An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | process that the unit go through. We were also sacrificing a lot in our personal lives especially for the type of work we do in civilian world, so it had to be right from the off." Ray Goggins, 26-years' service, 4 Inf Bn, with 17-years in ARW. He is currently working in the private security sector with a lot of international work. "Like the others I didn't watch the other similar shows, so that we kept it to our own style and true to the old selec- tion process." Alan O'Brien, 21-years' service, 4 Inf Bn, with 11-years in ARW. He is currently working as a Programme Coordinator in the School of Medicine at University College Cork."The show must as far as possible be an accurate reflection of what is required to become a member of the ARW." Looking at early candidates and if they could see anyone passing selection, Robert said, "#21 Dimitry Vinokurov was very quiet, but completed every task without coming to our attention. #3 Michael Keogh was a very strong candidate but could overbear some of the others who were in appointment." Ger added, "I thought #16 Ray Kenny had a really good chance of finishing it out. He came across really strong. #12 Michael O'Shea was doing really well - switched on and well rounded. However, he dislocated his knee during the Unarmed Combat phase." Ray continued, "For me #3 Michael Keogh performed very well on the 'Scratch' task, he was keeping them going at times, when they needed it – and then he was taken out on the river crossing." Alan said, "It's not unusual for a candidate who is near the back in some of the tests to be still standing at the end, as was the case with #14 Grace" We then looked at the different tasks, Robert said, "The bridge jump and the foreman/aftman 20k weighed forced march were my favourites; the bridge jump tests a number of fears, like heights, water and of course there's the cold factor. The foreman/aftman is all down to the individual commitment to finish. You have the weight, the uncertainty of not knowing where the finish line is and then there's the good old Irish weather, which was blowing a gail on the day - I came very close to calling this event off." Ger added, "I like the pipe crawl, you know straight away whether a person will do the challenge or not. It really takes you out of your comfort zone. Claustrophobia it one of many things we look for dur- ing selection and the pipe will show that." Ray agreed, "The foreman/aftman was my preferred task, as men- tioned, they don't know how well they are doing on times, distance – you just have to keep going and pushing on. Also, the unarmed combat really shocked the candidates, we intended to put them in an uncomfortable position which reflects combat. Ger continued, "The unarmed combat was difficult because some never had to physically confront someone - now we were asking them to fight each other when they had just made friends." Alan added, "The casualty evacuation task in Fort Davis was a SOF hostage rescue mission, and is designed to test their physical and mental strength, leadership, teamwork, situational awareness, decision-making…" Looking at the eventual winners, Robert said, "I thought #14 Grace would get through, she never complained, always tried to help others while being a real team player. She continued to put her head down and just keep going and that is one of the keys to passing. #4 Des was a very level-headed and clear-thinking candidate, he was constant all the way through, but near the end caught our eye for a couple of reasons." Ger added, "#14 Grace is what we would call the grey man or women. She never really stood out till the later stages. She helped others out a lot, good team player, never complained and she had a really good attitude toward the whole process. #4 Des seemed to be very strong in all the challenges and throughout, he's fairly switched on. Yes, near the later stages he came to our attention but he pulled through to finish." Ray made the point, "Any one of the last five candidates could have passed, some were taken out on the interrogation task – which surprised us." Alan agreed, "#14 Grace was the typical course 'grey person', once she passed foreman/aftman she had a good chance of succeeding, as her mental strength was obviously her strongest asset. #4 Des was a strong candidate right from the start, both physically and men- tally. He had a very difficult day in Fort Davis, but recovered well to produce a strong finish." Finally, is there a season 2? Robert said, "We are talking it through at the moment. If people think there's a 'Cut' and everyone just starts acting at any phase of the show's production, I assure you there isn't." Ger added, "The show's success was really down to Jamie and his crew - never once did we shoot anything a second time as that's not how it goes on selection. For season 2 we would be looking at keep- ing the same tasks but with different dynamics…" Alan made a good point, "The show gave a small glimpse of what Candidates get acclimatised in Kilbride Camp. #14 Grace O'Rourke gets to grips with 'Scratch'. Ger Reidy putting it to #4 Des Seepersad. " A candidate is brought in for a 'chat'. #4 Des on the bridge with Ger Reidy. They told us this isn't Ireland's Fittest Family " " Snow hits Kilbride Camp hard. A mé féiner is it, well it f*cking looks that way to me! "

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