Crazy Military Exercises From Around The World

Tameshiwari

Image Source: Insider

This is something you've probably seen before, kind of anyway. Over in Asia, particularly South Korea you might find special forces doing what is known as Tameshiwari. This involves the forces breaking bricks or wooden planks with their hands; often during any form of exercise.

Anatolian Eagle

Image Source: Defence Turkey Magazine

The Anatolian Eagle exercise is an exercise for the Turkish Air Force that also involves the air arms of the US and NATO forces. They essentially simulate a war time environment. One side protects a 'white headquarters building whilst the other attacks strategic targets.

Iran's Martial Arts

Image Source: Insider

The Basij Militia are regularly seen during political rallies around the country of Iran. Although this is a completely voluntary force, they are trained to kill in order to serve Iran's brutal Islamic regime. They are trained in martial-arts; this is sometimes seen within the military exercises.

Psych Training

Image Source: Insider

Not all military exercises are used in order to show the strength of an army, in this scenario in China, the exercise is solely meant to alleviate the anxiety of each of the individual soldiers as part of the group. I'm not entirely sure how this would work, but who am I to say anything.

Gorkha Rifles

Image Source: Times of India

Just like I said, not all military exercises show strength, in the case of the Gorkha Rifles Regiment, they actually take part in extensive yoga sessions, sometimes reaching hours at a time. This works on their mental strength and they even have yoga classes at the Regimental Center.

Snow Covered Soldiers

Image Source: The Mirror

I suppose if you're going in to warfare training, you have to be prepared for anything including any adverse weather conditions you might find yourself in if things go awry. You'll find a whole number of soldiers from all countries trying this out, the image above shows the US Marines in an exercise regarding North Korea.

Road To Heaven

Image Source: Reddit

The Road to Heaven test comes at the end of a gruelling and horrific intensive training programme that the Taiwanese Marines have to go through. The final test is by far the worst they have to go through, and revolves around them crawling on jagged rocks for over 50 meters.

Fire Jumping?

Image Source: Financial Times

This one is definitely just them showing off right? Surely no one actually, within the army, will use an exercise like jumping through rings of fire useful when on the battlefield or elsewhere. It looks more like something you might see in a tacky 80's or 90's action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Red Beret Testing

Image Source: The Telegraph

Belarusian servicemen in the Interior Ministry all want to make it in to the 'Red Beret' unit, and to do so they have to pass a number of gruelling tests to be considered. One of the military exercises that soldiers are asked to complete is chemical warfare testing; they have to spend hours around dangerous (but less harmful) gases in gas masks.

Colombian Jungle Exercises

Image Source: Reddit

Some Colombian police officers who are to be placed around the jungle, known as 'The Jungla' have to engage in some heavy military training in camouflage so they can battle the FARC. Each year over law enforcement groups from surrounding countries are invited to join them in their training.

The Military Skiers

Image Source: Reddit

Unfortunately, nowhere is safe from warfare in this world, not even on the snowiest mountains around the world. Alpine warfare is something that a number of militaries have to train for, they have to be able to ski whilst carrying their weapons and potentially even fighting.

Drinking Blood

Image Source: Reddit

The Cobra Gold joint military exercise joined both the US Marines and the Thai Navy (alongside other nations); the Thai group are trained for jungle warfare and assisted the Marines. During this they taught marines to drink cobra blood which can help save them during times of starvation and deficiency.

Aboriginal Skills

Image Source: Reddit

The Australian NORFORCE unit survey the northwest coast of the country (which is over 700,000 sqm!). Some aboriginal reservists are part of the group and make up a large proportion of the force, they are taught how to spear fish, ration supplements and understand what is and isn't edible around them.

Banana Balancing

Image Source: Reddit

Some of these military exercises are just downright bizarre, and in the Philippines it's no different. Some female marines are made to balance banana's atop their head in order to train their balance and posture. They have began being trained in the same level of training as their male counterparts.

Cross Marching

Image Source: Insider

Another way some soldiers are taught to improve their posture is by having metal crosses attached to their backs. This is something that the Chinese Liberation Army do to target their new recruits posture. It's obviously not made to be easy on the body and it certainly looks that way.

