War is hell. Soldiers must face fear and hardship on a scale beyond reason if they want to survive. This is why Special Forces training is as gruesome as its goal is singular: to create the perfect human weapon. Most aspirants break. Only the strongest, toughest warriors emerge from the gauntlet. The training regimens below are nothing like “weekend warrior” online training courses. They will test you, and they will punish you. But they will also give you the skills you need to make it back home to enjoy your veteran benefits.
US 10th Special Group: K9 Paratroopers
This US Airborne Special Forces unit was first deployed in the 1950s, under the command of “the father of Army Special Forces”, Colonel Aaron Bank. Their unconventional warfare training is notorious, which is exactly what you’d expect from warriors so fierce that they’ll even field war dogs to hunt their enemies.
Taiwanese Amphibious Special Forces: Road to Heaven
As the final rite of passage for Taiwan’s elite “frogmen”, the “Road to Heaven” involves crawling belly-first through a 50-meter lane of sharp stones with nothing but shorts on. The fortitude this trial demands is so insane, we’re not sure if these guys are in pain or trying not to laugh from all that tickly granite under them.
US Marines: Cobra-Blood Shots
US Marines are among the most active military units, deployed in countless battlefields worldwide. When these warriors are not fighting, they’re training. In their tropical survival exercise “Cobra Gold” US Marines learn how to live off the jungle. Nothing like freshly squeezed snake blood to wash down the jungle bugs.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army: Sub-Zero Training
The People’s Liberation Army numbers upward of 2.300.000 troops. With that many soldiers, you know they’re not afraid to try any idea, no matter how crazy. Merciless drills in freezing temperatures (sometimes -20 °F ) is a surefire way for the Chinese Army to prepare for the inevitable Ice Age warfare of the future.
NATO “Operation Atlantic Resolve”: Ice Plunging
NATO is the largest military coalition in history, with countless warriors from around the world participating in joint exercises. Their training covers almost all possible scenarios, including soldiers getting plunged in pools of freezing water. This way the enemy cannot pry their gun from their cold – but not dead – hands.
German Special Police Forces: Underwater Gunsmithing
German Armed Forces are famous for their extreme level of battle readiness and their training reflects this fact. Berlin’s Spezialeinsatzkommando Unit prepares their personnel for even the unlikeliest of events, like having to assemble a gun underwater. You know; in case they need to shoot a weaponized, terrorist shark.
Chinese Special Police Forces: Suffocation Drills
China has been honing the human weapon since antiquity, so what Chinese Special Police Forces go through is hardly surprising. Their training pushes survival instincts to the limit, having recruits gasp for air during suffocation drills. A skill that will come handy when humans eventually take their fighting to space.
Kurdish YPG in Syria: Flame Callisthenics
A democratic, socialist guerilla force, the People’s Protection Units (what YPG translates to), have been fighting tooth and claw against ISIS ever since the Syrian Civil War broke out. These warriors’ training simulates fighting in a hellscape of fire and smoke, which must be really close to what Syria looks like today.
Chinese Soldiers: Pins to the Neck
Every soldier knows that body posture is very important for morale, but the Chinese Army takes this creed to the extreme. Chinese soldiers must pierce their lapels with pins, with the edges pointed at their jugulars. This guarantees that their rigid, proud demeanor stays intact during those long, arduous inspections.
South Korean Soldiers: Human Wrecking Balls
Although using soldiers’ heads as wrecking balls has little practical application, the South Korean Army’s conditioning drills certainly boosts morale. Breaking concrete slabs with their heads and bamboo sticks over their backs makes recruits tough, probably realizing that compared to this, war is not so bad after all.
Belarussian Red Berets: Chemical Smoke Baths
Belarus Red Berets members are among the toughest, most elite, and some would say craziest warriors on earth. To earn their “red berets” recruits must withstand extreme physical and psychological punishment. This includes soaking for hours in vats of toxic fumes, something that probably gives them superpowers.
South Korean Special Warfare Forces: Polar War
South Korea has no shortage of special military units, some of which train under conditions that would make a grizzly bear cringe. Fighting in unforgiving, freezing temperatures is the South Korean Special Warfare Unit’s bread and butter, further sealing the notion that we are heading towards a new Ice Age.
