SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — While blending in with a populace of more than 808,000 people in San Francisco, 40 personnel, led by U.S. Air Force’s 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron attempted to evade capture from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office in early December during Exercise Sourdough.

For the teams captured during this training exercise, they would be interrogated as enemies of the state in accordance with their survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) training.

“The major benefit to working with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office was the ability to conduct the exercise in a realistic and immersive environment,” Lt. Col. Mary Lea Bordelon, 571st MSAS commander said. “The 571st MSAS and SFSO have enjoyed a decade-long partnership, marked by regular subject matter expert exchanges and collaborative training exercises that have fostered a deep understanding and mutual respect between the two organizations.”

Under city lights spanning more than 49 square miles of land area, more than 100 personnel from 15 different agencies participated in Exercise Sourdough, including the 818th MSAS, 156th Tactical Advisory Squadron and 36th TAS

“This isn’t the first time we have conducted this kind of training with the 571st MSAS and have done so for many years,” Lt. Rebecca Lee, SFSO lieutenant of homeland security said. “We have been planning Exercise Sourdough for months and there were a lot of safety measures used to protect both organizations.”

According to Lee and Bordelon, the deputies and military personnel involved in this exercise were excited to be a part of such a specialized and unique training opportunity.

“Both sides were continually updating one another and discussing tactics, their own evasion experiences, what they found helpful and places to avoid,” Lee said. “The U.S. Air Force did a great job at finding pockets in the Presidio and Golden Gate Park to not get caught.”

While Exercise Sourdough had local law enforcement teams versus the U.S. Air Force in this training exercise, Bordelon expressed that both organizations were assisting one another in becoming more effective at what they do. “I was extremely proud of the 571st MSAS team for executing with an ‘all-hands-on deck’ mentality while showcasing their expertise and ability to operate effectively in a variety of different environments,” Bordelon said. “Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative nature that Exercise Sourdough enabled through integrating different agencies such as Nut Tree and Napa airport management teams, U.S. Army advisors, U.S. Coast Guard aerial and maritime recovery specialists, and SERE experts who travelled from as far as Guam and Puerto Rico to be here.”

All teams took great pride in their participation, but it came down to experienced policing practices used by SFSO that led them to capture multiple teams in areas such as Twin Peaks to Oracle Park.

Lee explained that common practices demonstrated by military personnel such as mirroring each other’s movements, wearing distinctive, yet similar clothing, eating in groups, and military-style haircuts, can easily give away a member’s identity.

“The biggest giveaway is when most personnel are spotted, they immediately turn or divert from the direction in which they were traveling to evade capture,” Lee said. “However, detaining individuals with military training backgrounds creates many different challenges for our deputies than what they normally deal with. Military personnel have specialized skillsets including evasion and survival training, physical fitness, and tactical planning, which are vastly different and far more advanced than regular, nonmilitary civilians.”

Lee added that one major benefit from working with the U.S. Air Force was that this exercise enhanced their response and approach to public safety issues while improving their coordination to their deputies out in the field.

“This exercise gave us an opportunity to think outside the box as to where evaders would be throughout the city,” Lee said. “Additionally, we had to take into account such factors as time of day and weather conditions.”

In addition to adverse weather, the 571st MSAS faced a range of challenges and obstacles in San Francisco, to include:

Navigating through city streets, alleys and buildings in a densely populated, urban environment

Avoiding capture by opposition forces who have advanced communication capabilities, patrols on foot, in vehicles, and with K-9 Officers

Finding food, water and shelter while avoiding detection

Simulating a high-stress, high-stakes environment with threat of captivity and interrogation

Exercise Sourdough conducted 24-hour operations and advisors brought supplies to protect themselves from the elements in various parts of the city.

“One advantage with being in close communication with the Sheriff’s Office is that we would be able to immediately respond and defend Exercise Sourdough participants from such threats as gang members or violent criminals,” Lee said.

For the safety of the participants and innocent bystanders unaware of this exercise going on in San Francisco, no force or weapons were used during training. No one was physically harmed during Exercise Sourdough.

The exercise concluded when all teams arrived at designated re-integration locations following recovery by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and boats.

“The 571st MSAS highly values enhancing interoperability between military and law enforcement agencies,” Bordelon said.

While some Airmen and sheriff deputies have experience with past Exercise Sourdough iterations, some experienced it for the first time.

“I enjoyed working with the Sheriff’s Office and I am glad we have a longstanding relationship with them,” Staff Sgt. Curtis Armentrout, 571st MSAS SERE specialist and Exercise Sourdough manager and lead planner said. “Having a professional and experienced opposition force driving participants’ execution of evasion tactics, techniques and procedures lends itself to a level of realism that is hard to replicate. This type of collaboration and training is invaluable, and because of this unique partnership, student learning outcomes and buy-in were significantly increased.”

Exercise Sourdough 2024 marks a successful decade-long partnership that has been mutually beneficial for the SFSO and 571st MSAS, and with its success as a win-win for both organizations, creates more collaborative training opportunities for the next decade to come.