Basic training Snakes On A Desk

Canebrake rattlesnake

Garboon Viper


Basic training includes lessons on snakes

By Joey Holleman - The (Columbia, S.C.) State
Posted : Saturday Feb 9, 2008 12:49:05 EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 5-foot canebrake rattlesnake wasn’t all the way out of the plastic container before Spc. Christina Perez jumped up on the seat of her classroom desk at Fort Jackson.

She was 20 feet away from the plump reptile. She had been told the snake was lethargic from being transported on a cool morning. Several of her fellow trainees sat between Perez and the snake.

Asked later if she stood on the seat to get a better look at the snake, she gave a wide-eyed shake of the head.

“I don’t like snakes,” Perez said. “I’m terrified of snakes.”

Scott Pfaff, curator of herpetology at Riverbanks Zoo, brought several venomous snakes from the zoo to Fort Jackson, in part to alleviate some of those fears among safety troops who travel ahead of their units. It was the second time he had ventured out with the snakes. The other was for similar training for Special Forces troops.

Lt. William Amerson asked Pfaff to make the presentation because he had been impressed by a similar effort while training at Fort Riley in Kansas. The students are field sanitation soldiers, who get to an area early as a liaison to check on potential hazards. They report back to supervisors about bad water, dangerous food or biting insects. Snakes sometimes make the danger list.

Pfaff aimed to give the soldiers a handle on the level of danger. Before he brought out any snakes, he offered a few facts:

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_snakes_080209/

Python like the ones in Vietnam. It isn't just bullets and bombs they have to worry about.