From getting shot in the chest to playing hot potato with a real grenade, we take a look at 5 of the craziest military training exercises. Some of these are damn right crazy indeed!
5. 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 instructors, Marines are encouraged to experience the local customs of drinking the blood of the cobra.
As well as cobra blood, marines may also be required to eat bugs from bamboo sticks, eat a cobra’s tail and even kill a chicken by biting off its head.
4. 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 just their heads.
Similarly, among many other intense training regimen, Belarus Security Forces are asked to break piles of burning concrete with their heads in order to wear the “Red Beret”.
3. “Drownproofing” Training – 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 in rope before jumping in the 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 before diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve an object with their teeth.
The madness does not end there folks. An instructor then attacks a trainee in the pool to simulate a combative drowning victim. Remind me to never sign up to the Navy Seals!
2. Getting Shot in the Chest – Russian Special Forces.
You shouldn’t look so surprised about this, after all, that’s Russia for you. One of the Russian Special Force’s training techniques includes shooting each other in the chest.
The idea behind this exercise is to prepare the troops for the moment when they might be shot. The soldier must be able to return fire quickly and accurately.
Trainees involved in this 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.
1. Playing “Hot Potato” with a Real Grenade – People’s Liberation Army of China.
Military training is a highly intense process involving 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 last one finally throws it in a hole.
Each soldier deliberately takes the explosive in one hand and twists slightly at the torso before handing it to the next soldier. The last soldier has to make sure the grenade lands on the pond side of the hole which is difficult given the circumstances. Imagine if one of the soldier’s dropped the grenade.
There would be a completely different outcome. If you thought that was bad enough another military exercise they do is jumping through rings of fire.
