There's a war afoot, with enemy treachery all about. It is the darkest of nights, and you are creeping down a steep, narrow trail in the thick forest. You clutch your rifle tight, and each ragged breath you take seems to shatter the deafening silence. Your team leader sends a halt command, and your line stops, squatting down. Suddenly, a machine gun begins to fire out of nowhere, bright strobe light and sound flooding the trail. Frantically you hit the ground, ducking under the bullets. The attack finally stops after what seems like hours, and you continue down the trail, pulling near and far security maneuvers as you traverse the roadway- a dangerous, open area.
Welcome to the Night Infiltration Course, your last major training event. Here you will do the things
you probably joined the Army to do. There are two major parts of the course- a covert troop movement through the woods (partially described above), and a company wide, full out battlefield war. The latter is an 80 or 90 yard low crawl under live M60 Machine Gun fire, around explosive mortar pits, and under constantine and barbed wire. The intensity and noise are similar to a battle experience. The mortars and flares light up the dark night sky and fill the air with thick, white smoke. The course ends with a wild, running rifle attack on a group of enemies followed by a bayonet plunging festival of animalistic madness. It's great.
Once the course is completed, you will be several days dirty from bivouac, very likely soaked from the dew on the grass, and dead tired. This is when you prove you've got what it takes. You then roadmarch back into garrison, an approximate distance of 8 miles. If you're lucky, you may stop along the way for an hours rest on a gravel road (see picture). Whatever the specifics, this march proves you're a soldier, proves you can be counted among the best.
When you get back to base after a night of exertions and everyone else is just getting up, you will likely be thinking of nothing else but a shower and your bunk. The culmination of your training is about to occur, however, despite your dirty and tired state. You are about to undergo the Rite of Passage ceremony, a formal recognition of your transition from civilian to soldier. This will probably be one of the proudest moments of your life.
