SERE combatives open mat: Building community and readiness Jan. 21, 2026

Frank McDaniel, right, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Maldonado, left, 436th Operations Support Squadron Survival, Evasion and Resistance and Escape Operations noncommissioned officer in charge, practices an arm triangle choke during an open-mat combatives class on Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Jan. 14, 2025. The open-mat combatives class is open to all Department of War personnel and is an initiative that promotes readiness through the learning of hand-to-hand combat techniques.