How Army Jungle Soldiers Are Training For A Possible War With China | Boot Camp | Insider Business

all right jungle are you able to continue training [Music] I'm not sure jungle that's a yes or no question are you able to continue training [Music] this is the Army's jungle operations training course [Music] why'd you join the Army I joined the army because I wanted to um go to war the United States is a Pacific Power and we are here to stay no secret China is the pacing threat for the U.S military we've got an incredibly relevant mission we have the opportunity out here to prepare for a Terrain as probably the most difficult environments that we can imagine foreign School the J it's another day in the day all right so same thing with Wildlife right so 50 of everything in the jungle is trying to kill and eat you same thing goes with our clamps it's one of the first lessons students learn at jungle school that 50 of everything in the jungle is trying to kill you in the J visibility is limited and movement is slow and methodical there are no jungles on the U.S Mainland that's why training happens here the island of Oahu in Hawaii the although the island is known for the Tranquil beaches of Waikiki and the Big Surf of the North Shore one only has to look Inland to see a vast jungle canopy which is why the Army trained soldiers for Jungle fighting at the 25th Infantry division's lightning Academy near the town of Wahiawa one 80 students report for training only 51 will make it to graduation the rest are dropped during the 12-day course by failing one of five critical tests all right first rank boys stand up with Alex and survive three straight days in the jungle in a culminating exercise only then will they graduate and receive the coveted jungle tab eight students are instantly dropped from the course because they fail to arrive with the 27 critical items on the packing list but their spots are back filled with students on a wait list you have three minutes of all of your stuff if you have any tobacco products all right dip snuff Vapes cigarettes cigars whatever it is anything that goes along those lines it goes put in the amnesty box you have seven and a half minutes to pack up all of your gear your other counterparts at half the class they did it in seven I'm giving you an extra 30 seconds because you have a straggler with you two five instructors don't address the students by name instead each student is assigned a roster number which is essentially their name for the rest of jungle School why'd you decide to come to jotc well I'm a sergeant now and I have soldiers who follow me and I have to show them that if I can do it they can do it so it's more of leading the way put your voters do this again it just has to flip through itself Roger okay time for the first critical test all right John was next now we're gonna go over here is the slip figure eight knots all right there's a 30 second knock execute execute execute timed on their ability to correctly tie a series of knots that they're expected to master before showing up to Jungle School the around the body bow line with a double figure eight they'll use the knots later in the course to create life-saving rope systems in the jungle three two one hands off instructors walk around and inspect each knot number 25 takes a knee because he failed one of the critical knots but that doesn't mean he's dropped from the course he'll get one more chance in a retest on day two I felt awful um like I was an idiot um but I just took it as they hold me to the standard they're not going to let anything slide and just grateful that I get a chance to show that I can do it right the rest of the squad is gonna be tying me around the body bowline like Sergeant had it and they're going to move up and the production Commander is going to hook him up on the other side of that knot and they're going to send him she's gonna send him across understood okay all right I'm a first generation immigrants and my parents always taught me how to prove one's americanness and so I grew up alongside um military service members and and someone was really inspired and motivated by responding to a calling that's greater than the ones you know self-interest this is the toughest operational environment that you'll ever operate in the soldier cannot fight in the jungle until that Soldier learns to survive in the jungle that same Soldier must use the jungle as a friend not as an enemy with proper training a soldier can become a skilled jungle fighter there's no pay increase for soldiers with the jungle tab the value of the course is perceived as the experience and knowledge that graduates can back and share with their units yeah I just came out to get training go through jungle school hopefully pass get back that's really the biggest thing I wanted School s of the 80 students in the course only seven are female I'd say almost everywhere you go that's going to be the situation so if you're a female in the Army that's something to get used to pretty early on you know it's great to have those other females to kind of bond with as well all right is this the proper way to carry a weapon the soldiers show up slick which means their uniforms show only their last name and U.S army there's no indication of rank affiliation or previous schools attended do what you're asked to do be at the right place the right time and write uniform the right equipment and move with a sense of urgency that's all we ask so easy day one may have been easy most but day two will prematurely end 11 more students time in Jungle school all right General here in about 30 seconds we're sorry testing all right the knots retest begins before the sun comes up number 25 has to pass if he wants to remain in Jungle school and go ahead and get to ready ropes the next knot we're gonna test on here is the round the body bow Line This is the not number 25 