Very nice RVN/Thailand 'Party Suits' with great patches.  I'll let the Zoomies comment on these and stick to the seven seas.

Show is less than a month away. I heard from the show promoters that 90 tables are spoken for already.    Best Wishes,   Alan

Hello,   I'm glad to see you're doing this show. This is great news. Thanks for all of your extensive work involved with setting this up to make it happen.    Can you tell us how many dealer tables you expect to have, or what the table number capability for the venue is? Such as 100 tables, 125, 150, 200, etc., table capacity/capability? I'm not familiar with the interior of this specific armory in the Twin Cities metro area. Thanks in advance for your reply, I appreciate it.   Best Wishes,   Alan

Or maybe this guy was involved. mikie

Just to note, I do not at all specialize in theater made patches, as I am much, much better with regular embroidered ones. Looking to gain some knowledge here and know wether or not I got a bad one. Thanks!

Whats the consensus everybody?

These are photos of the uniforms.

Very nice, thanks for sharing!

Blog Post Matsubara beach in the early 1960's I was living near the beach from 1961 to 1964 during the spring, summer and fall seasons. The 5th Air Force Sea Survival School was located on the beach, in "front" of the breakwall. It was destroyed once in 1961 by a ferocious typhoon. Re-built again. The area was extremely peaceful and the onsen was truly relaxing and "old world" japan. The pines were very beautiful and were the bountiful tangerine trees. I truly fell in love with the area including the nearby city of Numazu with its many restaurants. Seafood was plentiful as it came into the port at numazu on a daily basis. The people of the area were extremely friendly and helpful. I rate the experience and area as one of the most memorable of my life. Date of experience: March 2012   Numazu Japan was also the site of the USN assault boat school and several other small craft detachments.  Our ARS's (Rescue Salvage) vessels would often make a regular port call there during WESTPAC deployments, far out of sight of the 7th Fleet and higher ups in Yokosuka.   I can personally vouch for the seafood restaurants in Numazu, they were top notch, as were the geishas, beer, bath houses, town, etc.....      

