Free Sniper Elite by Rob Maylor

to complete the exercise, and were about halfway round. The first person ducked into the pipe and the second pushed him as far as he could, often submerging himself in the process. The third person at the opposite end reached down the pipe, cheek resting on the water’s surface to grab hold of the first bloke and pull him out. All three members rotated through the obstacle.
    This three-man drill was done for a very good reason: the pipe diameter was quite small and some of the larger blokes had trouble getting through in webbing. There was also a point in the pipe where we were on our own; neither of our mates were able to help, and we just had to hope we had enough momentum to cover those crucial centimetres.
    Once we reached our mate’s fingertips he could grab hold of our clothing or webbing yoke to give us a welcoming hand. It did become quite nerve-racking if the drill went a split second longer than we’d hoped. There was also the feeling of anxiety before we entered the pipe. We were already struggling to suck in as much oxygen as possible; then all of a sudden the icy cold water took away what little breath we still had.
    On completion of the course, it was an individual 4-mile effort back to Lympstone and straight down to the 25-metre range, where we were given 10 rounds. The minimum standard was six hits on a very small target that replicated being set out at a range of 200 metres within a short time. For some, completing the course wasn’t too difficult; however, reaching that minimum standard on the range was. If the course was completed well within the time but too many shots were dropped on the range, you would have to endure the whole course again until you passed.
    Introduction to the endurance course over, we got cleaned up and ready for the next lesson, which ran for several hours. But after a massive lunch in an attempt to put back some of the nutrients we had burnt up that morning, we all became very tired and started to nod off during the painfully boring signals lesson. The signals sergeant cracked the shits and then proceeded to run us all down to the bottom field where he made us crawl halfway along the regain ropes and then drop into the icy cold water of the tank beneath. We then did some shuttle sprints just to dry off a little before we went back into the classroom.
    If that gonk monster gets a firm hold of you, you will never be able to resist the temptation to close your eyes, not even for that split second when you think the instructor is not looking. I now know after instructing on courses that it is painfully obvious when someone has been struck by the gonk monster. Their facial muscles relax and droop and their eyes become very heavy. Soon after they’re away with the fairies until subconsciously they wake themselves, but only to return to that semi-conscious state soon after–or they get a very rude awakening from a third party.
    A rude awakening or some physical exercise to introduce more oxygen to the body is generally the best solution, but continuing the lesson when there are people nodding off is a waste of the instructor’s time.
    The following day we conducted a complete timed run through the endurance course. We had 72 minutes to complete the 6-mile (10-kilometre) circuit. But first we had to run 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) from Lympstone in boots, denims, combat jacket, 30 pounds (14 kilos) of webbing and a weapon to get to the start of the course. Once there we set off in syndicates of three at two-minute intervals down a winding gravel track; not a good place to roll an ankle.
    The first obstacles were the dry tunnels. They were constructed using corrugated iron and star pickets and were wide enough to crawl through on hands and knees. However, the floor had many knee-smashing rocks inside. Once out, there was a short run to Peter’s pool, and its depth depended on the time of the year–as a rule it was about waist deep. There was a rope secured at