An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 15 producer Jamie D'Alton said, "The four Directing Staff (DS) Ray Gog- gins, Alan O'Brien, Ger Reidy and Robert Stafford were absolutely incredible. Elite soldiers and seriously impressive men, who gave viewers a unique and privileged insight into what it takes to become a member of the ARW. This was a big call for them to get involved in, not only were they representing themselves and their families, they became the public face of the ARW and Ireland's Special Forces. It was a significant responsibility." Jamie then explained, "From the production side, it was a huge undertaking: nothing like this had been attempted in Ireland before. Between casting the 24 candidates, building the sets and filming… With more than 50 crew working 21-hours a day, for 9-days straight, in the worst imaginable weather, it took a huge effort from the entire team to pull it off." In getting the former ARW operatives to undertake the task Jamie explained, "From the outset they said the series had to be a robust and realistic representation of selection. At times this inten- sity probably shocked viewers, but ultimately it made for compel- ling television; a raw, honest telling of what members of Ireland's military go through to become ARW unit members. The most ambi- tious aspect of the series was the decision for production staff not to directly engage with the candidates. From the moment they stepped off that bus on Day 1 it truly felt like they were on selection. It was amazing how quickly they forgot about the cameras and became fully immersed in the experience." Reserve Defence Forces (RDF), Cpl Paul Magee AR, 7 Inf Bn was a member of the production team, "After 10-years in the reserves and working in television, I was well suited to work on this show. The extreme conditions faced by the candidates had to be endured by the crew. The schedule left some of us with as little sleep as the candidates. Operating a camera in sub-zero temperatures with driving rain and snow is always a challenge, especially as its more delicate than a rifle. The physicality required by the candidates was astronomical, it surpassed anything I have ever seen the DF and bearing in mind none of them had any military experi- ence, their performance had to be applauded." Hell Week's 24 candidates (18 men and 6 women) ar- rived in TIS Kilbride Camp in Co Wicklow by bus. Here they met the Directing Staff for the first time, who brought them into their world very quickly - by having them strip to their underwear in the freezing rain. The next few episodes showed back-to-back tasks coming at them as they are pushed to their limits - within 24hrs six candidates are eliminated. A snow blizzard hits the camp where the remaining 15 candidates start to show signs of increasing fatigue. The remaining episodes see the candi- dates attempt to overcome physically demanding tasks, and the DS do more psychological games to see who will crack, until we get down to the last five candidates to see who has what it takes to survive and pass Special Forces – Ultimate Hell Week selection. Hell Week's Directing Staff all lived the high-octane life as Special Forces Operators for many years. Their experience of passing selection and being able spot weaknesses in the candi- dates was there to see. It's not just about shouting, swearing or trying to impose your pres- ence on a candidate – it's know- ing when to do so and making sure the candidate can take the pressure and will respond to it; by either breaking and 'Dropping Out' (DO) or taking the pressure, biting down and doing better. Like most DF training courses there is always what we would call the 'grey man' or woman, the person who stays in the shadows and not coming to the eye of the DS. Then the opposite, the 'heat seeker' and Hell Week had a few of them too, some came to their attention straight after getting off the bus. So we got to ask them about their views on Hell Week. Robert Stafford, 22-years' service, 2 Inf Bn with 17-years in ARW. He is currently working in the private security sector for Detail Security Consultants with a lot of international work. "We wanted to stay as true to the Irish ARW selection process, this leaned more to the old course which we did. Selection is a phase-based process which is over 9-months which might not relate to TV as easily." Ger Reidy, 23-years' service, 2 FAR, with 20-years in the ARW. He is currently working in the private security sector for Detail Secu- rity Consultants with the majority of time working abroad. "We were determined that it had to mirror or be close to the selection If I don't see you improve immediately I'm going to f*ck you right up. " " Ray Goggins sets the tempo in the opening scene. Production crew with Cpl Paul Magee AR second from the left, and Recruit Tiernan O'Rourke AR (both 7 Inf Bn) is far right. Photo: Paul Magee

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