failed to tie on day one execute execute execute five four three two one hands off because he used to be I'm gonna look for it after this I don't know okay at this time I passed so I uh showed that I can learn could not get a sleep uh wink of sleep last night absolutely terrified but doing things even when you're afraid or even when you're not sure it's how you move forward only one student failed the retest Jazz are going to come through and they're gonna do spot checks on you 31 and another withdrew from the course for administrative reasons 78 are left to take on the second of the five critical tests the jungle 5K all right jungle three two one begin you just have 40 minutes complete a five kilometer run on a road with significant elevation changes while wearing a load carrying vest and carrying their replica rifles known as rubber duckies oh it's almost done there's no retest for the jungle 5K this is the student's only chance to pass and stay in the course of the 78 students six failed to finish in time [Music] including number 25. this is good right here Hide My Tears tell me what happened uh so I was running the 5K started out pretty strong actually and then uh I don't know what it was could not catch my breath I had to walk felt like somebody was just giving me a big old bear hug are you disappointed oh absolutely I wanted to keep going so that sucks on day two uh call the family and say hey pick me up I failed jungle school is over for number 25 but continues for the remaining 72 students who get a quick meal before their next test great to dessert straight to dessert no time get the sugars in killed a lot of glycogen on that run don't want to go into shock when you hit the pool are you teaching us jungle nutrition I'm teaching you everything nutrition son I am actually most worried about the swim events but I've also been practicing and so I am cautiously optimistic let's head to the clerics for the third critical test water survival assessment we're looking for proficiency inside the water the test has four stages a high dive jump a two-minute water tread and a 50 meter swim while the first two stages move quickly the physical toll taken by the jungle 5K begins to catch up with the students failed I'm not a really good swimmer and I feel like I exert way too much energy while shredding I knew I was coming up like on on the last seconds so I just really wanted to as soon as they say stop I can just hurry up and grab the wall it's relieving definitely the swim and the 5K those were my two biggest worries coming into this and uh after that I completed those I think we got two or three more events qualifying events coming up which not too worried about [Music] for my weak swimmers the swim test is over for some but because he identified as a weak swimmer number 56 has to go last jungle [Music] [Music] the invisible signs of struggle after that after that one warning you're a no-go if I have any questions into the water thank you away from the wall away from the wall away from the wall you got it stay calm keep going all right cool passing the two minute tread only one stage remains come on stand up by six you're good stand up stay strong are you able to continue training [Music] I'm not sure jungle that's a yes or no question are you able to continue training [Music] yes okay go ahead and move forward Hey Joe I'm put you in Lane one right there all right into the pool jungle enter the pool just jump in straight my body just couldn't exert anymore and so I became more exhausted um I think it was because if of how quickly everything progressed my exhaustion just became worse more quickly I already knew that I was worried but I was trying to keep calm um and it was just at that last few seconds that I just panicked a little I'll try not to break down and cry frankly I feel devastated because this was something that I'd prepared for you know for months I did not like to quit I also recognized my limitations and so harking back to that moment will certainly be a motivation for me to succeed the next time five students are dropped from the course after failing the swim test the rest returned to Camp lightning to continue training so who's done playing nav out here how was it the next critical test is Land Navigation all right so Land Navigation somebody read that for me two biggest threats to us in the jungle the first was navigation the second the enemy jungle what does that mean to you means it was very easy to get lost and when you got lost you also didn't know where the enemy was and if you were lost you just walked into those ambushes the students have to plot geo coordinates on a map and plan their routes to get from point to point using only the map a compass markers and a protractor and no GPS devices students train here on East Range 10 square miles of thick vegetation and treacherous terrain so what makes Land Navigation challenge out here at East range is the terrain we have we are first getting the Army at basic training they teach us about dead reckoning shooting your Azimuth and walking in a straight line certain amount of meters which is almost impossible out here because of our terrain you go 100 meters on One Direction you're going to hit a cliff you go 100 meters another Direction you're going to hit a 200 foot Decline and then another 200 foot incline on the other side the actual test isn't until day six so the students have some time but what little time they have should be used wisely because more students will be dropped because of the land nav test than any other test in the course what are you gonna do if you hear a whistleblast what are you going to do if you come upon an injured student [Music] day three begins with a Land Navigation practice test students are paired up and given two points to find in three hours was uh the first point first points right here second points right here well