The SERE Association October 17, 2013 · TEACHING AIRMEN TO SURVIVE The History of the USAF Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Education and Training in Support of the Code of Conduct By JIM ROOT   Coming soon to the SERE Association Website (To Be Announced)   AUTHORS’ GOALS The manuscript will tell the story of inception and development of Air Force SERE training from its meager beginnings in the mid-1940s with the Army Air Corps of World War II, through its more formal establishment as a much-needed training activity in the newly-formed U.S. Air Force after 1947.  It will describe the creation of the first formal Survival School of the newly-created USAF and its evolution through the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and on into the 21st Century, from a school designed to train aircrew personnel from only one of the newly-formed Major Air Commands into the official USAF SERE School of this day and age!   The manuscript will outline the creation in the early 1950s and further development over the following Decades of the ‘Aircrew Protection’ Career Ladder as it works towards becoming the Guardian Angel Weapons System of today’s US Air Force.   It will tell of the ‘Pioneers’ of the Survival/SERE Career Field, how they became Survival Instructors/SERE Specialists, and of their work in the early Training Programs , as well as how their efforts provided a ‘strong foundation’ for the ‘building’ of the current Air Force SERE education and training programs. Further it will describe today’s USAF SERE School, the cadre who staff the school house and its outlying Detachments.   The manuscript will describe many of the Survival Training Programs that existed in addition to the USAF Survival School during the period between 1950 and 1975 Major Air Command, Base and Flying Unit-level Survival Courses in support of the Korean Conflict & War in Viet Nam as well as later training designed for Survival in the Middle East, as well as ‘Special Projects’ such as training NASA’s Mercury & Apollo Astronauts, helping Allied Nations set up SERE Training Programs, and/or Debriefing POWs returned from years of captivity in North Viet Nam.   Chapters in the manuscript will include a combination of cold, hard historical data, and interesting and entertaining stories as told by Survival Instructors of the era being detailed in the Chapter. Photos pertinent to the historical data and/or the ‘as told by’ stories will be included where appropriate.   It is the goal of this Manuscript to provide a written history of SERE Training in the U.S. Air Force—one that will inform the modern SERE Specialists of their ‘roots’ and will bring the ‘Pioneer’ SERE Specialists and their interested families and friends up-to-date on what their early-on efforts have ‘produced!’   CONTENTS: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Thanks to all who contributed info, photos & stories and Special Thanks to all Survival Instructors of the past and SERE Specialists present and future for their dedication to the saving of lives!   FORWARD. Two True Tales of Survival Scenarios, one ending in the loss of several lives. The other a happy ending—the difference Survival Training!   FAST FORWARD. To fully appreciate the beginning, development & evolution of the Air Force’s involvement in Survival Training, one must know about ‘The US Air Force Survival School of 2008’ In this ‘Introductory’ Chapter, Today’s highly sophisticated, efficiently managed, totally standardized SERE instructional system is described to lay the groundwork for understanding the evolution of Survival Training in the US Air Force since it’s near-primitive inception some 60 years ago.   Chapter 1: SURVIVAL TRAINING - Who Needs It? That was the U.S. Army hierarchy’s ‘take’ on Survival. From the first emergency parachute jump by a Military Pilot in 1922, a near fatal event as the Pilot had no previous training in emergency parachuting, on through WWII’s scattered Army Air Corps Survival Training & Equipment Units, on to the newly-formed U.S Air Force’s first formal Survival Schools of 1948 at Marks Field and Ladd AFB, both in Alaska, and then on to Camp Carson, Colorado in 1950.   Chapter 2: STEAD FIELD - Home of the Walkin’ Air Force! From Carson to near Reno in 1952, the SAC School becomes the official USAF Survival School in 1954 when SAC is ordered to turn it over to the Air Training Command. From ’52 on to 1966, changes and improvements in course curriculum, training methods and instructor qualifications, up until the relocation of the school to Fairchild AF Base, near Spokane Washington in 1966.   Chapter 3: GROWING PAINS! In the early 1960s there were over 100 Major Air Command, Base, and/or Flying Unit-level Survival training ‘Activities’ at Bases across the nation & around the world. These training units ranged from one or two instructors assigned to a base training centers or the Emergency Equipment Shop teaching SERE subjects to aircrews of their individual flying squadrons to formal schools with a large Instructor staff and programs designed to train all fliers of a Major Air Command or overseas sector. These SERE training outlets existed up until the early 1970s, when management of all USAF Survival and Special Training was finally & officially placed with Air Training Command. Some ‘Outlaw’ SERE programs continued to exist up into the late 70s, early 80s! This Chapter provides ‘facts & figures’ on the various locations, programs and instructor staffs of these training units.   Chapter 4: COLD & DARK - The Cool Schools! Addresses the Command-level Cold Weather Survival Training Programs at Fairbanks, Alaska; Goose Bay, Labrador; and Thule, Greenland. Also describes the additional duties/responsibilities for Ground Rescue and Hunting/Fish Camp management levied upon Survival Instructors assigned these ‘Schools.’   Chapter 5: WET & WILD - The Water Schools! This addresses the startup of the first formal Water Survival School at Numazu, Japan in 1956, and the many other Water Survival Schools that followed at Naha, Okinawa; Wheelus, Libya; Langley, Virginia; Homestead, Florida; Tyndall, Florida; Hamilton, California; and Perrin, Texas. It speaks to the special need for this type of Survival Training and the introduction of the Para-Sail to the Air Force inventory of training devices.   Chapter 6: HOT & HUMID - The Jungle Schools! Speaks to the startup of the first USAF Jungle Survival School in Panama in 1956, addressing the use of local Panamanian instructors as well as USAF ‘921’ and the association of the School with the Choco Indians who also assisted in training. Addresses the PACAF Jungle Survival School in the Philippines, it’s special ‘For S.E.A.’ training program, Mobile Training Teams( MTT) and observation TDYs to Viet Nam, Started in 1963 in support of the War in Viet Nam, it’s program was a ‘Combat’ version of the Panamanian Course, teaching special ‘E & E’ tactics, including some ‘RT’ refresher based on current ‘Intelligence.’   Chapter 7: SNEAKY PETE and THE SAFE HOUSE -The E&E Schools! Carefully describes the Special E & E Courses set up in Europe and Asia in the ‘early years.’ Speaks carefully to E&E tactics taught, who taught it, and touches on the resistance training provided based on the Intelligence of that time period.   Chapter 8: SURVIVAL POTPOURI - Continuation & Refresher Training at the Base-Level! Describes the variety of Survival/Life Support training programs given at the Base and/or Flying Squadron level by both 921s and 922X0 personnel during the 1950s, 60s & 70s!   Chapter 9: THE FINAL POINT! In 1966 the Survival School at Stead was relocated to Fairchild AFB, Washington. After having built the school from the ground up at Stead, the cadre moved all that could be moved to a semi-isolated sector of Fairchild formerly known as Deep Creek Air Force Station. Unused for many years, the site of the school was in disrepair, lacking in the facilities needed for on-base billeting & training of incoming students and the instructors took on the challenge of building from the ground up once again. Starting again, with almost primitive assets, the school never missed a stroke - kept teaching aircrew classes and Instructor Training classes for many years as they worked on improving the on-base facilities up until 1976!   Chapter 10: SPECIAL PEOPLE DO SPECIAL THINGS! From its inception as the USAF Survival School at Stead in 1954 for its first 20 years there and at Fairchild, Survival Instructors had been called on to do ‘Special Projects,’ such as Desert, Tropic, Arctic and Water Survival Training of NASA’s Mercury and Apollo Astronauts, helping Debrief the POWs returned from captivity in North Viet Nam, helping the Military Forces of our Allies in setting up Rescue & Survival Operations and Training, special Programs for Air Force ROTC Cadets, Explore Search & Rescue Units, local and regional Mountain Rescue Associations and others.   Chapter 11: ONLY THE BEST! How one becomes a Survival Instructor/SERE Specialist has evolved and formalized over the past 60 years, too. The original instructors were recruited from volunteers who had past experiences that qualified them to teach parachuting, emergency medicine, wilderness living and/or use of special emergency equipment. Little or no formal training was mandated at first, with ‘On-the-Job’ training being used to qualify one as a Survival Instructor. Then formal Tech Schools for Instructors for ‘Teaching men to Survive’ were developed and put in place. Over the years, Survival Instructor selection, qualification and initial and on-going training has also become more sophisticated. From OJT to gradually improving formal courses and continuation training, Survival Instructors have come a long way and as SERE Specialists now share a place with other elite forces such as USAF Para rescue, Army Special Forces, Navy Seals, Recon Marines and USAF Combat Controllers!   Chapter 12: RETURN WITH HONOR! This is the motto of the SERE Specialist of today! A true story of a POW’s shoot-down, capture and seven years in captivity in North Viet Nam tells the story of one USAF Survival School graduate who suffered gravely but ‘returned with honor!