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Green Berets team up with celebrity participants for tactical challenge

By Steve Morningstar, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Public Affairs OfficeDecember 15, 2023

Celebrity competitor Laura Zerra, survivalist and backcountry specialist, participates in the Special Forces Tactical Challenge on Fort Liberty, N.C., Dec. 13-14. Zerra was paired with a Green Beret through a series of events.
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Celebrity competitor Laura Zerra, survivalist and backcountry specialist, participates in the Special Forces Tactical Challenge on Fort Liberty, N.C., Dec. 13-14. Zerra was paired with a Green Beret through a series of events. (Photo Credit: K. Kassens, SWCS Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL
Former NFL football player, Ryan Miller, runs to a shooting position during the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Range 37, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities...
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Former NFL football player, Ryan Miller, runs to a shooting position during the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Range 37, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities teamed up with Green Berets to take part in the annual shooting event. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)
(Photo Credit: K. Kassens)
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Former NFL football player Ryan Miller, shakes hands with his Special Forces teammate. after engaging targets during the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Miller...
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Former NFL football player Ryan Miller, shakes hands with his Special Forces teammate. after engaging targets during the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Miller Range 37, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities teamed up with Green Berets to take part in the annual shooting event. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)
(Photo Credit: K. Kassens)
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A competitor in the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge fires a pistol at a targets at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Range 37, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities teamed up with Green Berets to...
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A competitor in the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge fires a pistol at a targets at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Range 37, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities teamed up with Green Berets to take part in the annual shooting event. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)
(Photo Credit: K. Kassens)
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Super Bowl Champion Setema Gali, fires a pistol at various targets while competing in the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Miller Training Complex, December 14,...
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Super Bowl Champion Setema Gali, fires a pistol at various targets while competing in the 2023 Green Beret Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Miller Training Complex, December 14, 2023. Fourteen celebrities teamed up with Green Berets to take part in the annual shooting event. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)
(Photo Credit: K. Kassens)
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FORT LIBERTY, N.C. - The Special Forces Tactical Challenge kicked off at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, Dec. 13-14. In its fourth year, the event partners Special Forces soldiers, or Green Berets, with celebrity participants for a competition. The competition informs and educates the public on Army Special Forces, the type of people who make up the force, and its unique mission through showcasing a competitive event.

This event allows world-class instructors to partner and train with celebrities to compete in this tactical challenge.

Special Forces soldiers are specially organized, trained, and equipped military forces. They conduct special operations to achieve military, political, economic, or informational objectives by generally unconventional means in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive areas. Special Forces operations differ from conventional force operations by their degree of acceptable physical and political risk, their modes of employment, and their operational techniques. Special Forces are expert advisors and trainers commonly employed to build capacity with partners and indigenous forces.

Lt. Col. Scott T. Elliott, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, explains the different events.

“The Special Forces Tactical Challenge is one of three competitions we host each year, though it is the only one that includes civilian competitors,” he said.

Elliott added the importance of the friendly competition involving Special Forces soldiers.

“Our Green Berets are elite, mature, and highly trained operators,” he said. “They are the best at what they do. Pairing them up with a civilian partner allows them to interact with our people and share their experience with the public through their followers.”

This competition allows for celebrities or influencers to reach their audiences to spark interest about Army Special Forces. Celebrity participants describe their experiences to their followers in a way that is more dynamic and personable that resonates with their audience.

Celebrity competitor Laura Zerra, survivalist and backcountry specialist, explains why she is participating in the Tactical Challenge.

“I get to use my platform to bring attention to real heroes,” she said. “To be around these guys and to hear about what they do, see their skills and how willing they are to share it is amazing.”

She added that recognizing “their families who have given so much is huge, it’s a win – win.”

Zerra said that they are here to learn from the Special Forces teammate.

“These guys are not in the spotlight, don’t have the face and name recognition” she said. “They are the guys who should be on the pedestal, and I get to showcase them on my platforms.”

This year’s celebrities and influencers include Chuck Wicks, Ryan Bader, Dan Henderson, Jack Osbourne, AQ Shipley, Laura Zerra, Tony Sanders, Mick Maynard, Setema Gali, Khonry Gracie, Michael Ray, Ryan Miller, and Henry Cejudo among others.

The tactical challenge is a four-stage shooting event. With each celebrity teamed with a Green Beret coach, the celebrity moves through each event. The first event is a stress shoot. The teams get their heart rate up by moving through the stage. With their heart rate elevated, the celebrity begins engaging targets. This replicates a high-stress combat environment or gunfight.

The second stage is a timed event. Paper targets will pop up and down, exposing itself for mere seconds. The celebrity must engage the target prior to the target returning to its down position.

The third stage is to determine the correct paper target to engage. The celebrity will get a coin flip to determine the paper targets they will engage. The targets are in a house and the celebrity moves through the house and only engage their targets that was determined by the coin flip. This ensures the celebrity properly identifies their target before engaging.

The last stage is a mobile target engagement. The celebrity will engage six paper targets with a rifle while in a moving vehicle. They will then transition from rifle to pistol where four paper targets are engaged after exiting the vehicle.

Upon completing the Special Forces Tactical Challenge, Mick Maynard, from Ultimate Fighting Championship and a participant in the challenge, offered a few thoughts.

“I have a lot of opportunity to improve,” he said. “It’s a lot harder than it looks, and these guys (Green Beret team partners) are incredible. Going after them showed me how bad I really am, but it is a lot of fun.”

Maynard added that “it's frustrating, very challenging and a lot of fun.”

Ryan Miller and his Green Beret teammate finished first in the competition. They were followed by Ryan Bader’s team in second, and Jack Osbourne’s team finished third.

“Our people are the foundation of what the Green Berets are, where we have come from, and what we are capable of doing,” said Elliott. “We are real people, and there is the opportunity for anyone to try out to become a Green Beret.”

In the trifecta of competitions, SWCS will host the USASOC International Sniper Competition in March 2024 at Fort Liberty, N.C. It includes teams from across Special Forces Groups, the joint SOF and foreign allied military teams. Following the sniper competition, SWCS will host the USASOC Best Combat Diver Competition at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida, in June 2024.

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) at Fort Liberty, NC is one of the Army's premier education institutions, managing and resourcing professional growth for Soldiers in the Army's three distinct special operations branches: Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations. The Soldiers educated through USAJFKSWCS programs are using cultural expertise and unconventional techniques to serve their country in far-flung areas across the globe.