To celebrate the release of The Pacific on DVD and Blu-ray, we were invited to the deep woods of Surrey for a bit of Army training. And here’s what happened…
Every now and again a more unusual request drops into my Inbox. Luckily for me, this was one of those times that it was to do with DoG.
To mark the release of The Pacific on DVD and Blu-ray this week, I had been asked if I wanted to take part in a boot camp, to see for myself the type of training the actors were put through prior to filming the series. Being the man-child I quite clearly am, this was finally a chance to act out all my childhood dreams of being in the Army.I couldn't wait to get started. If only I knew what was in store...
Arriving at a woodland retreat somewhere in Surrey, I was quickly introduced to my fellow 'recruits' Jay, Jack and Nat and our instructor for the day, ex-paratrooper Wayne. Despite his jovial and easygoing demeanour, I could quite clearly imagine him snapping necks behind enemy lines and/or possibly fighting a predator Arnie-style.
It was the hard glint in his eyes as he watched us foppish journalists pretending to be soldiers that gave it away.
Wasting no time, we were quickly dressed up in authentic WWII US Marine gear, although, due to my ill thought out yellow t-shirt ("Why aren't you wearing white?" Wayne growled at me) I was also given a natty camouflage scarf to wear. As one person put it, it made me look less like a Marine and more like Howard Moon.
More was to follow, however, as we were issued period weaponry (including a grenade for yours truly, but all, sadly, decommissioned) and marched out into the woods. There we were put through our paces as we were taught ‘pepper-potting', an Army drill involving laying down covering fire while your team-mates advanced and found cover.
Having aced that, we swiftly moved on to learning how to patrol correctly, including moving silently through the undergrowth and providing an arc of fire to protect the squad. Then came our chance to put this all together as we were ordered to patrol and then advance through a section of open ground.
Wayne gathered us round and, just like in the real Army, drew us a map in the mud with a stick. By this point I was pretty certain I could be shipped off to war and be awesome. There was nothing about soldiering I didn't immediately grasp. I was invincible! But these thoughts are pretty distracting so, unfortunately, I missed the finer points of the briefing.
I was vaguely aware of the fact he was warning us about something, but I guess it didn't really matter. My soldiering abilities would see me through.
Advancing smartly along the path, we entered the wide open 'killing zone', as I liked to think of it. I was just settling into position and then boom! Holy shit. Somebody had set off an explosion next to us, we were under attack!
While our photographers bravely tried to capture the action, the shockwave from it physically knocked me back, and all our crack training fell to pieces. Jay on point stood stock still and let out an almighty "Fucking fuck!", while Jack, who previously had been looking and acting the part of someone totally at ease with the military way, dropped his gun and dived into the bushes to hide. Ex-soldier Wayne just looked on with a mixture of contempt and amusement.
The grand finale was still to come, however. We were to be tested on the assault course, a beast of a route which had bested many a person before us. It began with a slide down a muddy bank into freezing cold water ("Don't stay still for long. Keep moving, otherwise your core temperature will start to drop and you'll be fucked." Words that are never the best to hear...) and didn't improve from there.
The next 30 minutes passed in a blur of clambering up muddy banks, swinging on ropes into muddy water, climbing over walls to fall into, yep, you guessed it, mud, and crawling on our bellies through what I hope was mud.
It was physically punishing stuff, and the bruises that now adorn my body attest to the demands it was under. However, it was also extremely fun and satisfying to complete, and by the end I was enjoying it and had cracked enough that I was able to dive-bomb off a platform into a big pool of stinking muddy water.
It didn't actually matter that I had that yellow t-shirt on in the end. Everything ended up a nice brown colour, including my lovely blue socks.
It was an eye-opening experience at just what the actors had to go through day in, day out to prepare them for The Pacific (let alone what real soliders must have to go through). We were knackered after a few hours, and I ached and complained for a good few days after!
To train at a high intensity, then to go out on location and act your way through some incredibly demanding shoots belies the reputation of acting as a soft option. Those guys were quite clearly incredibly fit and capable.
Of course, as Wayne pointed out, this is still nothing compared to the real thing. Those soldiers who fought in the Pacific for real. Now they were real tough guys.
The Pacific is released on DVD and Blu-ray from HBO Home Entertainment. The assault course day was held with Action Days Out, in Dorking. Their site is here.
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