FORT RUCKER, Ala. – In a historic first, the U.S. Army’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school at Fort Rucker partnered with U.S. Army South from March 14-18, 2026 to successfully execute a large-scale reintegration exercise, simulating the mass return of service members from a large-scale combat operation.
The landmark exercise processed nearly 50 students acting as returned prisoners of war (POWs), the largest reintegration since Operation Homecoming in 1973. It was the first event of its kind to include a mass Phase I medical triage and time-sensitive debriefings for all returnees, moving reintegration planning from a theoretical concept to a practical, battle-tested framework.
Maj. Tracy Beegen, US Army SERE School Psychologist and Chief of Human Factors, was named “Hero of the Battlefield” for her pivotal role in the initiative. Beegen initiated the concept with US Army Southern Command and orchestrated the complex, multi-service effort that brought together personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force to build a comprehensive reintegration plan from the ground up.
The intense, real-world simulation pressure-tested the entire reintegration process, successfully identifying critical friction points in handling numerous returning POWs. Key outcomes of the exercise included the development of a triage system to assess personnel for a return to duty and the creation of new tactics, techniques and procedures, or TTPs, for intelligence gathering from group interviews.
The event was truly a joint effort, engaging units from the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army SERE School. The exercise also trained SERE specialists from the Air Force and Navy, alongside SERE psychologists, for the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command Reintegration Team.
As a result of the training, the team is now mission-ready for Phase I and II reintegration in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, as well as for service-level Phase III responsibilities. Furthermore, the Soldiers who were debriefed can now share their valuable experiences with their home units to increase readiness across the force.
Thanks to MAJ Beegen’s initiative and the collaborative efforts of multiple military branches—including the U.S. Army SERE School’s Human Factors and Medical Team—theoretical plans have been replaced by field-tested TTPs. The Department of Army and the broader joint force are now significantly more prepared for the challenges of large-scale combat operations, ensuring a proven, joint process to bring warriors home, reunite them with their families and return them to the fight when able.
By Lisa Foote