they can't use GPS devices student gets a device known as a dog collar during land nav so the instructors can know their location in case of emergency for 7A 42 after you plot your points you want to create a nice route but when when it's like boots on the ground Everything Changes students quickly find that out during their first real taste of the J going back up stuff can happen out there in the jungle it was good to go out and see the terrain and actually see how much it slows you down it's crazy how long it can take you to move a click out here versus just a click on the mainland [Music] on the whole way back I'm like I want Star in Boston if you take me out there and show me how he would have done this because I suck at land now clearly the students are learning small unit tactics like how to move and communicate without being detected in the jungle you see how important hand and arm signals are they are very important because that's how every single one of you in a squad is going to be tracking what's going on it's very important to rehearse right uh the moment when you think you know that's when you're [ __ ] up [ __ ] that's when you're messed up all right [Music] well back there jungle and then Alpha Team takes contact from the right hand side of the direction of travel with no critical tests until day six the students finally have a chance to relax one of the roots that are on one of those Hills to just snap when you're walking up or down oh absolutely yeah there's some gnarly rocks out there for sure oh we went today I almost damn near broke my ankle good times of the 67 students left in the class 47 are based in Hawaii the other 20 are from the 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg North Carolina sometimes I wish I would have went Aviation seriously oh it looks like a really naughty jungle down there yeah every time we're in the bird getting ready for jumping I just see the Lodi smiling doing his thing stepping on my knees I'm like damn let's go pick that job like watch all these dumb Airborne dudes jump out of the plane the jungle School hosts a cross-section of soldiers at different stages of their careers both enlisted and officers like Roster number one the first lieutenant how long have you been in the Army two and a quarter years now okay how old are you 33 that's it wow so you started kind of late huh yeah I did a full change of career I did the OCS route so I went to basic OCS full change of career for me so what would you do before I was the director of a hospital clinic highest ranking student in the class is number five a lieutenant colonel and Senior intelligence officer with nearly two decades of time served in the Army so I came to Jungle school just to get a little bit of hands-on experience with the environment and the conditions that our soldiers will fight in in the Pacific Theater because I want to have a better appreciation so I can do a better job at doing my job as their senior senior intelligence officer and to get to hang out with Junior soldiers in the field cold wet hungry you know everybody a little equally miserable is fantastic a rank does not matter here the jungle treats everyone the same it's her hard not to notice the presence of one of the most experienced students in the class number 23. hey have I see platoon are you kidding me I was platoon my entire life is platoon okay all right go ahead hey for him up trouble is that way the first sergeant with 17 years served an army sniper Ranger and Ranger instructor 37 years old and three years away from retirement why would he volunteer for Jungle School I think it's very important for senior leaders to continue to put themselves in these kind of situations they're showing their men that they can still do it and you're not just the one you know barking orders all the time you're still able to get out here and get dirty you know why'd you join the Army I joined the army because I wanted to um go to war yeah that's all I wanted to do and did you ten times where have you been I have been to Syria Iraq Afghanistan multiple times um but I think you're around 10 deployments he wears a silver bracelet in memory of friends killed in action no fire support 240. it's a man it may seem like these soldiers are playing war with their neighborhood friends in the backyard Roger contact what's happening in the real world in this exact moment is no game on this same day the Department of Defense announced it would increase the U.S military's presence in the Philippines amid Rising tension with China how do you think that that impacts the sort of significance of what's happening at jungle school here at lightning Academy good I mean my opinion on you know ramping things up and going to war is always going to be good that's what I want to do I mean um you know peace is a good thing but I joined the military to go to war so foreign Uncle Sam trains new Commando type troops whose American designation is bushmasters for decades the Army trained jungle warfare at a school in Panama the jungle warfare course is structured in a building block approach but that school closed in 1999. when the military's Focus shifted to the Middle East the United States is a Pacific Power and we are here to stay President Obama the military's Focus shifted back to the asia-pacific region and in 2013 the jungle School reopened in the rainbow state today the course is open to all military branches and foreign allies priority is given to Personnel based in the indo-pacific command area of responsibility some students in this course already have orders to head to the region like number 67 another former Ranger instructor in the coming months after this course I'll be going to the Philippines for about two months it's awesome that when that announcement came out that I get to be part of the one for the units to go down there conducting all the training we'll