New Navy Survival School Honors Former Prisoner of War

By Darryl Orrell, Center for Security Forces Public Affairs

KITTERY, Maine (NNS) -- Naval Education and Training Command's (NETC) Center for Security Forces (CENSECFOR) officially named the new Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY), Portsmouth, N.H. in honor of retired Rear Adm. Jeremiah A. Denton Jr. Sept. 30.

Distinguished guests included Denton, Rear Adm. (Sel) Mike White, NETC chief operating officer and Congressional Representatives from the offices of Senator Judd Gregg, Senator Jeanne Saheen, Congressman Paul Hodes, and Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire. Senator Susan Collins, Senator Olympia Snowe, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine were among those attending the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"The men and women of the United States Navy and Marines step forward to serve with valor and determination," said Collins in a letter read during the ceremony. "This building is devoted to the highest ideals of America's armed forces and is named for a great patriot who exemplifies those ideals."

"This outstanding new facility will be used to fulfill a critical mission - the training of our Sailors in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape tactics," said White. "Our professional instructors will make excellent use of this wonderful new facility preparing Sailors so they know what to do when things go from bad, to worse. The demand for exemplary training has never been higher."

"The promise of covenant leadership requires we persist in finding ways to continue providing world-class training to our Sailors. As we have always done, Naval Education and Training works closely with the Fleet to determine the best training to support their needs," White said. "We have never, and will never, create our training in a vacuum. We listen to the subject matter experts. We take their knowledge and experience and craft them into exemplary training."

In his introduction of Denton, the key note speaker and namesake of the new training facility, White called Denton a "true American hero."

"Some people may look at the Code of Conduct printed in the program you hold in your hands and say, 'just words,'" White said. "For those who have fought in the past, and for those who fight today, these are a written testament to the strength, character and honor of our military. If you are looking for proof of this legacy of courage, you need look no further than our guest speaker."

A 34-year Navy veteran, Denton served on active duty during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and was heavily involved during the Cuban Missile Crisis as the commander of the Guantanamo Defense Force.

In 1965, Denton was shot down and captured by North Vietnamese forces and spent the next seven years and seven months as a Prisoner of War (POW) and became the first U.S. military captive to experience four years of solitary confinement.

"Your responsibility as an American war fighter does not end when you are captured," said Denton addressing the SERE school staff earlier that morning. "There is much you can do to inflict damage on the enemy."

During his captivity, Denton gave the American public its first confirmation that American POWs were being tortured in Vietnam. He did so by secretly blinking his eyes in Morse code spelling the word 'torture' during a 1966 television interview arranged by the North Vietnamese.

"Once I was tortured for 3 days and 3 nights straight and overheard the camp commander, frustrated because I did not break, say to my tormentor, 'break his legs,'" said Denton. "I knew my body could no longer take the punishment and literally thought I was going to die any moment.

At that moment I prayed to the man up stairs telling him I could no longer continue to resist on my own - I needed him to intervene. It was in that very moment that my pain was simply gone and the guard refused the order to break my legs."

Touching on this same story during his ceremonial address and citing how honored he was by the new facility Denton said, "But I stand here today telling you that if it were not for God, I would have washed out."

Based on his experience, Denton said, "There are no atheists among POW's."

Denton went on to speak of how people only seem to focus on the pain and suffering endured by POWs.

"Often forgotten are the families of those men and women who equally suffer and in some cases endure the endless suffering of not knowing what has happened to their loved one," said Denton.

"As long as you realize who you are and the great country of which you belong, you can achieve anything," said Denton in his conclusion.

The relocation of the SERE school to PNSY was prompted by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission's decision to disestablish the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2011.

Navy survival training emerged in the late 1950s as an arctic survival course and has since evolved into the current SERE training.

SERE is a 12-day Code of Conduct course designed to give students the skills necessary to survive and evade capture, and if captured, resist interrogation and escape.

The new $11 million 33,612 sq.ft SERE facility will host more than 100 military and civilian staff and train an average of 1,200 students per year.

The first group of students to attend training at the new facility will convene Oct. 4 where they will undergo six days of academic study before proceeding to the 12,500-acre Navy range in Redington, Maine for practical field exercises.

"This is a great day for PNSY and we welcome you, look forward to working with you, and wish you the best of luck in your new home," said Capt. Bryant Fuller III, PNSY commander.

Established by the Federal Government in 1800, PNSY launched its first product, the 74-gun warship USS Washington, and in 1815 during World War I, PNSY took on a new role -the construction of submarines.