During the first week of Special Forces Selection I stood on the gravel inside Camp Mackall with over 300 other candidates. We were to begin the land navigation phase of testing and had just received our issued equipment which included two emergency flares. The cadre of the day stood on the podium in front of us. The podium had been painted black by some soldier from a previous course who had also painted a mural on the front that faced the candidates. The painted scene was a silhouette of some imagined battlefield with the arms of corpses, broken wheels, and barbed wire.
Below the scene, painted in white Gothic letters was a phrase something along the lines of " to the candidate engaged in war who rested and while resting died....")
The cadre briefed us on the task we were about to undertake and what we should do if some unfortunate event should befall us. He proceeded to hold up an emergency flare and spoke " This is an emergency flare. This is for emergencies. A broken leg is considered an emergency. Missing eyes are considered an emergency. Heat casualties are considered emergencies. Being lost is not an emergency. If you become lost, walk to find a improved surface road, upon finding such a road, stay there and we will pick you up. Once again, if you are lost, it is not an emergency."
He proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to employ an emergency flare and followed the demonstration by asking, "Are there any questions?" No one had any questions.
Before we began the navigation testing we candidates were given a time of day when the testing would end, this was called "index time". If you made your final point you were to assemble in formation for accountability (head count) before index time occurred. If you had not made your final point before index time, you were to proceed to the nearest improved surface road and wait for the trucks that would return you to the formation.
Most of us candidates had made our final point on the first night of testing and were relaxing around fires we were allowed to build. Shortly before index time we assembled in the cool darkness of a late hour in our sweat soaked BDUs on the fire road. Shoulder to shoulder we stood talking and recounting our nights trials and tribulations. Hut leaders were counting heads and reporting to the cadre who were walking about in front of the formation. In unison, the beeps and alarms of over 200 watches filled the night air. At the same moment the sky above the woods we were all facing filled with the pop and brightness of emergency flares. The fireworks display continued for the next five to ten minutes. The cadre cussed, shot azimuths to particular flare displays and walked into the woods to locate the poor candidates who failed to follow instructions.
The ranks were reduced considerably that night, for failure to follow instructions.
Below the scene, painted in white Gothic letters was a phrase something along the lines of " to the candidate engaged in war who rested and while resting died....")
The cadre briefed us on the task we were about to undertake and what we should do if some unfortunate event should befall us. He proceeded to hold up an emergency flare and spoke " This is an emergency flare. This is for emergencies. A broken leg is considered an emergency. Missing eyes are considered an emergency. Heat casualties are considered emergencies. Being lost is not an emergency. If you become lost, walk to find a improved surface road, upon finding such a road, stay there and we will pick you up. Once again, if you are lost, it is not an emergency."
He proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to employ an emergency flare and followed the demonstration by asking, "Are there any questions?" No one had any questions.
Before we began the navigation testing we candidates were given a time of day when the testing would end, this was called "index time". If you made your final point you were to assemble in formation for accountability (head count) before index time occurred. If you had not made your final point before index time, you were to proceed to the nearest improved surface road and wait for the trucks that would return you to the formation.
Most of us candidates had made our final point on the first night of testing and were relaxing around fires we were allowed to build. Shortly before index time we assembled in the cool darkness of a late hour in our sweat soaked BDUs on the fire road. Shoulder to shoulder we stood talking and recounting our nights trials and tribulations. Hut leaders were counting heads and reporting to the cadre who were walking about in front of the formation. In unison, the beeps and alarms of over 200 watches filled the night air. At the same moment the sky above the woods we were all facing filled with the pop and brightness of emergency flares. The fireworks display continued for the next five to ten minutes. The cadre cussed, shot azimuths to particular flare displays and walked into the woods to locate the poor candidates who failed to follow instructions.
The ranks were reduced considerably that night, for failure to follow instructions.
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