20demayo Page 17
Page 17
"You're participating too?"
Fang Zhenhua smiled.
"Commander, if I don't participate, then I won't be convincing to the soldiers."
The commander looked at Fang Zhenhua, his expression slowly turning serious.
"From now on, the military region will fully cooperate with whatever you need, and it will not interfere with how you train. I will give you two years. After two years, your unit will be ready to go to the battlefield."
Training a special forces unit in two years is incredibly difficult!
But soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, and he gave it his all for two years.
"Please rest assured, sir, I will definitely do my best to complete the mission."
"Now tell me, besides what's needed in the testing plan, what else do we need?"
"We need the latest weapons and equipment for the entire army, and at the same time, we need to equip special forces with top-notch language instructors, battlefield first aid instructors, driving instructors, artillery instructors, etc. Every soldier in the special forces must be a well-rounded military talent."
Chapter 23 Test Begins
After completing all the preparations, Fang Zhenhua and He Zhijun, along with 120 other soldiers, officially participated in the "Gate of Purgatory" test program.
Before starting the test, He Zhijun asked Fang Zhenhua a question.
What do you think the pass rate will be for this test?
"I'd be grateful if it were 30%."
"Should we include the two of us?"
"Less than 40 people?"
Fang Zhenhua nodded. To be honest, a 30% pass rate was his best estimate.
If we were to be even stricter, it might even be 20%, because he knows very well the character of the soldiers of this era, and they find the moral dilemma test very difficult.
But no matter how difficult it is, it has to get through. Special forces are not a game; they don't need saints, but absolutely rational warriors.
On the training ground, Fang Zhenhua looked at the 120 soldiers and shouted loudly.
"The Purgatory Gate Training Program is a huge challenge for all of you. If you want to join the special forces, you will face extremely brutal tests."
"So I'll say it one last time, it's not too late for anyone to quit. Is there anyone who wants to quit?"
Fang Zhenhua's voice echoed throughout the training ground, which was an insult to these military elites.
The soldiers craned their necks and shouted.
"Do not quit."
"Good, good, good." Fang Zhenhua smiled and clapped his hands.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance. This was your own choice. To ensure that this test is absolutely fair and just, I will participate in the test together with Captain He."
"This is also the first selection test for our Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade. I invited Commander Fang to be the judge. He has all the judging rules in his hands, so it will be absolutely fair and impartial."
Holy crap, both captains are going to participate in the test too?
What the hell is there to say?
As the chief judge of the test, Fang Yingda had already arranged for the judges of each stage to be on the test route in advance.
Everyone was waiting for him to arrive.
After Fang Ying arrived, he spoke loudly to the 122 people.
"The Purgatory Gate Test officially begins, the first test being physical fitness."
Fang Yingda then gave a general overview of the extreme endurance, explosive combat, and death march tests, but he did not tell the warriors the specific elimination rules.
Military vehicles transported the 122 people to the testing site, where mountains are the most abundant feature of the southwest region.
Fang Yingda also arrived here, deciding to follow the entire process and monitor the implementation of the Purgatory Gate Project.
With the referee's command, 122 soldiers, carrying 40 kilograms of equipment, began a 25-kilometer armed cross-country run.
In this segment, Fang Zhenhua demonstrated remarkable endurance, pulling ahead by a wide margin.
They were the first to complete the task, taking 3 hours.
As the referee, Fang Yingda naturally sat in a military vehicle. He arrived at the finish line early and smiled when he saw Fang Zhenhua, who was the first to rush over.
"Not bad! More than a hundred elite soldiers can't compare to you."
Fang Zhenhua rested for a while; carrying 40 kilograms of weight for 25 kilometers was still quite tiring.
After he had rested, Fang Zhenhua smiled and said when he heard his teacher's voice.
"I hold the military record for the 5km cross-country run, so beating them is a piece of cake, isn't it?"
"Hahaha."
They waited for half an hour before they saw the second, third, and fourth people.
He Zhijun's physical fitness is excellent; he was the third to complete the task.
As for the other two, Fang Zhenhua smiled slightly upon seeing their rather familiar faces and then asked.
"What are your names?"
"Reporting to the captain, my name is Gao Dazhuang."
"My name is Mada."
Old Gao with dog head, Gray Wolf~
After listening to their self-introductions, Fang Zhenhua turned to Fang Yingda and said...
"This guy, Gao Dazhuang, is a new recruit."
"Can new recruits be selected for special forces?"
"He was born into a lay disciple of Shaolin Temple and has been practicing martial arts since childhood. He is quite skilled."
Fang Yingda nodded in satisfaction. Just then, the fifth person arrived.
The soldier from the Tujia ethnic group will have an even more famous code name in the future: Earth Wolf.
Four hours have passed, and ten people still haven't arrived.
Fang Yingda made the announcement directly.