be doing in the Philippines and the joint operations we'll be doing during that two-month period fifty percent of everything in the jungle is trying to kill you we have another Punchy pit all right not including the enemy and then once again on day four students learn about the different methods the enemy might use to try and kill them in the J such as deadly booby traps and this will knock out one to three people and improvised explosive devices [Music] we're gonna go over a basic level knowledge of how to apply and deploy camouflage don't forget your guys's teeth and your tongue I better start getting some uh Chris Hemsworth money for all this camera time you know what I mean teaching these Generations the lost arts so the jungle specifically without looking at it right now I can tell you there's a pattern Trace that it has is everything grows up so it's in that vertical stance where everything's up and down so you want to try to avoid making patterns that go horizontal across your body if possible students move in small units looking for signs that an enemy has been in the area known as Spore you see this that's fresh right yep I found them let's go after completing the tracking exercise the students walk out of the J and head to the landing Zone but getting out of the Jungle isn't always so easy especially if there's a casualty [Music] all right has anyone rode a jungle penetrator before cool all right so we have some guys this is called the jungle penetrator it's called such because it folds up nice and tight like this so when we drop it down to Hoist the patient this will penetrate the jungle canopy there's these little tabs here releases this is the little sked here that you can sit your butt on so get in there nice and tight students don't just get to look at the JP they also get to ride it [Music] [Music] that was super fun that was you know a great morale boost good experience I'm a big fan of helicopters anytime I get to ride on a helicopter or be near Glen I'm excited once they're done some students seize the opportunity to catch some z's they'll need their rest before day five when they'll head even deeper into the Jay remember the knots test on day one together such a long time ago you're about to tie a double double all right with enough loop on the very end of that double double that you can fit a carabiner through it but the real test is today oh there you go when students will use those same knots to safely repel down treacherous gulches because in the J there are no retests but what goes down must come back up they didn't teach us in the class but you can't do it I'll go first I'll be the guinea pig if anything bad happens or clearly retirement so it's a win-win right there's this guy number 23. yes I think I know you're talking about he has a great impact on our morale see you guys want to do something simple and now we got to go off the back side he's uniquely qualified and that he's been an instructor at a school like this before he was an instructor at Ranger school and he's trying to bring some levity to the group you know everybody's cold everybody's wet everybody's a little miserable and so if you take it too seriously it's just not going to be any fun and it's got to be fun you know pretty nervous right and they're dealing with a lot of things and they're they're going through all this [ __ ] and my whole my whole thing is like if you're going to focus on those things it's going to be hard right making people laugh and when it's downpouring on us and storming like that I mean that might be just what they needed you know it's also what I need so there's that I gotta keep joking to keep myself going as well bye um the letters in my stops you don't break back here nope right here so we have a lot of senior leaders that come through the course this is one of very few times in their career that they don't get to be that senior leader they just get to be now I still met so they get to relax a little bit [Music] you want to be a smart ass and talk a big game until you fall in the gym are you okay jungle I stay tactical up there because I'm an instructor and I'm trying to make sure that you are okay I saw you fall but sometimes they take a little too far because they haven't had that much slack before so sometimes we got to be able to reel it in and just let them know they have to calm down while repelling in a wet jungle requires total concentration these students better not forget what awaits them tomorrow their next critical test Land Navigation 1173 one two seven one it's the fourth of five critical tests one that will cut 12 more students from the course getting four grids you must come back with two to pass the students have five hours to find a minimum of two of the four grid points anything less than two or returning after the time limit results in a no-go and there is no retest for land nav what are you doing though there oh just burning the ends so it doesn't Fray off and then just go all over the place pretty much number 14 is paired with number 69. back at jungle school after failing the critical rope systems test back in December but he did pass land nav so um how did the land nav test go for you back in December when he went through oh it was easy I got I didn't get all the points but I got three out of four of them do you feeling pretty confident about this we could hit one um or no we should probably get one first so we can do one three and then backtrack we'll just do one first we attached a camera to number 69 to see the test from his and number 14's perspective oh that's too [ __ ] easy fourteen do you feel like uh having somebody that's already been been through it pretty recently and says it's gonna be easy has that how does that make you feel about this test like a easy Breezer I mean I was already feeling confident about it in general just because I already ran through the