A couple weeks ago, my mom scrolled through the channels on our living room television. All of a sudden on the screen we saw a British man yell, “muppet!” at someone dressed in military uniform for flipping into a body of water. Obviously, we kept watching. We then realized some of the faces on our screen looked familiar. We had to find out what this was all about.
After clicking the “info” button on our remote and doing a quick Google search, we discovered we were watching “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.”
The premise of the show: 16 celebrities take on Special Forces Selection training in an isolated desert in Jordan. These celebrities compete for no prize.
Special Forces are “the units of a country’s armed forces that undertake covert, counterterrorist, and other specialized operations,” according to Oxford Languages.
The celebrity recruits would soon learn that physical strength would not be enough to carry them through the 10-day course. The rigorous training encompasses physical and mental endurance and strength. From rappelling off of a 75-meter tower, to exposure to tear gas, to being left alone in the desert at night with just a fellow celebrity recruit to navigate, these competitors struggled.
They did not receive the special luxury of hot showers in a steaming bathroom and home-cooked meals. Rather, they were truly treated as recruits. When the Directing Staff (DS) requested to speak to a recruit, hoping to reveal deeper insight as to why the celebrity came, the celebrities had a black bag placed on their heads with black goggles on top. Another DS then directed them.
My mom and I ended up tuning into the show weekly, seeing what new tasks the “recruits” would complete. My sister soon joined us. Now that the finale aired, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed watching the first season of the show and hope there’s a second season. There was no relationship drama or forced inauthentic occurrences that comes with the typical reality show. It was just an intense and intriguing show, with some celebrities showing their comedic sides when they needed a relief from the training.
When the recruits would introspect on themselves and even write death letters to their families, I would often reflect too. The show makes you, the watcher, want to conquer your own fears.
When people think of soldiers, they typically picture them posed in their green camouflage uniform, standing straight up with a blank expression, and saluting their hand to their head. They know the soldiers train, but don’t always think about the indescribable hardship and danger they endure during training. While I’ve now seen some of the Special Forces Selection tasks, I still can’t imagine the physicality and mental pressure they experience.
Athletes, musicians, TV actors and personalities, and other public figures all faced the same course on “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” If you’re wondering who, if anyone, successfully completed the Special Forces Selection training, I recommend you watch the show for yourself! It may be who you least expect…
