The State Of The ARTT

by Michael Reagan

  Recruit Judd replies, “Yes, Commander.”

  After writing the problem on the board, Jesse goes and sits down on the panel and puts the dry erase marker on his desk.

  Commander Cole says, “You have fifteen seconds to solve the volume formula on the board starting now.” He starts his stopwatch.

  Recruit Judd picks up the marker on the board and starts writing, but the marker does not work. He says, “This marker does not work.”

  Commander Cole replies, “A factor you must deal with. Ten seconds, recruit Judd.”

  Recruit Judd quickly grabs the marker on Commander Cole’s desk and then runs back to the board and finishes the equation within one second of failing the test.

  Commander Cole says, “Very good job. You recognized there was a bad marker up there and dealt with it quickly. You didn’t panic and controlled your emotion enough to think straight, find a solution, and answer the question in time. Well done. You passed this test, barely.

  “There is a small window of invulnerability between a clear heart and the will to act. The more you experience it, the more you will learn from it and trust it. The act of risking your life to save others with a clear heart causes falling debris to barely miss you. You will be a step ahead of a falling floor. Explosions and projectiles will just miss you. You will have the strength of five men at times. In that state of being, people and objects around you work in your favor. Everything is clear, and you anticipate everything.

  “I want you to have it, but to have it, you have to let go of emotion. It’s all about what do you trust in your heart when it hits the fan. Your judgment in your mind can’t always be trusted as your true judgment. Perception of right or wrong can be changed by the different emotions. The mind is just a tool for the emotion in your heart. When you got it, you will just happen to always be looking in the right direction when trouble comes.

  “If you can’t calm your emotion when surrounded by fire, only then do you become vulnerable to it. Do you have any questions, recruit Judd?”

  Recruit Judd replies, “No, Commander Cole.”

  Commander Cole says, “Remember this.”

  10.

  The indoctrination has ended, and it’s graduation day for the first twelve-member class of ARTT. All twelve ARTT graduates are lined up to receive their gold ARTT star badge. They are in their crimson dress uniform—with white trim, high collar, and gold buttons—and red glossy shoes. They are wearing crimson leather berets with an ARTT star patch on the front of it. Commander Cole pins all twelve and congratulates them. As Commander Cole finishes, then he walks at a diagonal out in front to the center of the line on twelve and faces them.

  Commander Cole says, “I have selected the twelve out of over three hundred recruits that I believe can complete the training phase. You twelve have a week off to celebrate and recover, and then your training phase will begin.”

  All twelve graduates throw up their crimson berets and celebrate.

  A week later, the first phase of training begins with parachute training. Jesse is standing in front of a chopper. All twelve graduates are facing him with their ARTT suit on with backpack.

  Commander Cole says, “I have already gone over the basics of parachuting with you. Now it is time to do your first jump. We will do five day jumps this week and five night jumps next week. You must come close to the landing targets to pass. Some targets will be on the ground, and some will be on top of a structure. Okay, everybody load up on the chopper.”

  All ARTT members load up on two choppers and do the jumps necessary to show proficiency and qualify.

  Two weeks later, the second training phase begins. All twelve ARTT members are taking target practice with the ResQmax line gun.

  Commander Cole explains, “You must be accurate with this grappling gun. When shooting, relax all your muscles. Then take a deep breath, and as you let the breath out slowly, begin pulling the trigger. Do not jerk the trigger. You will know you are not jerking the trigger if the gun surprises you when it goes off. Okay, everyone grab a grappling gun and sight in on the target.”

  All ARTT members begin shooting at the target with the practice grappling guns.

  The next day, Commander Cole is giving an orientation of the training that is about to happen in the smoke chamber. All twelve ARTT members are there dressed in full ARTT gear.

  Commander Cole explains, “In this training phase, you will be putting a victim’s rescue harness on this dummy and then attaching the harness to your backpack. Then you will simply stand. While you are doing this, the room will be filled with smoke, and your gear will be messed with by my assistant instructor, Mike, simulating unknown variables.