Belarussian Servicemen: Obstacle Course From Hell
The hardship that Belarussian Red Berets aspirants must go through is meant to mow down the weak and eliminate the unprepared. To join this elite force as full battle brothers, recruits must soldier through an excruciating obstacle course in which instructors try to topple them over using car tires. And gunfire.
Japanese Soldiers: Fighting Strapped to a Helicopter
You can trust the Japanese Army to set the bar for “not to be messed with” when it comes to military training. Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces’ members prepare for battle in extreme and unexpected environments; such as fighting while dangling from a speeding helicopter’s line, holding on for dear life.
Chinese Paramilitary Police: Crawling Through a Fire Swamp
Dubbed the “Internal Guard” of China, this quasi-military police force is responsible for civilian policing and fire rescue. Their training encompasses combative as well as emergency response situations. Apparently, rescuing people from blazes while crawling through mud in full combat gear is a common thing in China.
Chinese Police Soldiers: Brutal Hand-To-Hand Combat
In 2009, the Law on the People’s Armed Police Force expanded the unit’s authority to include riot suppression, counter-terrorism, corporate security, and even executioner duties. Heavily favoring combat training since(including hand-to-hand combat), this unit looks less like a police force and more like an army.
Belarussian Interior Ministry’s Special Unit: Flaming Concrete Head Butts
Displays of toughness and strength are an age-old tradition among warriors worldwide, with smashing masonry with various body parts being a particular favorite. For the Belarussian IM Special Unit merely headbutting concrete blocks feels pretty tame, so they do the only logical thing and set the blocks on fire.
Russian Spetsnaz: Axe-Throwing Acrobatics
The Spetsnaz name invokes a special kind or respect. The training these elite warriors undergo is inhuman, ranging from acrobatic axe-throwing to beating each other senseless or being chased by huge dogs through dark corridors filled with blood and gore. And that’s before the officers step in to make things real.
Israeli Soldiers: Marching 43 Miles Through the Desert
Surrounded by enemies and locked in perpetual war, Israel has little choice but to forge its armies with an iron fist. Israeli soldiers are trained to operate under extreme pressure, which in this case means marching for 43 miles through arid badlands under the scorching sun. Very much like Moses did back in the day.
Chinese People’s Armed Police Force : The World Is Mud
China is a vast country, spanning almost 1/3 of Asia. This means that Chinese Security Forces have to train their members to be efficient in various urban and rural environments. Judging by the prominence of mud-related drills in their training regimen, it’s safe to assume that China is mostly covered by swamps.
Dutch Royal Guard of Honor: Choke-Smoke Horse Riding
Dutch Royal Guard of Honor members are selected from all branches of the military to serve as bodyguards of royal persons, and only the best can join this elite unit. In addition to their honorary role, these soldiers train for active service, including but not limited to, mounted combat through smoke bombs and gunfire.
US Navy SEALs: “Surf Torture”
US Navy SEAL training is the stuff of nightmares. “Surf Torture” or cold water conditioning has recruits lie in cold water for hours on end, perform extreme callisthenics, and return to the water again. Wait till you hear about “Drown Proofing”. The unit trains its recruits against drowning; by almost drowning them repeatedly.
British Royal Marines: Endless Mud Runs
Culminating the British commandos’ gruesome training regimen, Mud Runs are designed to test the body, spirit, and mind of aspirants. Running, crawling, and completing other exhausting tasks is the least of what future Royal Marines will be called upon to do. Did we mention that the mud smells like the devil’s gullet?
Palestinian Militants: Martyr Brigades
The Middle East is a powder keg of unrest, and the Palestinian-Israeli confict in the Gaza Strip often provides the spark. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades train day and night in anti-Israeli tactics, which goes to show that in the absence of advanced technology, advantages can only be gained through the human weapon.
Indian Gorkhas: Combat Yoga
Yoga is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think of military training. Nevertheless, the fierce warriors of the Indian Gorkha regiments have incorporated this form of physical conditioning to their training. Considering their impressive fighting abilities, yoga just might be a formidable weapon after all.
