Strictly speaking, the Green Team's selection process isn't so much of an assessment as it is an advanced systematic training program for special operations personnel.
During the entire nine-month long process new recruits are overloaded with knowledge, having to learn a vast array of advanced special operations skills, including essential professional and supplementary knowledge.
Only those who keep up with the pace of learning are allowed to continue training in Green Team.
Over the 36-week program, the first 24 weeks see the bottom five performers in the rankings eliminated each week, while highlighting the top five.
The final three months, a 12-week "internship" phase, also weeds out most of the remaining recruits and aren’t good enough but slipped through the cracks..
This means that every new recruit must not only keep up with all the courses but also outperform their peers in order to remain in Green Team, complete all the training and earn their spot in DEVGRU.
While this may not sound challenging, the competition for places is downright brutal.
Green Team slots are capped at 40 per year, with over 24 eliminations by the end of the training process.
That's a dropout rate exceeding 70%, with fewer than a third of those making it to the end.
This elimination rate was unparalleled!
Although the trainees were called rookies, they were in reality veterans with at least five years of service, drawn from the eight battalions of the Navy SEALs.
The SEALs rank among the world's top ten special forces, each member an elite warrior with proven combat prowess, battle-hardened killers who've seen real action.
From this pool, fewer than 40 are cherry-picked for Green Team, where they compete against each other to be the absolute best.
The competitive pressure was so intense that it was downright cruel.
Long Zhan, Brian, and Clay all knew what Green Team entailed and had already prepared themselves both physically and mentally.
They talked as if they were going to the bar to party, but it was all just banter.That night, they had a few drinks, bonded over conversation, and tacitly returned back to the barracks before 10 p.m.
Forget about actually having any romantic encounters, even if they could, they would have to refuse.
The night passed.
Bang, bang!
As the sun peeked over the ocean horizon, two gas canisters shattered through the dorm windows, kicking off Green Team’s training.
Choked awake by the acrid fumes, recruits scrambled for their clothes and gear, unleashing a torrent of curses in the process.
"Fuck, bitch, shit..."
A stream of profanities echoed nonstop.
The seemingly sturdy iron bunk beds groaned under the frantic assaults of these burly men, struggling under their weight.
Long Zhan's sudden movement to get up hit his shoulder against the upper bunk's frame.
A resounding crack! followed, Long Zhan didn’t seem to be impacted by the hit, but the poor bed frame was irreparably bent.
He wasn't alone in his struggles, the entire dorm was filled with the sound of constant crashes and struggle.
This scene also perfectly explained why the bunk beds here were in such awful condition.
As for why the light still hadn’t been turned on, everyone here was experienced enough to figure it out after thinking it over for a second, this was most likely the instructors’ doing.
Rather than waste time trying to turn on a light that wouldn't work, it was better to hustle and get things done.
Long Zhan's minor mishap barely slowed him down, the tear gas also wasn’t a significant issue for him.
The other new recruits fared similarly, a bit disorganized but still quick.
After all, they were all handpicked special forces soldiers, they have been drilled endlessly with CS gas and flashbangs, building far superior tolerance to the average person.
Even with tears and snot running down their faces, they assembled in under three minutes.
Long Zhan roughly counted the assembled troops, there were 38 of them, meaning he had 38 competitors.
Right in front of the group, he spotted the two "bosses" who would torment them for the next nine months.
One of them was Green Team’s Master Chief Adam Seaver, an E9 Petty Officer who would serve as the lead instructor for this cycle.
The other, Malcolm, held the rank of Colonel and served as the Green Team's commander and chief instructor.
This combination of one officer and one senior NCO was standard in the US military.
This approach bears some resemblance to the Chinese company commander and instructor system, where military and political officials collaborate to manage the troops.
As Green Team's commander, Malcolm followed protocol to the letter.
His speech had a lot of movie tropes, dire warnings, grueling rules, emphasizing the agony ahead and the rewards for those who make it through.
Both the carrot and the stick were used simultaneously, giving all the new trainees a strong warning.
Long Zhan didn't know if the others were frightened, but he certainly wasn't. He even had to force back a smile from breaking out!
It wasn't that Malcolm's speech lacked punch, it was just that the actor playing Instructor Malcolm was the same actor that played the Avengers villain, Yondu.
He couldn’t take him seriously as Instructor Malcolm, his appearance as Yondu was too deeply ingrained in Long Zhan’s mind.
When Long Zhan first watched the TV series, every time Instructor Malcolm appeared, he'd be reminded out of nowhere, of Yondu, the blue skinned guardian.
Seeing the man in person only amplified the disconnect, leaving him with no way of connecting the quirky blue “Smurf” with the stern figure in front of him.Luckily for him, big bosses favored grand entrances and quick exits in order to maintain their mystique and authority.
Chief Instructor Malcolm wrapped up his pompous display and quickly left to catch up on some sleep, leaving the rest to special instructor and Master Chief Adam Seaver."Get ready for your morning run, five miles around the beach, move out."
Master Chief Adam, evidently a man of few words but fierce determination, gave the order with a deadpan expression, and the entire 38-strong Green Team cohort was ruthlessly herded out of the camp.
He himself rode behind them on a beach buggy, admiring the sunrise.
Beach running is a fundamental part of Green Team's training, and one of the most physically demanding forms of running.
Each time you lift your legs on the soft, wet sand, it becomes more strenuous. Furthermore, the waves occasionally come over the newcomers' shoes, pouring seawater mixed with sand into their shoes, further increasing the effort required for each leg lift.
Running five miles on sand burned more energy than 20 kilometers on the pavement.
Green Team’s amped-up physical conditioning program for new recruits entailed far more than just beach runs, they were just one part of the program.
This special regiment also had its own name.
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