Tightropes

Image Source: Department of Defense

Tight rope walking has long been used as a tactic to improve the balance of people, and soldiers are no different. In fact, special forces members of certain armies and military divisions are further tested by having to walk over smoke bombs and fires to further increase the pressure on them as they complete the task.

Horse Training

Image Source: Military.com

Some military divisions are forced to work with animals, such as the Dutch Royal Guard who regularly work alongside or with Horses. During their training, some exercises are forced upon them in order to work on their relationships with the horses and keeping them restrained around loud noises, smoke or fires.

Parachute Deployments

Image Source: Insider

We're all aware that every now and then warfare relies on aerial assists, and in order for them to be efficient some soldiers are required to be trained in deployment. In fact, as you can see above one US soldier jumped from a plane alongside his service dog during an exercise.

Underwater Breathing

Image Source: Insider

Okay, no, there isn't a way for people to develop underwater breathing capabilities (although that would be kinda cool!); however German special forces are required to be able to assemble a gun beneath the surface of the water without any breathing assistance to help them.

VR Gunfire

Image Source: Insider

Sometimes it can actually benefit the soldiers involved in a military exercise to not be at risk of any danger during their training. In the case of the Lebanese army they actually enjoyed some training via the US embassy using VR, where they practiced using firearms without wasting any ammunition.

Memory Challenge

Image Source: Reddit

The UK SAS are a notoriously covert team, and there is actually very little regarding their work available to the public. However, in the UK a television show titled 'Who Dares Wins' is hosted by a former SAS member; he puts 11 words into contestants heads and you recite them as you work out. 5 words are added every 5 sets and you have to remember them all.

Hot Potato

Image Source: Reddit

You'd think there's no way this is actually a real exercise, but there is video proof that this has happened IRL. The People's Liberation Army of China have been seen engaging in a game of hot potato with a live grenade in order to test and instill a soldiers precision, discipline and pressure handling.

Submerging Heads

Image Source: scoopwhoop

One compulsory exercise that the US Navy are forced to take part in is known as freezing in the surf. Each regiment are made to lie down with their heads submerged in ice cold water whilst arm in arm. They then go on a run before repeating the submerging. They also have to shout at all times, waves or no waves.

Pain Management

Image Source: Reddit

The Russian Spetsnaz are a notoriously crazy group of soldiers who tend to give nothing up before getting to the bottom of all their tasks. They have been seen to go through all means of pain management like smashing slabs on their stomachs with sledgehammers and being punched by their officers.

Getting Shot

I

mage Source: kickassfacts

You've probably guessed it already, but we're back with the Russian Spetsnaz again; and this time they're shooting each other in the chest with assault rifles. Okay, they're given bulletrpoof vests but they're shot just a short length away and are expected to fire back, apparently it shows their passion for the country.

Tear Gas Exposure

Image Source: Reddit

This is another exercise that seems a little overboard, but recruits are sent in to chambers in full chemical warfare gear and are made to remove this whilst tear gas is poured in to the chamber. Whilst they're being suffocated they are made to shout their names and numbers.

Marathon Running

Image Source: Verywell Fit

Military exercises aren't made to be easy, and the thought of running a marathon is probably enough to tire out anyone. Especially when you understand that these soldiers are made to run marathons in full uniform, with armor, with a bag full of supplies and also with their weapons on their backs.

Coldwater Training

Image Source: Military.com

The Navy Seals perform secret tasks and dangerous work that some of us wouldn't be able to comprehend; they are put through cold water conditioning including having their legs and arms tied to simulate drowning! They have to remain afloat for 5 minutes under these circumstances whilst also moving from end to end of the pool.

Sludge Run

Image Source: Daily Mail

The British Marines are forced through a gruelling 32 week mud run; during the exercises they are forced to perform tasks in mud so thick they can hardly move. They do all of this in order to gain access to the British Marines green beret; all those immovable push-ups have to be worth something.

Biting Live Chickens

Image Source: Reddit

At the same multinational military exercise where the cobra blood drinking is taught to the US soldiers, they also engage in chicken based activities at Cobra Gold. One of which, is making use of any food nearby, one item being live chickens, which the thai soldiers have been known to bite the head off whilst alive.