Third Army prior to D-Day, but you get the general idea. Patton was right; Americans always produce the best warfighters – the ones who are the mentally toughest, the ones who push themselves to be the physically fittest, and the ones who can think on their own under the worst of circumstances due to the time they have put into their tradecraft. These people are dedicated to winning at all costs because they understand that losing means loss of life – not only their own, but possibly the man next to them.

HENCE MY MENTAL quagmire. In the glorious pages of American Shooting Journal, we have covered the cofounders of SERE, Colonel Nick Rowe and Gary O’Neal, as well as former Navy SEAL Don Mann and Specialist Jessica Lynch. All were prisoners of war. How can anyone put into print the brutality of what their captors put them through? Every one of these great people endure hardships: being blindfolded, hands and feet bound, isolated, and deprived of food and water for hours, days, or more. Deprived of sleep while beaten, then hung upside down to be beaten again.

Imagine, if you could, having one of your closest friends you have served with be executed before your very eyes. Having lived through these very real experiences of being a POW, Don Mann, the star and host of Surviving Mann, still wanted to try to showcase SERE to the contestants, the viewing audience and the riggers, all while keeping everyone as safe as possible. So the brainstorming began. Together, Mann, the show’s producer Bob Cefail, director Stephen Eckelberry, Jason Brooks, Kervin Aucoin and myself spent a great deal of time planning the phase to keep everyone safe.

Interestingly Aucoin, an intelligence specialist and linguist who has worked with many joint special operations task forces, has many years of experience in the top echelon of military intelligence. Working with someone with that background brought a lot to the show, which is Cefail’s true vision and genius.

AS THE SERE portion unfolded, narrated by Sheriff Mark Lamb, there was a specific script that the Surviving Mann contestants were to follow due to safety protocols. However, the young, physically fit and intelligent contestants adapted, overcame and improvised a daring attempted escape. While brave, it was later explained to the contestants that the enemy had excellent overwatch with a Barrett .50-caliber BMG and RPGs, so in reality, they would have easily been killed, and probably so would at least one of their comrades, which was all detailed in the after-action report.

Although it was just a “television show,” the intensity and realism were spot on, thanks to Brooks’s and Aucoin’s award-winning acting skills as terrorist hostage takers. The Surviving Mann contestants were manhandled somewhat roughly, which made me proud of every single one of them for how they dealt with that. They had their heads covered, were driven in vehicles and then marched around in different directions to disorient them. They were under interrogation and isolated in tunnels with real rattlesnakes, spiders and scorpions, all the while bound by their hands and feet for hours in that hot as-Hades tunnel. A few contestants got slightly lippy, but a light gut punch changed that attitude.

As the show was being live streamed, everyone felt the excitement and intensity, and the producer knew he was making TV history, as this had never been done before. And after a grueling 18-plus-hour day, the contestants were finally debriefed. The very next day, they all would be part of a protection detail of an executive who had a high threat on him. They would be engaged in a terrorist attack, repel the terrorist attack, have the principal switch vehicles to get out of danger, and then fly him to safety in a helicopter. All in all, it made for great TV, made history – which everyone was honored to be part of – and was a hell of a lot of fun! ★