He stood in formation with the rest of the men. He himself knew that they were all qualified and capable for this highly sought after job. The introductory program had already weeded out the men two faint of heart to even start to attempt the selection process. The Sargent already told them “From here on out it’s all about perseverance and will. 70 to 85 percent of you won’t make it. It’s been proven year after year. We don’t tolerate the weak or faint of heart.” He knew from that point on it was a competition. There were about 200 people in the class. Only about 15 to 20 would make it through.
Austin Wyatt was only 23, one of the youngest recruits in the class. But he had proven himself time and time again. He was one of the best combat soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. 5 tours of duty under his belt. He was at the U.S. Army Operations base at Fort Bragg, NC. Except, this was no ordinary selection. This was a selection comprised of some of the best soldiers in the military. Everyone who was present was a battle hardened veteran. You could see it in their eyes. That focus and determination. They were lean, yet they weren't massive. So what is it that made these men so effective in war? They were soon about to find out.
“Get up! Get up!” Gunfire was sporadic all around him. He got up and ran outside with the rest of the men. It was about three in the morning. Austin had no idea what was going on. The gunfire was so chaotic he just followed all the men rushing out the narrow brick hallway.
Suddenly out of nowhere a man appeared and screamed “Bear Crawl! Get down now!” He dropped to all fours. Heart pounding out of his chest. He had no idea what was going on he just did what he was told. “You think war is hell? You obviously haven't met me yet!” screamed Instructor Hoyt. Yet, they all knew, this was just the beginning.
It was 6 A.M. the next morning. Austin woke up to the sound of the horn. He had only 5 minutes to get into formation outside on the platform nicknamed “the grinder”(because most of their physical training was done there). All he could remember from last night was running, swimming, crawling, and all other forms of torment he could think of. He remembered standing on the mushy, tan sand, looking out at the pitch black ocean. Then having to sprint into it, getting numb in all parts of his body. He had never experienced that kind of pain in his life, and he had been to war. He ached all over his body. He stood there half awake, trying to stand at attention. He looked to his left and right. He was shocked to see that the class had gotten gradually smaller. Some men may have quit during the night. He thought to himself “are these really the battle hardened veterans who could go to war, but couldn't last a couple of days of hell on earth?”
The sergeant came out and stared at the men with a firm glare “as you can see, most of the quitters ring the bell at night, usually because they don't want to be embarrassed in front of the class. There’s plenty more where that came from boys.” Austin was shocked. It had only been three days. Three days and these people thought to be the most mentally and physically strong men in the military quit. Sure, I ached all over, I’m sure we all did. But, he noticed something. The other day when he came back from a night long beat down at the grinder he noticed all the men. Most seemed calm and okay. A lot of the bigger stronger guys looked fine. He noticed now that most of the guys missing were the ones he thought were sure to make it through. Of Course what could you expect he thought? They were all the tall and buff looking guys. But that’s when he thought, looks can be deceiving. It was advice that helped him all throughout the course.
It was two weeks into the course. Two weeks of just doing all types of physical torment ever thought possible. Austin was pretty sure everyone hated the grinder the most. It was just pull-ups, pushups, and flutter kicks for countless hours. The class had now been shrunk down to about 50 people. Now they had just started the end of the selection process. This mostly included missions, along with the occasional trip to the grinder. Being out in the field for days at times, with minimal food and water. Austin had lost 14 pounds in two and weeks, mostly because of all the exercise but also the lack of food and water. On these missions, there would be one team leader. He would co-ordinate the missions planning and sequence. Usually in small teams, or in one big 50 man assault, because that’s how they would do it in real life. This time it was Austin's turn as squad leader. He was to lead a 7 man team into a suburban house to take down a man suspected of leaking intelligence. He made a tight knit huddle with his team.
“Alright I know this is my first time as class leader but I know that we can do this. I've organized a plan.”
He showed them the plan he made on the wet soil .It was a perfect for a direct action mission. The weather was dreadful. They were in a green, algae covered swamp. Austin looked around. All he could see was green colored everything. From the trees, to the ten foot grass, even the lake was pigmented with a green tinge. It reminded Austin his childhood, when him and his dad would go out gator hunting. Within a half an hour the team was ready to deploy. But, what they didn't know that the instructors had a little surprise for them.
They started out on foot, walking for two miles until they came across a lake. Austin didn’t see a lake on the map the instructors gave them. “Aww s***,” said one of the team members “What the hell do we do now?”
Austin thought for a moment “We wait for nightfall, and then we cross and continue pursuing the target building.” They all looked at him funny.
“Are you kidding me? This river’s two hundred yards wide! We all have full gear on! Are you trying to get us killed?” Said one of the men.
He knew he was right. There was no way they were getting across in this gear. He started exploring his ruck sack. They all had one. Suddenly, he smirked at them. “Well fill up these water pouches with air. Then take them off and use them as floaties to get across.”
One of the men looked at him funny “That’s one hella idea,” he said. It was a veteran. One of the big bulky guys. Now they just had to wait for nightfall.

“Ok let’s go,” said Austin. All the men got up and prepped their gear with a series of clicks, it kind of reminded Austin of a Hollywood movie. They all blew into their water pouches. “Yall sure this is gonna work?” said Tex. The guys named him Tex because he was from Texas, as proven by his accent.
“Pretty sure,” said Austin with a nervous, yet firm look on his face. They slowly crept into the water, their rucks in front of them. Austin closed his eyes, praying he wasn’t about to drown or worse, loose his ruck sack. He had heard stories about what the instructors did to people who lost their equipment. He heard it usually consisted of nights on the grinder and scrubbing the floors with a tooth brush. Suddenly he felt like feet lift off the sand very lightly. He smirked and wanted to brag about his wonderful idea, but he knew from here on out they had to be silent, stealthy, and swift. They got out of the lake and looked at a small suburb. Austin looked at his map. “Which building?” said Tex
“This one,” said Austin and they all moved in that direction slowly, yet swiftly. They all stacked up on side of the door. Austin felt the shoulder squeeze that meant they were ready. They all rushed in, with a loud bang to open the door.
“Get down! Get down!” Screamed everyone. The man helplessly got down, as if he had a choice. They quickly zip tied him up and brought him outside. Austin used the radio that the instructors had given him. “Papa base, this is Wilco. We have the target over.” He waited for a response.
“Roger Wilco, a helo will be there to pick you up ETA 10 mikes. Nice job Wilco” The men and him were excited but still on edge. By this point in they knew that the instructors were unpredictable. The helo got there, and all the men got in, smiling yet humbled. You could tell by their posture, it was an “it was nothing,” kind of look, yet they all knew, they had just entered a very selective, very elite group.
When Austin got back to camp he was called out with the men, only half of them there. He wondered what was going on. The instructor came out and looked at them oddly. “The reason only half of you are here is because we have been assessing you, and just because you made it through the process, doesn’t mean you’re in the brotherhood.” Austin felt chills running down his back, he wondered if this was the group who didn’t make it. He thought about all the hell he had been through, and now he could be told he had to go home. The instructor continued “well, glad to tell you all that, you made it congratulations.” They all stood up with that same humble look they had when they completed the last mission, but this time with a much larger smile. The instructor came to them and placed a golden griffin, with two swords crossing in the background. “Welcome to a very small, very elite group.”
Austin smirked “Thank you sir.” Austin sat down and thought about how far he had come. Two and a half weeks full of hours of physical torment and going on missions with minimal food and water. He thought about how many people had quit and wondered, what do I have that these people don’t? He sat there for a second, and then it came to him. His will. His will to survive.