course like twice but since he already knows there's way around the land [ __ ] it helps out a lot so I should see you guys back here pretty soon no no I'm probably gonna be fired promoting at zero seven hundred the test begins [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] well there's another Trail that'll cut through 14 and 69 took a more conservative route I'm pretty sure it's like right off that main drag so we basically basically just need to break this brush line right here I think this is the trailer I remember back at Camp instructors monitor the students locations using GPS tracking devices so they have the corresponding dog collars and matching their Roster number we go to dog list on the tracker you want 23 click on 23 and it will navigate straight to where he is he is right here right in this wherever that question mark is that means that's his last known ping instructors Patrol the jungle to make sure the students aren't breaking the main rule they can't walk on the roads any student caught breaking this rule is known as roadkill zero nine seven four Roadkill roadkills and they fail okay maybe this is in the right the trail I [ __ ] thought it was you know the chair right which way you want to go this way or that way we're in this area right here so okay I think we I think we're heading in the dirt the right direction to keep hand rolling this yep to the open area all right I don't think this is heading the right way hold on I don't think well I mean there's a trail down there I don't ever tell you this like a hopper from stranger things oh my God I get that all the time oh [ __ ] I thought there was path here I thought there was a path oh [ __ ] yeah this stops here all right we're going to go down Jesus oh this is about to suck oh oh what's happened in the [ __ ] eye oh [ __ ] this would be an easier way to get up oh yeah we made it we passed we got two out of four points um so very happy with that it was good the weather was awful it was pouring lightning thundering uh that definitely made it pretty difficult our goal today was at least two because we wanted to pass we found two within an hour so we're like let's go for another found the third one another like 20 30 minutes so we're like we have like two three dollars left module go for all four and so we felt we felt pretty good going into coming back and it felt great to just get this last like big test so for you guys yeah you can collect your gear yeah but the test wasn't as easy for some like number five you know we just had bad luck today we were able to pick up our first point pretty quickly and then we got to our second points area and we you know just spent two and a half hours looking for it and we just couldn't find it so we're dropped um and it is what it is these things happen I'll pack up and I'll head home and I'll get to see my wife and kids today so that's the bonus kind of Bittersweet right you know a little bit of a bummer but you know life goes on and I'll be back at work on Monday among the 12 students who failed the land nav test all right thanks for chatting with me though number 14. yeah give Sam a second to get you focused up and we'll get going here tell me what happened today well we're we're going smoothly to our first point we got our first point it took us a little more time than we wanted to but it was like not a problem and then started downpouring a lot and a lot and a lot and just made it hard to find our second Point At what point did you realize we're not going to find it in time we're looking for that point up until 11 40. we're like two and a half hours we're probably looking for that point I feel like with like no luck so how do you feel right now um not too bad actually like I've only been here it's my first time coming to this course first time ever seeing like the jungle out here uh so I'm definitely going to be back at a later point this doesn't really just gives me like a good look on what I should be ready for next time number 23 wouldn't let us interview him on camera until he passed the land nav test how did your land that test go today I did good I'm not gonna lie though I got beat up I mean I'm definitely I'm definitely feeling the effects of the terrain here it's not easy definitely not I got um paired with a 20 year old younger version of myself um we're both strong Rangers and we could have made it a lot easier on ourselves but we just you know hard charge forged right through the terrain it doesn't matter keep going partner number 59 part of the 82nd Airborne from North Carolina after jungle school he's heading to Thailand for joint training with the Royal Thai Army that is if he makes it out of the J oh yeah by the way uh I had to go cold turkey off of dip in this course so you know it's much harder for me than everybody else are you really missing it the first two days I was definitely like I could really use dip right now but now I don't even give a [ __ ] the students practice making Rugrats wrapping their rocks with ponchos to create buoyancy number 23 got paired with an old friend we know each other for a very very long time oh really yeah instructors together had no idea we were both in the sports together I'm from Fort Bragg and he's stationary just totally ruined him wow we were on the same Ranger instructor WAP team funny how it all comes together all comes together I like the thought process right but your guys are too far from The Dumpling no we like pain you said right shoulders hold on hold on how well did you waterproof I'm waterproof come on ready three two one go [Music] stop so what are you putting on there which is foot powder I couldn't find myself just to keep it dry yeah once again you don't use it you don't use it you lose it it's my [ __ ] look okay looks great okay I can't tell so here so I gave a black eye all right my mirror is shot by the by the water the jungle