Here's the link.
http://www.fortbraggnc.com/story.php?Te ... ry=7007553
Intense challenges test Special Forces candidates' mettle
By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer
The jeeps were rolling fine on the road, but things changed when they hit the sand.
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Special Forces hopefuls pull a jeep up a hill Wednesday at Camp Mackall as part of the Special Forces selection process.
The soldiers were pushing and pulling two rusty, World War II-era jeeps - each with seven men straining to move it and one steering. Four men held a steel pole that was lashed to either end of the front bumper. Like oxen, they gripped the pole and pulled, while three men in the back pushed.
No matter how hard the soldiers strained, the jeeps barely budged. After a few minutes, as if a bomb had exploded on them, the men fell into the sand, exhausted and frustrated.
''At least we ain't pulling a Bradley," said one soldier in between drinks out of his canteen.
''Lets pull some incendiary (grenades) and leave 'em," another suggested.
After a two-minute break, the soldiers climbed to their feet. Their uniforms were stained by sweat and now covered in sand. They slowly pulled on their 50-pound rucksacks and took up their positions. Four soldiers picked up the steel pipe tied to the jeep's bumper and held it to their chests. Three others took up positions to the rear. The team leader gave the order and the men began to pull and push again.
''Dig, dig, dig," he called.
Slowly, the 16-man team of Special Forces candidates - eight on each jeep - dragged the two jeeps out of the sand and onto the runway at Camp Mackall. It was smooth sailing as soon as the tires hit the tarmac.
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Soldiers prepare to carry sand-filled ammunition cans lashed to steel poles.
Another test completed in "team week," a torturous series of challenges to see how well the soldiers work together. It is all part of Special Forces Selection, the weeding-out process to determine who has what it takes to move on to training to earn a green beret.
More than 350 soldiers started the three-week course. Now, two weeks into it, more than 100 have washed out. The Army needs more Special Forces soldiers, who have key roles in training Afghan and Iraqi forces and hunting insurgents. The selection course is the mouth of the pipeline that turns out such soldiers.
Building blocks
Each week in selection is a building block, said Maj. William Cotty. He is in charge of the selection course.
Long ruck marches and physical tests measure how well the men hold up. Land navigation - finding widely scattered places at Camp Mackall, the Special Forces training ground southwest of Fort Bragg - is designed to see how well they use their heads when they are exhausted.
Team week is to find out how well individuals work with a group.
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Special Forces hopefuls push a jeep during a ‘team week’ test Wednesday at Camp Mackall.
Evaluators are looking for three qualities: intelligence, fitness and team work, Cotty said. They call it the "whole man" concept.
''You could have a Harvard-educated guy who is not smart," Cotty said. ''Or you could have a brilliant rocket scientist who just graduated high school."
He said a soldier may excel in one area, but be weak in others. So, a soldier who is smart and a good team player may get through even if he is not as strong physically as some of the others.
He said that teamwork and people skills are what make Special Forces soldiers unique. Cotty calls it a soldier's "unconventional warfare IQ."
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
A team leader, left, is welcomed to ‘Pineland’ by role player Daniel Ritchie before being briefed on the team’s next task.
The job can have Special Forces soldiers spend their day on a mat in a dusty mud hut in Afghanistan talking with a tribal elder and the night hunting down a Taliban commander. The evaluators are looking for warrior diplomats.
Team week is intended to give evaluators insight into how the candidates would do in the field.
On Monday, the instructors split the remaining members of the selection class into teams of 16. The tests started Tuesday, when the men were given a mission - carry a certain number of sandbags a certain distance - and provided equipment and a time limit to do it.
Evaluators, dressed in black hats and shirts, watched the candidates, noting how they reacted to each other and the role players in the exercise.
''Even though it looks like knuckle-dragging work on the surface, it is really sophisticated," Cotty said. ''When things get unglued, who will exert leadership? These are the people who will be able to lead when the chips are down."
After two weeks of near constant physical activity and evaluation, the wear and tear on the soldiers was obvious by Wednesday. Their feet were raw after walking miles with a 50-pound rucksack in combat boots. Before team week, they spent a week stumbling around Camp Mackall - sometimes during the day and sometimes at night - looking for points on a map. Each one found was a relief, until they were told that the next one was more than 10 kilometers away. Land navigation washed out dozens.
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Soldiers begin a march carrying large ammunition cans filled with sand on day two of team week.
The soldiers said their shoulders ached, their backs hurt and on a good night they were getting about four hours of sleep. Survivors said they had considered quitting.
On Wednesday, the teams had to complete two missions. One was to drag or push two jeeps several miles. The other was to carry several large ammunition cans filled with sand using lashes and some steel poles. Evaluators didn't say how long the soldiers had to march or how heavy the ammo cans were.
Each mission was introduced to the teams by a role player - for the most part retired Green Berets who now work as contractors. The men assist the evaluators and help test the soldiers' interpersonal skills. A friendly hello and a little small talk to the role player goes a long way, Cotty said.
The teams were split Wednesday morning. One group started with the ammo cans and ended the day pushing the jeep.
Spc. Patrick Grimm's team started with a jeep. He and his assistant team leader for the mission quickly looked over their supplies - a couple of steel poles and some rope - and came up with the plan. Unlike the other team, Grimm - a stocky red-haired artillery man from the 82nd - had the poles lashed to the sides of the jeep.
Staff photo by Mike Spencer
Strain is evident on the faces of the selection class members.
''We had eight guys get their heart into it. It was fairly simple," he said.
But by the time they had to haul the ammo cans, Grimm and his team were exhausted. They completed the task, but had to take a lot more water breaks than they had planned.
The soldiers said they've really gelled as a team.
''We try to laugh and make jokes when it sucks," said Pfc. James Canzoneri, a lanky 21-year old from Indiana.
The soldiers said that when the teams had been announced Monday, they spend time getting to know one another. During their lunch break Wednesday, they sat in a circle and told their stories. No one worried about rank.
''Rank doesn't matter here," said Spc. Joshua Wyatt, a 24-year-old from Kentucky who has a degree from Western Kentucky University.
Common goal
While Grimm and Canzoneri were the ''go-go-go" guys pushing their tired teammates Wednesday, Wyatt was less vocal. He was watching to make sure no one was overcome by the heat.
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Soldiers work to pass grueling Special Forces test (April 30)
''We would rather see everybody get there, because if we lose someone we are going to be short a man," Wyatt said.
Some teams didn't function as well. Grimm said he saw several teams bickering and fighting during the missions.
''Even at our worst, we are still aware of the goal to keep up the team morale," Wyatt said. ''If we are going to get through this, we are going to do it together."
Usually, about half the people who attend the selection course make it through to Special Forces training. They call it the Q-course, for qualification.
Grimm, Wyatt and Canzoneri said Wednesday that they were confident of making it to Q.
''One day at a time. That's all you can do," Wyatt said.
Staff writer Kevin Maurer can be reached at maurerk@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3587.
Article on SFAS
I'm glad he thinks teamwork is big. He must have forgotten about it for a moment when in SFPC he wandered out of the ORP and went to sleep. He was found a few hours later. I thought he got dropped, but I just saw him at D Co so he must have gotten recycled.''Even at our worst, we are still aware of the goal to keep up the team morale," Wyatt said. ''If we are going to get through this, we are going to do it together."
