SERE School (Air Force)

Two and a half weeks at Fairchild AFB in the Pacific Northwest, where aircrew learn what to do when their aircraft becomes a very expensive campfire. The wilderness phase in Washington's mountains is genuinely challenging — you'll eat things you'd never Instagram. The resistance training lab is classified-level intense and the instructors are very good at their jobs. Every pilot and aircrew member goes through this, and none of them forget it.