took it in the J Sunshine is a rare commodity oh Bobby did you guys think I'm standing over here because I [Music] was just trying to get a little vitamin D um been lacking that a little bit lately 50 of everything in the jungle is trying to kill you but it also has lots of things that can keep you alive there we go lay down good [ __ ] boys suck it nature and then we all get to go spend the night in the jungle together students spend the morning inside survival village where they learn about making fire purifying water we're having here is just some bamboo lash together building shelter all right we have three bananas and about the types of food that can sustain them in the J God damn dude you're supposed to share sure man you piece of [ __ ] let me get some of that it's really good oh my God yeah oh I dropped it twice but in the J not all food grows on trees wild chickens are abundant on East Range so students are trained to kill or dispatch them and prepare them for consumption this is another event you have to participate in you refuse to train you get dropped all right Roger that [Music] thank you so much oh yeah here hot sauce or salt Bon Appetit fletchmeister yes me too King bread quite good oh yeah can you describe the flavor very um Bland um but yet rewarding where'd you score the Tabasco sauce was that in an MRE that was one of the MREs yeah how is it it's not bad it needs a little bit of seasoning but right now I could eat anything I'm glad that the chickens died for our cause [Music] the students that remain it's been seven straight days in the J seven days away from their day jobs and for many of them they're families I'm married I have two kids my wife is pretty uh used to me having to go away um but when it's like a training thing that I'm volunteering to do she probably gets a little upset but she also knows it's very important so for my wife it's a huge impact She's Gotta you know take care of the kids all by herself during the week it's not so bad you know just a normal routine of getting them ready bring them to school and daycare and the normal stuff at night but the weekends get real difficult with no one there to help her sometimes I come home which is completely burnt out you know and my wife is also burned out at the same time so you know she's expecting all the help in the world and I'm not physically ready to give all the help in the world so for now they'll have to get by with their jungle family spending the night in the J where they'll have to apply everything they've learned in survival village skank this would be great fishing bait yeah it would be how'd you guys uh sleep we're just building a big jungle family out here yeah I mean I am what did you guys get to eat uh we picked about those were definitely 12 oranges of a wild orange tree out there ate those took the peels put them in the canteen cups made a little tea out of them at 7 30. of all your uh gear and be up on the road to that radio back now we got to get to extraction now the last step of their survival practical exercise is building a signal fire with a smoke plume high enough to get the attention of a rescue aircraft the fire's primary engineer number 59 he's back in the J after going to the emergency room for a laceration on his leg that had to be stitched up breaking news from the mainland President Biden ordered fighter jets to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that had floated all the way from Alaska to South Carolina with no internet access or cable TV the jungle students were hearing about it for the first time well I just heard about it dude from him through you and just kind of we were in my mind in like 1942 you haven't seen a picture of it obviously right no no no we live in the gym we don't have that much news out here out here it's like a it was just like a big circular spherical like white it's like a weather balloon with like a little electronic apparatus I got payload on the bottom below it yeah and there's video of it getting shot down like that people just took from Myrtle Beach with their iPhone what was it shot down with F-22 I forget which type of missile but so anywhere on this Loop it can be in the middle like mine the tension building between the U.S and China in real time the stakes are also high at Camp whitening where the students will face the final critical test of jungle School rope systems you're gonna bring it back through the care be on keeping hands up for me please jungle the question over here so I go bottom to top students get one last chance to practice and ask questions about the two systems see how it starts on the left side the one row bridge if I stack up the Rope is on my left hand side and the Z pulley so I shouldn't expect anybody to fail this well jungle cause I'm a great teacher first up the Z pulley [Music] all right let's go hurry up next my Secret's waiting on you the one rope Bridge [Music] this time all right go ahead and break down your station congrats thank you thank God everything's over yeah it doesn't feel like kind of a weight's been lifted definitely thank you jungle Sergeant so uh how do you feel now that we've passed both of these I feel great honestly it's it's not it ain't no joke going from just being in the field for two days and survival night and I don't care who you are and then you got to come do something technical like this it's it's not easy it's too much bigger thing down I saw you kind of favoring it there yeah I uh I'm just gonna keep on going we all got a pain but this one's mine so Just Gonna Roll It four students were dropped for failing the final critical test bringing the total number of students to 51. if you feel like a weight has been lifted I do I definitely feel like always have been lifted but there's more to go now comes the fun part one the fun part yeah enemy forces the 496 light Infantry Regiment of the atropian army