A group of army soldiers has completed a grueling ranger field training session in the mountains of Taichung, where they endured rugged terrain, extreme fatigue and limited sleep while carrying heavy packs and equipment, the Military News Agency said yesterday.
The group consisted of a dozen trainees when the 10-day, nine-night session began at the Army Special Forces Training Center in the rural Guguan (谷關) area in Taichung, with seven finishing the course, the report said.
The Ministry of National Defense did not disclose the date of the session for security reasons.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
Trainees conducted patrols, ambushes, raids, searches and special forces combat in rough terrain, with each carrying 40kg of equipment in a test of their tactical operations and survival skills, the report said.
At each stage, each trainee was tested as a leader, it added.
Trainees traversed Alengshan (阿冷山) to join allied forces. They had to survey the mountainous area, and use maps and a compass to find their way to their rendevous point.
Amid extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation, trainees were ordered to launch a strike against hypothetical enemy forces, pushing soldiers to their breaking point.
In the last part, they needed to return to their original concealed position via river crossings, the report said.
The seven trainees who passed jumped from a 22m-tall parachute tower to symbolize their resolution in completing the tests and received a badge of recognition.
The training session, which has been in place for more than 60 years, is modeled after the US Ranger School.
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