Drinking Cobra Blood – US Marines.
US Marines are trained to survive in the tropical jungles by drinking cobra blood. Yes, you
heard me correctly, cobra blood. After being taught how to kill venomous cobras by Thai
Naval military instructors, Marines are encouraged to experience the local customs of drinking
the blood of cobras. As well as cobra blood, US marines may also be required to eat bugs from
bamboo sticks, eat cobra’s tails and may even be able to kill a chicken by biting off its head.
Breaking Slabs of Concrete with their Heads – South Korean and Chinese Soldiers.
The South Korean president stated that, “the Country needs a stronger military”. I can
now see where this training exercise may have come from! South Korean and Chinese soldiers
are required to break slabs of concrete with nothing but their heads. Similarly, among many other
intense training regimes, Belarus Security Forces are asked to break piles of burning
concrete with their heads in order to wear the “Red Beret”.
“Drownproofing” – US Navy Seals.
Pretty much all Navy Seal drills are crazy but there are some that stand tall above others.
Trainees endure what’s known as “Cold Water Conditioning”, in order to strengthen
endurance. This involves Navy Seal recruits linking arms and laying down on their backs
with their heads partially submerged in the cold ocean. However, one of their craziest
military exercises is called “Drownproofing” training. Navy Seal trainees have their arms
and legs bound with rope before jumping into a pool. Once in the water, they are instructed
to bob in the water for five minutes, then float for five minutes, before swimming for
100 meters. Next, they must bob for two more minutes before performing a series of front
and back flips and then diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve an object with nothing but their
teeth. The madness, however, doesn't stop there. The instructor then jumps into the pool and attacks a trainee
pool to simulate a combative drowning. Remind me to never sign up for the Navy Seals!
Getting Shot in the Chest – Russian Special Forces.
You shouldn’t look so surprised about this one, after all, that’s Russia for you. One of
the Russian Special Force’s training exercises, however, includes shooting each other in the chest.
The idea behind this exercise is to prepare troops for the moment when they might
be shot. The soldier must be able to return fire quickly and accurately. Trainees involved
in the training exercise must push innocent bystanders away while firing at the ground,
shooting targets just inches away from volunteers playing innocent bystanders in order to show
how stress can affect one’s concentration.
Playing “Hot Potato” with a Real Grenade – People’s Liberation Army of China.
Military training is a highly intense process that involves lots of discipline and courage. But the
soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army of China take this to a whole new level. One
of their exercises is a life-and-death game of hot potato with a real life grenade. Chinese
troops would gather in a circle and pass a live grenade from one soldier to the next
until the final one would throw it in a hole. Each soldier deliberately takes the
explosive in one hand and twists it slightly at the torso before handing it to the next.
The last soldier has to make sure the grenade lands on the pond side of the
hole which is very difficult given the circumstances. Imagine if one of the soldier’s dropped
the grenade. That would be a completely different outcome. If you thought that it was bad enough
other military exercises they do involve jumping through rings of fire.