has invaded the island of Oahu their goal is to harass and Destroy friendly U.S forces in order to force a retrograde from the little Hua Plateau the class is divided into four squads and the squad leaders are briefed on what they can expect during the final challenge of jungle School the collects the colex is a three-day culminating exercise they get to utilize everything that they have been taught from day one the enemy is also known to utilize ATV Polaris four-wheelers Humvees they have a mission set that they will progress through each day until they eventually end up at the beginning of the Green Mile on the end of day three Toms Toms Toms or you have to figure it out it's tough out there in the gym but I know FM Works FM columns work out here all right [Music] so we're gonna go down repel down repel or no we're gonna down repel climb up Rappel one more time in Lincoln with uh thirds one the students swap their rubber duckies for the real thing M4 carbines that fire blank rounds remember what you're fighting for man the United States of America is the team I play for oh yeah what team do you play for kids to be so proud of me let's make sure we take it slow nobody gets hurt jungle one on three one two three [Applause] [Music] [Music] Blackhawk helicopter flies the squad to a location on East Range meant to disorient them [Music] oh [Music] jungle man's young one blah blah when a squad takes enemy contact there are two options Engage The Enemy or break contact by moving to a place where they're no longer in danger in this case first Squad chose the ladder which meant heading deeper into the J when it gets too slippery and steep their only option is to sit and slide the squad moves slowly and quietly after about an hour they haven't moved very far only a couple hundred meters yellow main Channel One radio check over contrary to what was said in the briefing radios don't always work in the J we'll try again [Music] before long the squad hits a point of no return what started out as a shallow stream turned into a waist deep mud pit was a tough tough coming to their mind reminded me of high school wrestling yeah that was a perfect little route until this so might as well just try to get up now the only way out is up we gotta take that trail the trail dies though after breaking contact again but I think we'll initiate with Alpha it's time to find and engage the enemy and I'm swinging right up come on man this is jungle one didn't even know it's my last over God everybody Gotta Die sometime red number 23 has found them foreign [Applause] [Applause] approaches the Fallen enemy his first instinct is to take the notebook sticking out of his back pocket jungle school rank doesn't matter but experience shines through get some epw search going you found this very nice I thought you found it that's their entire battle plan nice foreign day two of the collects a pattern emerges contact movement more contact and more movement can we just go this way right here the squad's next objective is to follow a waterway that leads to a tunnel which is easier said than done squad's struggling this morning it didn't mean any of the time hacks they're kind of just lousy and on Mission this morning their their discipline is very low what did you just say it really foreign after nearly an hour the squad still hasn't found the tunnel their instructor had to point it out to them the room saw the tunnel we were down on the river right after it was pointed out after it was pointed out everyone saw it we saw it before that you got to keep your eyes sharp your brains need to be turned on all the time [Music] what's up along with their m4s each Squad also carries the M249 squad automatic weapon known as the saw plus one more for backup get that weapons follow me to get that weapon the roles of opposing our enemy forces are played by instructors as well as members of the 82nd Airborne who were dropped earlier in the course I am one of the oppositions that they are killing and or capturing this was one of the students hit with a roadkill violation during the land nav test now that you're just sticking around there using you in other ways yeah yeah my discretion is still checking out the island and whatnot not a bad game what happened to the saw back there malfunctioned what this [ __ ] happens it's like 50 50 with it sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't when it does it's nice where are you from I'm originally from Russia really number 20's father was a captain in the Russian army after 9 11 he moved to the United States and joined the U.S army as a private she joined the army three years ago and is now a first lieutenant what made you want to go to Jungle School I've just always wanted to like I wanted to learn Bots and you know it's like survival skills and how to track all these things then let's go talk to me all that so I think it's pretty cool I'm enjoying my experience so far right you guys were just a mess to begin with you need to slow down you just slow way down you're going way too fast you're not doing anything tactical especially the hand arm signals you guys are just out here talking maneuvering around yelling at each other all right I know I have a lot of negative things to say right now but one thing I will say positively about you guys all right is you can freaking move you guys were moving fast a little too fast you guys are moving fast how does it impact team morale when you get like sort of a lot of negative I do not like to be told good things I am a complete opposite I like to be told of all negative things so you you liked that sort of the feedback from residents I get fired up by getting pulled them you know you're doing shitty but I will say that's not like clearly different than maybe a lot of other people how they feel see that oh Bob comes out when I touch the water why do you call them Bob you never say