CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Hunter Knupp’s plunge into a pool at the Cleveland Family YMCA on Friday was more than just a swim.
For Mr. Knupp, of Marietta, Ga., it was the start of testing to become a U.S. Air Force survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) specialist, one of five Air Force special operations forces programs.
ON THE WEBTo learn more about the Air Force Special Forces, visit www.afsoc.af.mil/library/recruiting/index.asp.
“They train anybody who is going to be in a high-risk capture area how to survive,” he said.
Beside him in the pool, Shawn Standridge, of Etowah, Tenn., was testing for combat control specialist. Combat controllers are airmen attached to units such as the Navy Seals, Army Rangers and Green Berets. They act as air controllers for these teams and can call in air strikes.