"The extreme endurance test is over. Those who fail to meet the time limit will be eliminated. The armed swimming event will begin this afternoon."
In the subsequent armed swimming competition, and the mud wrestling and weighted rock climbing events held the following day, seven more people were eliminated, two of whom were injured in the weighted rock climbing event after falling.
This worried Fang Yingda somewhat, but the military region leaders had already said that no one was allowed to interfere with the work of the special forces.
After the death march ended, thirty people had been eliminated. The first training exercise alone wiped out a quarter of the military's elite.
Physical training is nothing special for these soldiers.
The subsequent mind deconstruction projects were going to be troublesome.
During the intense interrogation, most of the soldiers survived, with only five being eliminated. However, the problem lay in the moral dilemma test.
Of the remaining 85 people, 40 were eliminated, and half of them broke down completely.
The test scenario involved using four lifelike mannequins as civilians without the soldiers' knowledge, and then taking four soldiers as prisoners.
Specially trained soldiers are required to make emergency decisions, with a 3.7-second rule applied to the decision-making process. Soldiers who fail to make a choice within 3.7 seconds are directly eliminated.
This perverse testing method caused twenty soldiers to break down, ten to exceed the time limit, and the remaining ten to simply give up.
In their words, they were revolutionary soldiers, and they would rather sacrifice themselves than fire on civilians or their comrades.
Fang Zhenhua expressed his admiration for these revolutionary soldiers, but regretted that they did not belong to the special forces.
The subsequent live burial in a confined space and blind jumping from a high-altitude broken bridge further pushed the psychological pressure on the special training soldiers to the extreme.
This issue ultimately came to a head due to environmental disturbances caused by the septic tank.
The nickname "King Yama Fang" began to circulate among the soldiers, but no one dared to say it out loud.
Because Fang Zhenhua never withdrew from the beginning; he participated in the entire testing process, which alone was enough to make everyone both hate and admire him.
Watching Fang Zhenhua emerge from the cesspool and calmly eat his lunch, He Zhijun uttered a remark.
Fang Yingda also shook his head; this scene was extremely psychologically stimulating.
"What's this? Wasn't 66 days on Mount Kouling far more difficult?"
When the testing program reached its final major stage, only 30 people remained, including Fang Zhenhua and He Zhijun.
The pass rate was 25%, lower than the initial expectation of 30%.
He Zhijun felt a little panicked; he was afraid that after the final round, there wouldn't be many left.
Fortunately, He Zhijun's fears came true, but they were not too serious.
Only four people were eliminated in the final round. It seems that these warriors are truly the elite of the elite in terms of individual combat skills.
Leaving aside Fang Zhenhua and He Zhijun, the entire special forces brigade now has only 24 soldiers left, with an overall attrition rate of 80%.
He Zhijun and Fang Yingda both wore wry smiles.
Commander Fang was even more outspoken.
"Zhenhua, the Gate of Purgatory truly lives up to its name!"
He was present throughout the entire process, so he knows very well how brutal this testing program is.
However, Fang Zhenhua raised objections to the teacher's words.
"Teacher, the Gates of Purgatory is just the beginning. The core of the training program is the 28-week training plan that follows, which will be ten times more difficult than what we are doing now."
"Ten times harder? What kind of monsters are you trying to raise?"
Fang Yingda couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
But He Zhijun's interest was piqued.
However, he still managed to ask a question.
"Old Fang, you won't be eliminated again after this 28-week intensive training, will you?"
"Forget it, the special forces team doesn't have enough founding members, so we won't eliminate any this time."
He Zhijun and Fang Yingda looked at each other in bewilderment. According to this statement, could the final pass rate be 10%?
Chapter 24 Special Training
Twenty-four special forces soldiers stood in two rows on the training field.
Fang Zhenhua and He Zhijun, the two special forces commanders, were quite satisfied with the remaining elite troops.
Especially Fang Zhenhua.
For him, these soldiers' ability to complete the Purgatory Gate test program meant they had already reached the threshold of special forces.
If they can endure another 28 weeks of training, they can be considered qualified special forces soldiers.
After all, in this era, special forces are still in their initial stage, and the theory of special operations is far less mature than it will be in a decade or two.
Our country is not that far behind.
If we only catch up after the Gulf War ends, then we'll have to honestly be students, and the problem is that being a student will be very frustrating.
Fang Yingda stood aside, not disturbing the two young men. Who would have thought that the two important military commanders of my country's first army special forces were both under 30 years old?
Fang Zhenhua stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the 24 soldiers.
"Welcome everyone who has passed the Gate of Purgatory test. Today you are qualified to enter the Wolf Fang Special Forces Brigade for the next stage of training."
"Special forces are different from regular forces. Here you don't have names, only code names."
"Forget my name, remember my code name, Wolf King."
"He's codename from now on is Wolf Head."
"As for all of you, I have already given you each a code name."
"Tall and strong."