Krav Maga: Special Forces Selection Process- Part 3

Krav Maga Instructor Jeremiah Belsky concludes his journey in joining one of Israels elite commando units.

So sunrise brought some hope. I must of seen 60 candidates from other squads wash out throughout the night. A few carried away on a stretcher, some taken in an ambulance and here I was still in the fight. Everyone’s elbows and knees were bleeding from hours of crawling over rocks and sand. Blood was seeping through everyone’s uniforms and every bone and muscle in my body was aching like I’ve never known. Not the sort of aching you receive from a tough session in the gym, but more of an excruciating pain that you feel from the inside out.

It was far from over. We continued the gruelling physical testing for a few more hours but as it began to get hotter in the morning/early afternoon, they tested us on how we would work as a team.

With our bodies battered, torn and bruised, having no sleep in over 24 hours and very little food, we were tested on problem solving and group tasks. We were quickly shown how to dissemble particular weapons and then reassemble. They then observed as we tried putting them back together in pairs. Another task was guiding each other through an imaginary mine field whilst one person had their eyes closed and we couldn’t physically touch them. These tasks went on for a few hours until we were finally given some food. Decimated Army rations. A can of tuna, stale bread, olives, nuts and some warm jam. Best meal I ever had!  When you’re that hungry I don’t think you even chew. No cutlery, no napkins, just filthy bloody hands and a massive appetite.

It must have been 15.00 and we were told we could get some sleep. We had to pitch, re-pitch and pitch again our two man tents in the blistering heat, whilst being yelled at and put under a lot of pressure. Are uniforms were still drenched from all the sweat and are bodies ruined but we were told we had to sleep fully clothed. Eventually, they stopped playing with us and we were finally allowed to get our heads down. Even though we were exhausted, it was impossible. It was 40 degrees; the tent was like a sauna and our bodies in agony, becoming infected from our cuts and where our skin had eroded from the rocks. Not to mention the expectation of any second being shouted at and told to pack up and receive more physical punishment. This was the closest I came to breaking, if I kept moving I was fine, but laying down with my body literally rotting knowing there was more to come has a strong effect on your mind. After an hour at about 17.30 the whistles went and we were being yelled at……

We went back to our squads in the sand fields and proceeded for another 12 hours throughout the night, doing the exact same task as before. Crawling over rocks, sprinting, carrying the stretcher for hour after hour, digging holes, push ups, sit ups, 10k run and so on…. We were down to about 14 in my group by the following morning. My body was actually broken, no wonder people die from this. It’s very simple, if you don’t want it with all of your heart, you will give up and wash out. Those that remained from each squad were told to line up.

We were congratulated and told the selection was over. As we walked (like zombies) back to base we were greeted by other soldiers whistling and cheering us as we returned. I have to admit, it was a great feeling. We all saw the doctor, had our wounds cleaned, got patched up and were given a solid meal. We then had interviews with men a lot older than ourselves dressed in civilian clothes. Not sure if they were military intelligence or just retired soldiers from the unit but our motives were questioned and we were asked numerous questions.

It must of been about 17.00 and we went back to the barracks. An army bed with a wafer thin mattress and no pillow or sheets was like a suite in the Hilton. Just being out of the sun an epic feeling. It took me a while to sit down then eventually lay down. I was in so much pain and was stiff all over. Others had got their head down before me. I saw REM (rapid eye movement) sleep first hand. Bodies twitching, people moaning in their sleep and some shaking. We were all in a bad way.

I remember waking to the sound of footsteps outside. It was 20.00 I had this sick feeling in my stomach. All of a sudden a deafening air raid alarm penetrated through the base. It was so loud and disturbing I will never forget it. Soldiers in balaclavas came banging on the door,

“EVERYONE OUTSIDE, SELECTION ISN’T OVER”

As I rushed to put my uniform on, trying to block out the pain, half the guys in the barracks refused to go back out there. I don’t blame them but this separated those that were both mentally and physically strong enough and those that weren’t. One of my friends looked at me in despair and told me he couldn’t go back out there. I can’t remember what I said exactly, but it wasn’t pleasant. He had come to far and giving up wasn’t acceptable. He followed me out.

As we jogged back to the sand fields (about 1k), we went back into our squads and prepared for another night of physical and mental pain. We were down to 10 from the original 25 and they weren’t getting soft on us at all. In fact they were being more aggressive and the more demanding from us. They really tried to break those that were left. I found my self laughing at times. I don’t know if this was because I was delirious or slightly insane from what I was doing but it seemed to bring some morale to others. I guess it made light of a dark situation. By the morning we were down to 8.

The soldier that took the selection process for my squad eventually said enough. He told us that those that were left were the sort that would keep going till we died, nothing to do with military training, but a state of mind that your either have or do not have. Nothing to do with our physical ability but more of a mentality we possess. To be honest, he was right. We weren’t giving up and I think being worked to death wasn’t far off. Truthfully.

In my heart I knew that this truly was the end. 3 Days and night of hell. We were now allowed to get our head down for a while and come early evening those that were left, which was about 75 of the 300, were marched out to the court yard and they began to read of names. Mine was one of the first few and we were told to stand in the front. 25 out of the 2,000 in total were chosen to go to Sayerat Golani. I made it. Against the odds I got into one of the best military units in the world. The only person I was in competition with was myself and it was enough to push me through. If you want to be the best at anything in life, don’t listen to what others tell you, listen to yourself and never underestimate what your capable of. As Alan Turing, the mastermind behind the breaking of the infamous enigma code once said,

‘Sometimes it’s the people no one imagines anything of, that do the things that no one else can imagine’.