his real name when you're in the [ __ ] because then he'll go away Big Orange ball [Applause] oon a long way from Manhattan Harry Potter Henry Blodgett Henry logic I mean logic come join us in the Jay I'll let you hold myself what is this thing candy bar this is a first strike bar it gives you the power to fight the J um at all times this is the Southwest beef and black beans aside from their chicken dinner during survival training the only food these students have eaten in 10 days has come from MREs which stands for meals ready to eat here it is a little soft taco action this is days of the colex they'll need their strength for the final day of training one more day in the Jay after two days with first Squad we finally linked up with fourth Squad which was being led by the injured number 59. how's your leg 59 oh wait a second how's your leg doing swinging but it's fine I'm bleeding yeah had the last few days been very fun I'm weird like that but 59 revealed he's not the only injured student in his Squad he told us that number 73 sustained an ankle injury yeah a little bit but I'm fine what happened I don't really know but he's hurting me yesterday uh Knights dropped it up and just trying to not focus on it today we're going 67. how are you feeling wet cold that's right though yeah you can't even see what you're shooting at first man High Ground hey someone grabbed Bruno Mars Rock he's up here with security with me how was the rest of you guys tonight we walked a long way and then uh got rained on all night miserable all of our stuff is completely wet even before we started this today so how's morale oh it's super high yeah I think it's just everyone knows that no matter how bad this day gets it's going to end type thing I have to go right back in the field Sunday so I mean whatever but keep grinding you see much of Bob no that son of a [ __ ] he's abandoned me we used to have a great Bond him and I now he's abandoned all hope of me hey let some slack on that oh you have to be pulled him the squad has to create a z-p pulley rope system the same one from their last critical test to evacuate a simulated casualty from the bottom of a Gulch [Music] and they have to carry the casualty all the way to the next Rally Point and after just a little more contact they get a chance to refit before the final event of jungle School The Green Mile anybody care to take a guess as to why we do The Green Mile nothing new I feel like it's just the right passive thing you know that's exactly where every other foreign country out there has a Green Mile right and it is a mile as the bird flies ours is about two and a half miles as we walk it all right it's our way to give back to the jungle for hey thanks for this great experience and all the knowledge that we've passed on all right so that is our thing all right hey Bostic whenever you're ready thank you very much goddamn camera man after the obstacle course the squad moves through the J at a slightly faster Pace they have to climb a steep grade known as Cherry guava hill using nothing but Cherry guava trees to hold on to until they get to a fixed rope at the top [Music] I'll fly Squad encounters a litter loaded with gear that they have to carry the rest of the way yeah there it is they've arrived at the LZ which is right next to Camp lightning the finish line this last few moments yeah I kind of don't want it to end to be honest with you I got a lot of emails waiting on me [Music] the class began with 80. but only 51 finished look at this thing before they head home the students have to clean their gear sloppy joe extra stop it [Laughter] [Music] once the gear is clean it's time for a jungle School tradition known as the dogx students pay ten dollars to enjoy the meal prepared and served by the instructors which includes two hot dogs chips a Rice Krispies treat and a drink so like the wise [Music] the only thing left is to get their jungle tabs foreign on a windy Friday morning at Scofield barracks friends family and colleagues gather to see the newest class of jungle qualified soldiers [Music] on graduation day you see a group of proud confident soldiers who have that understanding for operating in a jungle that they're able to go back to their units and be a force multiplier out there [Music] [Applause] oh my God [Music] how do you feel number one good I guess when I did the dog X yesterday and told me number one usually is bad Omen and they usually fail so being number one in passing I think that brought some some good luck to it it feels pretty good for it to be over have some Freedom back again uh this weekend I get a four day right before we get back to work get ready to go to the Philippines foreign go home take another shower uh the wife's at work the kids are at school so I'll have the house to myself for a couple hours just kind of relax before everything gets back to normal [Music] I know yeah lots of lays it's a great Hawaii tradition everyone brings away when you graduate something or promote or something like that so my platoon came out my platoon sergeant had everyone give me away super sweet of him um gonna go home probably go to the beach later hang out with my friends check in with my platoon and stuff like that just see what I missed get out of the Wind so what does it mean now that you got that um it means that I gotta find something else to go do how do you feel about your dad I don't know what do you think yeah I think he's pretty cool so what's next for you for the rest of the day um well honestly I have a meeting at 1400 and then get ready to go back to the field with my men Monday [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 6,988,152

Keywords: Insider Business, Army Soldiers, War, China, Boot Camp, Asia-Pacific Region, US Army, Jungle Survival, Oahu

Id: OwBYPgBK_OA

Length: 71min 25sec (4285 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 01 2023