The above song lyric reflects the odds of a U.S. soldier becoming a member of the United States Army Special Forces, commonly referred to as Green Berets. At this time in Joe’s military career he had the qualifications required to be considered for Special Forces, which included high scores on intelligence testing, the ability to meet the Army’s highest physical fitness standards, and Jump Wings. A final step to eligibility was passing the “very strange” Special Forces Qualification Test, which was said to be reminiscent of an episode of the 1960’s television show Mission: Impossible. The test consisted of “tape-recorded instructions, exotic scenarios, photos to study, then a series of questions offering only imperfect answers”. As with every hurdle that the army had put before Joe Whelan, he cleared this one and was heading for his most demanding training experience yet, one which was designed to weed out all but the army’s most elite fighting men.

Special Forces in Vietnam extended the reach of the American military into remote areas of the battlefield, including far behind enemy lines. The self-sufficient 12-man “A-Teams” used unconventional warfare methods on missions regularly involving reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and the locating and surveillance of enemy camps. Their activities surrounding the Ho Chi Minh Trail disrupted the flow of North Vietnamese troops and supplies being moved into South Vietnam. Picture everything that you have seen in the movies Delta Force, First Blood and The Green Beret, and then some.

Green Beret training is among the top levels of the world’s most intense and difficult military training. In the 1960’s, its scope was exceptionally broad, and formation of an A-Team required skills in weaponry, demolition, communications, medical trauma and engineering. For each team member, mastery in a particular role was required, as well as cross-training in all of the others. A Special Forces candidate may have entered training thinking, “What will we blow up first”? Instead, to their disappointment, their first week of training was probably MOI, methods of instruction. In order to multiply the force of their A-Team, they would be training indigenous forces, the Montagnards, who would be under their command. Part of MOI training included cultural awareness and foreign language classes. If you did not have the ability to teach, Special Forces could not use you. In his training at Fort Bragg, Joe Whelan and his fellow candidates were pushed to their limits. It was during a field exercise that they discovered they would receive no more canned C-rations. Instead, the candidates were handed a live animal, which they needed to kill, clean and cook. Soon it became second nature to prepare a meal of chicken, rabbit or goat. The candidates slogged through miles of mud, endured extreme weather conditions and were deprived of sleep to the point of hallucinations. At times they were given false hope that the end of a training exercise was near, only to have another 15 miles tacked on. When the going got tough and the candidates were using every ounce of their remaining strength to complete their assignment, pushing one shaky leg in front of the other, the instructors were always there to taunt them. “We’ve got a hot meal, cold drink and a hot shower waiting for you. Why would you take this abuse when you can just quit”. Many soldiers took that option and only those who really wanted it were able to don their green berets at training’s end.