Foreign film crew aids Dutch Special Forces recruiting

By Staff Sgt. Tony Foster, Division West Public AffairsSeptember 22, 2015

Foreign film crew aids Dutch Special Forces recruiting
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – An independent Dutch production company filmed a Dutch Special Forces team on Fort Hood, Texas, Sept 14, to aid in the recruiting for the Dutch SF. The film crew spent several days capturing images of the SF team training and reenacting combat scenar... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Foreign film crew aids Dutch Special Forces recruiting
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A Dutch independent production company filmed a Dutch Special Forces team on Fort Hood, Texas, Sept 14, to aid in the recruiting for the Dutch SF. The film crew filmed the SF team from 14-18 Sept during air-to-air filming to ground training and re-en... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Fort Hood took center stage as an independent production team from the Netherlands traveled here to make a recruiting film.

"We're making a short movie for our Dutch Special Forces for their recruiting efforts," said Robbie Bax, Dutch Ministry of Defense campaign manager. "I think the film will be extremely effective."

Bax and an 11-person film crew traveled to Fort Hood to use its vast training areas and facilities.

"So far we've been able to accomplish everything we've needed to do and more," said Bax.

"We have a unit here, the 302nd Squadron, and the facilities here are awesome," Bax continued. "They arranged everything from the helicopters to the materials."

The team arrived on post Sept 14, and have made the most of their short time on location.

"We've been able to do air-to-air filming with Chinooks and Apache helicopters," said Ronald Bavelaar, the film team's head of production. "The weather has been great and everyone has been very helpful."

The film crew captured the realistic reenactments of the highly-decorated Dutch SF team. The combination of the SF team's training and the film crew's ability to re-create combat scenarios is the basis for the recruiting film.

"The purpose of the campaign is to make a video which should result in giving the right perspective," said Capt. Louis Wesselink, a Dutch army SF recruiting officer. "We want to depict a mission with flashbacks of previous training.

"So that people know, in order to become a Special Forces operator, you need to have these personal characteristics and training," he added.

For potential recruits, the film gives a small insight into Dutch special forces, he said.

"I want people to see this video and say, 'I would like to try that out,' or 'I would like to be a Special Forces operator,'" said Wesselink.

One of Wesselink's recruiting noncommissioned officers, Benny, an inactive operator himself, added his perspective to what was going on during filming.

"Everything we film today is a reenactment of events from Afghanistan," he said. "We're going to show everything a person will need to know about becoming a Special Forces operator.

"We choose elements of real executed missions from Afghanistan and re-enacted them," he added.

Both teams, after four days of filming, will travel back to the Netherlands to produce the short film.

"I'm sure this film will be beneficial," said Bavelaar. "Things like this make people more conscious and aware. Hopefully they like what they see and want to join."

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