by Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
11/26/2008 - FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFNS) -- Five
crew members from MTV came to Fairchild Air Force Base Nov. 17 for a
firsthand glimpse of what the Air Force has to offer.
MTV's "How to Show" has celebrities demonstrating how to do a variety
of things through a step-by-step format, and the Air Force joined MTV
to show how Airmen survive, evade, resist and escape behind enemy
lines.
During the planning process, many different scenarios for the "How To
Show" were discussed among officials from MTV, the Air Force Recruiting
Service and GSD&M Idea City (a marketing company employed by the
Air Force), as to what the Air Force could offer the show.
"Ultimately, we all agreed that the Fairchild base had the most
educated group of people who would be able to provide unparalleled
guidance throughout the different scenarios and shoots," said Theresa
Piszczor, an MTV Networks account executive.
Senior Airman David Janossy, a 22nd Training Squadron survival,
evasion, resistance and escape specialist organized personnel, wrote
scripts and worked the logistics.
"Showcasing our very unique skill sets of the 336th Training Squadron
in combination with a new program produced by a cutting edge director
like Rich Browd from MTV was an unbeatable opportunity," Airman Janossy
said. "SERE gets to put its best foot forward to the public with help
from world-class television professionals, and MTV gets an exciting
program which educates their audience on some very useful outdoor
emergency survival skills."
The MTV crew were escorted by SERE specialists to two locations to be
used for filming over two days. Airman 1st Class Tiffany Zaloudek, a
22nd Training Squadron SERE specialist, explained and demonstrated how
to survive when you find yourself stranded and in need of being rescued
for the MTV cameras. She went through the steps starting with simply
being prepared and staying calm. She showed how to build a fire and
attract the attention of the rescuer were also covered in her step by
step instructions on how to survive a land based emergency.
"I understand they wanted to show a more diverse approach and having a
female show survival techniques will hopefully give confidence to
anyone, male or female, to be able to perform what we have shown,"
Airman Zaloudek said. "I worked with some of the nicest professionals
from MTV and Air Force Recruiting. They made it fun and extremely easy
for me. I got to see behind the scenes of how production is run and I
give them mad props for all that they do, especially listening to me
repeat the same line six times in a row. I hope they were able to take
away new knowledge as I did from them."
On the final day of filming, one of MTV's own camera operators, Shawn
Mattaro, attended the open water survival course required for all
aircrews. Mr. Mattaro was required to take the course for the purpose
of filming from inside the underwater egress training dunker.
Senior Airman Ethan Jago, a 66th Training Squadron SERE specialist, was
chosen to narrate the water survival episode. This episode demonstrates
the steps involved to egress from a submerged vehicle safely.
"I helped write the script for the water survival," Airman Jago said.
"It was definitely an experience seeing how long it takes to film
something as simple as a three minute show."
After two full days of filming, MTV left with a new and more personal perspective of the Air Force.
"This was an incredible opportunity that exposed me to just a glimpse
of the many skills learned in the Air Force," said Sheree Shu, an MTV
producer. "As we will illustrate in the how-to spots, many of these
skills are applicable to everyday life situations. It was an absolute
pleasure working with all the individuals from the Air Force in making
this happen and I look forward to working with them again."
It takes approximately four weeks from the time of filming to the time
the two custom episodes featuring Fairchild AFB Airmen will launch on
MTV.com and MTV mobile. Fairchild AFB episodes are scheduled to launch
the week of Dec. 15.
"After many years at MTV, I've never had the pleasure of directing such
a cooperative and enthusiastic group of individuals," said Rich Browd,
the MTV "How To Show" director. "This experience is one that we will
not soon forget."
Jack Baribault, an MTV cameraman, leans over the water to talk to Shawn Mattaro (blue helmet), another MTV cameraman, as Mr. Mattaro awaits further instructions from a survival instructor (red helmet) during an open water survival lesson Nov. 18 at the aquatic center at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. Mr. Mattaro was required to take the open water survival instruction for the purpose of filming from inside the underwater egress training dunker as part of one of the episodes for the "How To Show" on MTV.com and MTV mobile. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford) Download Full Image
Senior Airman Ethan Jago listens to instructions from the MTV crew before filming begins Nov. 18 at the aquatic center at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The MTV crew was at Fairchild to film several episodes for the "How To Show" seen on MTV.com and MTV mobile. Airman Jago, a survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist with the 66th Training Squadron, was chosen to narrate for the episode demonstrating the steps involved in escaping from a submerged vehicle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford) Download Full Image
An MTV film crew arrives at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Nov. 17 to film an episode of the "How To Show" seen on MTV.com and MTV mobile. Fairchild was selected for two custom episodes involving land and water survival to be launched the week of Dec. 15. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford) Download Full Image