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 Special Forces training tough on soldiers, reporters
From Kyra Phillips
Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news around the world. FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) – We received exclusive access and special clearance to train Tuesday at Fort Bragg with the Army Special Operations Command. Getting clearance was a long, difficult process, helped along when retired U.S. Army Gen. David Grange, a CNN military analyst, put in a good word. It was a terrific day. Training started at 3 a.m. We were watching free fall exercises at 5 a.m. Every Special Forces soldier is trained in free-fall so that during a war, he can be inserted by air into enemy territory with precision. The Special Forces soldiers perfect their skills in the free fall wind tunnel, a simulator where it feels like you are jumping out of an airplane and actually free-falling. I was able to go in and experience the free fall wind tunnel. I got pretty banged up -- I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. I'm already sore, but you really get a feel for what it's like dropping out of that airplane at 130 mph. You have to know where to put your hands, your arms, your feet, your legs, because you could go into a dive and never recover. The air is very powerful; it's very loud. It's amazing that this machine can create this type of environment. It's an incredible training tool. Then we moved on and watched advanced training in the urban combat training center. It's a mock city. It feels like you're right in the middle of Baghdad. It's got a church and a soccer field and stores. And then the trainers add real-life scenarios in this mock city. Special Forces soldiers have to go in, and this is where they perfect what they do best. That includes using weapons, identifying targets, clearing buildings, getting the good guys out, figuring out who the bad guys are and trying to contain a situation without anyone getting killed. The scenario we saw went on for about an hour and a half. The goal was to rescue downed air crews with missing pilots. Special Forces had to go in and recover those pilots without anyone getting hurt or killed. I'm constantly amazed at how disciplined these soldiers are. They are put into a scenario with bad guys shooting all around, good guys waiting to be helped, buildings that might be booby-trapped and things falling from the ceiling. Bullets fly from every direction, but these soldiers remain calm, focused and aware of everything going on around them. They protect each other and make split-second decisions on who's a good guy and who's a bad guy. At the same time, they're at risk constantly. This was a very aggressive environment. You see it, you feel it, and you understand it once you watch a couple of hours of this training. But it was tough to get any of the soldiers to talk or even participate in reporting this story. I saw that these soldiers aren't in it for the face time or the glory. I couldn't get many of them to talk at all. They were very focused and didn't want attention for what they're doing. That was pretty impressive.
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