BRIDGEWATER — It’s a simulated hostage rescue — and a chance to experience what it’s like to be a Green Beret, a soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces.
A girl, bound and gagged, is tied to a chair in the woods beside a captor cradling an imitation machine gun. Quietly, without cracking a twig, a team of 10 surrounds the pair and exchanges a volley of hand signals. With precision they split into groups. Their leader, with help from his civilian teammates, grabs the fake gun from the dozing guard and seizes the girl. The only sound is the plea of the guard not to shoot. The forest remains silent, except for rustling leaves.
None on this team are soldiers or veterans or rescue specialists. They belong to Granite Forge, a CrossFit gym in Plymouth, and they’re at a picturesque farm overlooking Newfound Lake, and their weapons are “rubber duckies” — artificial pistols and machine guns that look and feel like the real thing. It’s a dress rehearsal that none will likely experience again in their lifetimes — unless they decide to come back next year.
Thirteen teams from around New England, with roughly 130 members ranging in age from 12 to the late 70s, competed in the second annual Green Beret With A Mission Challenge on July 15. The event benefits Camp Resilience in Gilford, an organization dedicated to improving the mental health of veterans, active military and first responders through outdoor recreation and bonding with peers. It’s a heavyweight mission, accomplished though activities that veterans and civilians enjoy.
The Green Beret With A Mission course mimics a sequence of challenging situations encountered in war, including the war on terror, and in many ways resembles a scaled-down version of military training. It helps to love physical challenge, adventure or hiking, and the idea of being a Special Forces unit member for a day. It also doesn’t hurt to want to win.
“It’s a workout. It’s fun. It’s energizing. It’s good bonding,” said Mario Ray, a team member from the New Hampshire Amy National Guard, which won first place in the morning competition. “It goes to a good cause and we all like physical fitness,” said Officer Ryan Garland of the Manchester Police Department, which sent two teams last year.
“It’s just under a three-mile course. They’re carrying ‘rubber duckies’ and sandbags” — up to 40 pounds in their backpacks. “It’s amazing that people come off that course with a smile,” Matt Dubois, executive director of Camp Resilience, a retired U.S. Navy captain and pilot. It was also an opportunity to educate the general public.
“The idea was to have a challenging but fun event where people would have an opportunity to perform some of the missions Green Berets do in reality,” said Kurt Webber, a retired lieutenant colonel, board president and co-founder of Camp Resilience. “It’s for fun, camaraderie and a chance to share what we do with the public.”
“They can’t drop the gun or the backpack on the rope bridge” — or while walking the zig-zag log bridge surrounded by pseudo land mines, said Kim Baker, development coordinator for Camp Resilience and an emergency medical technician at Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield. In the end, “It’s not about winning. It’s about having fun.”
The course was part of a three-day challenge organized by Swim with a Mission, which featured Navy Seals competing in swim meets in Newfound Lake. Former Green Berets from as far away as Texas and Tennessee came to lead participants through the Green Beret With A Mission land course that involved crossing rope and log bridges, lugging water jugs, carrying ammunition boxes, performing emergency first aid, hurling fake grenades into makeshift enemy bunkers and transporting wounded soldiers on litters over bumpy, winding terrain.
A production crew from “Small Town, Big Deal,” a weekly television show across the country, came to film the event for a Veterans Day special airing in November. “I’m amazed at the degree to which someone can will themselves to complete an insurmountable task,” said the camera operator, Tony Hope. “We’re always up for raising money for veterans,” said Chelsea Boyd of Plymouth, a member of Granite Forge CrossFit.
“There’s no guarantee we’re going to succeed. It doesn’t matter,” said another team member, as they watched their teammate, Ethan Fuller of Derry, shimmy across a rope bridge strung between trees over a ditch intended to resemble as an imaginary river. “This is how the Army would approach,” said Eric Furey, a retired Green Beret “walker” accompanying the team.
“Running between stations was my favorite,” said Ian Spencer, 12, a member of Team Operation Detachment Alpha from Keene, a group of young runners, wrestlers and CrossFit enthusiasts. “I think it’s a very fun and energizing opportunity for kids.”
“I’m getting good exercise and testing my limits,” said Silas Runez, 16, from Team ODA in Keene.
“It brings back old times,” said Devin Plaskiewicz, the retired Green Beret dad. “I figured I’d give them a challenge so they can work hard and see their limits.”
Over 80 volunteers pitched in to hold the event, including members of Gilford Rotary and 25 friends or affiliates of Ladd Farm, where the event occurred. “We host a lot of veterans programs and this is an opportunity to give back,” said Brenda Ladd.
Dan Fielding, a Green Beret who used to live in Gilford, designed this experiential fundraising event with Webber. “This is my way to still serve and help my fellow vets. It’s for passion, brotherhood, veterans sharing and caring, and making a difference,” he said.
To learn more about Camp Resilience, click HERE.