‘Jaguar’ from Guyana

Let's start at the beginning. You flew to Guyana in February...

Yeah, and I only found out about my departure a period earlier. However, I have long dreamed about the ‘Jaguar’ course conducted by legionaries from the 3rd Regiment. I'm curious in survival, and I'd like to be an teacher in the future. SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape – survival, avoidance, opposition in captivity and escape – ed.).

I didn't have much time to prepare, but it was adequate to complete the best quality equipment. I bought shoes, poncho, hammock, camping tarp, and many another things to aid me last in the jungle. The course takes place in the rainy season, the conditions are heavy, so good equipment is crucial there. erstwhile I landed at the Guiana airport in February, I was hit by heat. It was a unusual impression due to the fact that 12 hours earlier I was wearing a winter jacket. In Poland there was snow on the streets.

Where does the training take place?

Near Kourou in northern Guyana, over the Atlantic. This year's edition of "Jaguara" was attended by 37 troops from all over the world, including the French, Germany, Slovak, Spanish, Canadian, Belgian, as well as soldiers from Australia, Panama, Suriname and Brazil.

Legends revolve around the training provided by the abroad Legion. Rigor, murderous pace, preposterous requirements. any say the Legion is punished. You were the volunteer. What was the course like?

The training is divided into respective stages. The first part resembles our unitar, due to the fact that in addition to the applicable rules, we learned the basics of the jungle and learned French.

Did you have a language course?

Yes, powerfully accelerated (Laughter). The lesson is, an teacher yells at you in French, if you don't understand, you do a fewer twelve pushups. He's inactive screaming, and you inactive don't understand. So you're doing a fewer twelve push-ups again. Until you realize and remember.

What about the another stages of the course?

For me, the worst was the next stage, called hardening. We had class from 4:00 to 11:00. all day we started with a thorough inspection of the equipment and a 10-kilometre burden run. Then for many hours we were doing tasks in continuous running: we did hundreds of physical exercises and competed on the obstacle tracks organized in the jungle, we besides went over the rivers of swimming and we made line bridges. At the end of the day, about 11:00 p.m., the legionnaires pointed out where we were staying. Before that there was a minute to bathe in the river and wash sweaty uniforms. It was hot, hot, hot in Guyana. It was raining most of the time, so if we weren't wet from the rain, we were wet from the sweat. Uniform stuck to the body, like mud, plants, and insects. The bath in the river was the most pleasant moment. But I won't cover, it's been hard. I lost 10 kilos in those first 2 weeks!

Anybody out?

Not yet. We all did. Then 1 of his colleagues got bitten by a snake, and due to a severe allergic reaction, he ended up in a hospital. Another had a dengue and said goodbye to the course.

The main goal of ‘Jaguar’ is to prepare soldiers for action in the jungle. How do you remember endurance in a tropical forest?

It was great! Initially, legionnaires showed us how to decision in a dense forest, which palm trees are suitable for preparing shelter, teaching us what is fit for eating and what is poisonous. They showed how to hunt, fish, catch caymans.

They stressed that in the jungle anything could be a threat, just as everything could become food. Man too. For me, it was crucial that I could personally see the challenge of surviving in the jungle. For example, it takes an average of an hr to beat 1 mile, as the road should be paved with machetes. Everything is wet, so the challenge is to light a fire. Hunting is besides difficult. It's besides not easy to rest. You can't camp on the ground due to snakes, lizards and scorpions, so you only sleep in a hammock.

What were you doing?

First, we performed our tasks under the supervision of instructors and acted on their command. At 1 point, they drove us up the river and... disappeared. We had to handle it ourselves, although we didn't know how long this test would last. The legionaries told us to make shelters, hunts, light fires and keep the campfire.

Any luck?

It worked, although it was occupied with large effort. At first, we were having a nightmare. It rained, we couldn't hold the fire, and it was hard for us to find palm trees to make shelter from. The hunt was no better. We made a fishing rod out of liana and a part of wire a hook, but the river in our region was very poor, so it was hard to catch something. So we feed on the palm trunk of kumu-kumu. We didn't have the energy to act. After a week, the instructors returned to measure our condition and results. We passed and could proceed training during the next phase – the alleged Combat phase. And I thought that was the most valuable part of the training.

Why?

Because everything we've learned so far had to be used. We planned and carried out combat missions on our own. Everyone has besides worked as a commander. We conducted various kinds of rallies in the jungle and arranged ambushes for buildings or vehicles. We acted day and night. It wasn't easy. In Poland we are supported by drones, snipers, scouts. We were alone here. We didn't know what was coming. Sometimes on 1 mission, we had to travel respective miles. So you had to plan extra stops, get food on the route, and then act secretly so that the opponent would not detect our presence.

The ‘combat’ phase ended with certification. This second test was divided into 2 parts and entered into tactical exercises of the 3rd Regiment of the abroad Legion. The first part was held in Martinique, the second part in Guyana.

Hell training.

For many of my colleagues, yes, due to the fact that they said they wouldn't return to Guyana for anything. And I could, and not once. I fell in love with the jungle.

Was it dangerous?

You could get hurt or sick all the time. In these hard conditions, hygiene was besides needed. We bathed in rivers, brushed our teeth with charcoal. We besides had to torture ourselves to get food. I remember that it's been 4 days since we went hunting to eat cayman. But it was delicious. There were besides dangerous situations erstwhile a black scorpion marched right in front of me, or erstwhile I fished an electrical eel from the river.

And the instructors? Did they support you, or did they demotivate and encourage you to quit training?

For me, the climate, temperature and humidity were more demotivating. The instructors were strict, but they treated everyone equally harshly. During the full course, each associate was watched and judged, but only on the last day did we find out who was “the guardian angel.”

In the 3rd Regiment of the abroad Legion, I met fantastic people, besides Poles who service there. I am very grateful to them due to the fact that I felt surrounded by care from the beginning. Whenever they could, they tried to aid me, I never lacked water or food in the unit. Thanks to them in Guyana, I besides had a substitute for Easter. At the time we had 1 day's break in training, and Poles from the Legion invited me for Christmas breakfast. That was something.

How will you usage cognition gained in South America in Poland?

Special troops must be prepared to operate in all terrain and climatic conditions. I am convinced that cognition gained in Guyana will be of interest. I am now prepared to conduct operations, including peculiar operations, in the tropical environment. And although the climate in Europe is completely different, the Jaguar course has besides prepared me to operate in hard terrain in our latitudes.

“Left” is simply a soldier of the Agat Military Unit. He's serving as an officer. In the Polish Army he has been tied up for 10 years, of which he spent six in peculiar troops.