Combat Survival denotes military survival under hostile threat. The term connects maintaining physical capability with avoiding capture and returning to friendly forces. Such a situation may follow a forced landing or separation from a unit and can involve individuals or groups.
What hostile threat changes
Shelter, water and food supplies, and navigation remain survival tasks. There is also a risk that obtaining supplies, moving or making contact will reveal the person’s location. A fire, for example, can provide warmth while attracting attention through light and smoke.
Relationship with SERE
Combat Survival and SERE overlap. Combat Survival emphasises the military survival situation under threat. SERE identifies the connected fields of survival, evasion, resistance and escape or extraction. A Combat Survival course can therefore also include conduct after capture and resistance to exploitation.
| Example | Military usage |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | The historical Aircrew Combat Survival Course, ACSC, explicitly included Conduct After Capture, CAC: preparation for behaviour after capture. |
| Australia | The Combat Survival Training School delivers an aircrew SERE course. Its subjects include evasion, resistance to interrogation and exploitation, and escape. It culminates in an evasion and capture scenario. |
A field of activity and a course name
The expression may identify a field of activity, a course or a training establishment’s focus. The label Combat Survival does not establish a particular SERE Level A, B or C. That depends on the national training requirement and the associated risk profile.