WEERT, Netherlands -- It looked like the TV set for "Fear Factor" as Benelux Soldiers scaled a 60-foot tower, then summoned all the mental courage they could muster and rappelled into the abyss below.
Soldiers from U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen and AFNORTH Battalion, both located in the Netherlands, along with teams from USAG Benelux in Belgium, tackled this mighty feat during training exercises at the Royal Dutch Military School n Weert, Netherlands.
"Soldiers had to push fear aside and put courage in its place," explained HHD, USAG Schinnen 1st Sergeant Axel Fontenot. The 60-foot tower exercise was purely optional, but most Soldiers willingly made the climb up a small ladder to ascend a crowded platform at the top. From there, they took turns rappelling down to the cheers of onlookers.
"I'm a little hesitant about heights, but it was actually really fun to climb up that high and look down, then get back to earth safely," said Capt. Jihan Walker, chief of Client Services at the Netherlands Law Center, USAG Schinnen.
The rappelling tower was only part of an all-day obstacle course that Soldiers accomplished at the Dutch school. The course was designed to present mostly obstacles dealing with height. Soldiers climbed over, crawled under, balanced, hung, and even jumped off obstacles ranging from five to 10 feet in the air.
One popular challenge involved rappelling off a 25-foot high cliff. Soldiers first scaled a simulated rock wall, similar to the trendy climbing walls offered in many adventure parks. Upon reaching the top, they rappelled back down across the face of the rock wall.
The purpose of a military obstacle course is to familiarize Soldiers with the kind of tactical movement they will use in combat, plus provide physical training, build teamwork, and evaluate problem solving skills, explained Fontenot. The Dutch course did all that and more.
"There was a certain amount of trust we had to put in the Dutch Soldiers who were operating the tower. We had to trust their expertise and their equipment," Walker said. That's precisely what organizers were hoping for, says Capt. Shannon W. Shackelford, commander of USAG Schinnen HHD.
"Obstacle courses, like the rappelling tower, help build agility, coordination and decision making skills. The experience of rappelling at the Royal Dutch Military School puts our Soldiers in a position to focus on a mentally and physically tough task and gain confidence in their fellow NCO instructors, their equipment, and ultimately in themselves," Shackelford said.
One of the Army's goals in designating 2009 as the Year of the NCO is to enhance and accelerate the development of NCOs through education, fitness, and leadership development initiatives. Training and assignments in an international environment, like the experience of Benelux Soldiers at the Royal Dutch Military School, provide additional interaction and opportunities with Soldiers from other nations.
Benelux Soldiers gave the training high marks and asked to make it a quarterly event, according to Shackelford. "This is a training event the Soldiers really enjoyed," Shackelford said. "One big note to mention is that all Soldiers didn't accomplish each task, but all tried and that's what really counts."
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