At 13:25, they stood lined up, shivering and covered in goosebumps from the cold sea water. Their skin was ashy from the salt and sand. The drill instructor, Bear, assured them that they were always going to simulate the worst possible conditions. They would always be sore, in pain, wet, cold, and sandy.
"Dig into the sand and splash yourselves with it," Bee ordered. The recruits complied, feeling the sand cover their already frigid bodies, their hair, ears, nose, and mouth. With the water and sand drying up, it became even more uncomfortable to turn their heads as their skin felt like it was grinding up on the sand. Next, they were instructed to do sit-ups with their legs rested upon a boat. Exhaustion began to set in as they split into teams of six and carried the big inflatable raft on their shoulders, repeating the exercise several times.
Bear got in the face of recruit number 16, who was shivering and barely able to perform push-ups. "Is it hard? Do you feel like quittin'?" he asked. Number 16, though struggling, shook his head firmly.
"Now, duck walk while holding your paddles high," Bear commanded, looking away. They moved back and forth from the shore to the beach. Afterward, they crawled, their arms resting on the paddles. The female recruits, especially those who didn't balance their gender allocation and only picked women, despite being of varying heights on the same raft, were having a tough time. The repeated exercises pushed them to their limits, forcing some to quit.
As the evening wore on, the grueling exercises continued. The recruits' muscles burned, and their lungs ached with every breath. The relentless pace showed no sign of slowing down. At 22:35, under the dim light of the moon, the recruits were visibly exhausted, their bodies trembling with fatigue.
Bee's sharp eyes fell on Neville, who was struggling to keep up. He approached him, very curious. "Neville, is this your first time seeing and being in the ocean?" he taunted.
"Yes, it's my first time being in the ocean and seeing it. Instructor." Neville responded, lifting up the raft.
"I could tell. You should have conditioned yourself better for the waves. And you are very uncomfortable with sand. Haha... this is going to be hell for you," Bee laughed off.
As Bee watched the recruits struggle, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. He remembered his own days in basic training, the grueling exercises, and the ruthless and unnecessarily loud instructors. It had been a strange experience, pushing him to his limits and beyond. He had seen places he had never been to and conquered challenges he never thought he could overcome.
The exhaustion and pain, as he recalled, formed a camaraderie that he had with his fellow recruits, becoming close friends that he could trust with his life.
He remembered the first time he had seen the ocean, its vastness laid out before him. It had been both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Bee's thoughts returned to the present, and he looked at Neville with great expectation as he had been trying really hard despite his trouble with water. He knew that this experience would shape these recruits, just as it had shaped him.
Bee added, " If you let us get into your head, and you let the water and the cold get into your head, you won't be able to survive. Take it for what it is and accept it as part of you."
Bear continued, his gaze fixed on the struggling recruits. "And the smaller crew, we had a crew that was mainly comprised of women. They were shorter, and they weren't physically as strong, and they were suffering. Think about it: they made a poor grouping decision, and because of that, most gave up. Do I have empathy? I don't like the word empathy; it pisses me off."
He paused, letting his words sink in as he addressed the group directly. "Now, without your paddles, get up and race to the shore. Don't be last. I will find a way to get to each and every one of you and see if you have the fortitude, the determination, and the drive to succeed at any task given to you. Come hell or high water, don't cry; I don't want that. We constantly question you. The reason we do it is to push you to another mental extreme. We want you to question why you're here. We want you to question what you're doing. Tune out the noise from the outside—that's when you'll start hitting your stride."
Bee added, "Don't worry, number 7 and 4, I'll be here when you guys want to talk to me." He said as he noticed two recruits on the verge of quitting, but they hadn't made up their minds yet.
Overall, the recruits' exhaustion was evident. Their bodies were pushed to the brink, their minds teetering on the edge of collapse. Some fought back tears, their resolve wavering under the relentless physical activities that made their bodies ache. But there were a few who held on, driven by different circumstances to others this was the only option they had.
As the exercises continued, the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the beach. The recruits' movements slowed, their energy reserves depleted. Bear and Bee showed no mercy, pushing them further and further, testing their limits.
"Keep moving!" Bear barked. "This is where you find out what you're made of."
The recruits gritted their teeth and pushed on, their bodies screaming in protest. Every muscle ached, every breath was labored, but they refused to give up. They crawled, duck-walked, and carried the raft, their minds focused on the end goal.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Bear and Bee called a halt. The recruits collapsed onto the sand, their bodies trembling with exhaustion. Bear's gaze swept over them, a rare flash of approval in his eyes.
The recruits lay on the sand, their bodies aching but their spirits renewed. They had faced the harshest of conditions and successfully come out the other side.