  “Your oxygen hose might be detached. Your helmet might be taken off briefly and given back to you. This test is training you to harness a victim for transport, become comfortable in smoke, and control your emotion under duress. You have a pulse monitor on you that sends your pulse to the monitor I’m holding. If you don’t keep emotion out of the situation, your pulse will rise, and you will probably fail the task. If your pulse gets beyond 150 bpm, you automatically fail the task.”

  Operator Johnny is doing the task but can’t complete it because the assistant instructor is messing with his gear. Johnny’s pulse is at 142.

  Commander Cole says, “Focus inward, Johnny. No emotion.”

  Operator Johnny’s pulse stabilizes at 140. He deals with his gear that was undone and completes the task. Operator Johnny looks up at Jesse who has a concerned look. Then operator Johnny looks down.

  Assistant instructor Mike walks over to Jesse to speak privately.

  Assistant instructor Mike hail says quietly, “He passed but loses focus on his emotion more times than not.”

  Commander Cole say, “Yes, but when he controls his emotion, he scores better than most of the others. He could be a good leader if we can teach him to keep his emotion in check.”

  Assistant Mike nods yes, and Commander Cole walks over to operator Johnny.

  Commander Cole explains, “We need problem solvers, Johnny. If you can’t handle these small obstacles and emotional tests, how are you going be in control when you are put into the worst real-life scenarios of life and death on the grandest scales? Mind your emotion. Don’t let the situation you see with your eyes blur the focus of your third eye. Your third eye focuses on your emotion. It’s your compass out of danger. If this isn’t right—” He points at his heart. “—then this isn’t going to be right.” He points at his head. “I need your judgment clear and your mind unimpaired, especially when situations get out of control. That will give you better solutions, quicker reactions, and more acute motor skills. I need an elite group who can operate in fire like Navy Seals operate in water. I want to make sure you can do this. You failed to control your emotion with only two variables. I tell you a clear heart will allow your mind to handle three to four variables at one time. Focus inward, and let it handle the outward.”

  Commander Cole looks at his assistant trainer and nods yes.

  He says, “Again.”

  Operator Johnny prepares to do the test again. This time, operator Johnny focused inward and successfully completed the test.

  The next day, all twelve ARTT members are being instructed on advanced repelling. Jesse is pacing in front of them.

  Commander Cole says, “You will learn to climb rope and repel with a 150-pound dummy that is attached to your backpack to repel feet first and head first in a commando repel. You will learn to do repel catches to commando crawl across a rope. We are a high wire act.

  “Firefighters do their fire and rescue from the ground up, and we do it from the sky down. We must build up our stamina climbing ropes first. Everyone give m
e ten rope climbs. You must touch the top and control your decent down.”

  The twelve ARTT members begin climbing the ropes with 150-pound dummies attached to their gear. Then they repel with the dummies attached to their gear.

  The next day, the ARTT unit is at an Olympic size pool about to do a pool obstacle course. The recruits are wearing red ARTT recruit shirts, beige BDU shorts, and just the harness from their gear. ARTT assistant instructor Mike is helping Commander Cole run the pool obstacle course. Commander Cole and his assistant are wearing a red ARTT instructor’s shirt on and beige BDU shorts. Commander Cole begins the obstacle orientation.

  “The pool has an obstacle course above it with a rope leading to it. The rope is about an arm’s reach above the surface of the water. The rope leads to a large obstacle course made of sponge material and rope. It is hanging from the ceiling with wires. All the recruits are swimming in ten foot of water, by the rope, under the obstacle getting instruction.

  “This obstacle is in a pool to prevent injury in case you fall. This obstacle puts a lot of the skills you have learned together. There will be unknown variables you will have to deal with. First, you will climb the rope to the foam beam it’s attached to. After that, you will commando crawl across this rope. You will then pick up the training grappling gun and shoot to the target. You will stay here until you hit the target. After that, you will zip-line over. Then you jump to the other side. Then pick up the practice simulated nine-pound extinguishing device and hurl it at the target.

  “You will stay here until you hit the target. There are ten to throw in case you miss. The last stage, you will commando repelling down the rope into the water. This will build your endurance and give you confidence with your skills. You won’t have a lot of time to complete this obstacle, so don’t stop.

  “My assistant instructor Mike will cause you trouble along the way by shaking the obstacle. He will also simulate debris by throwing these weighted beanbags and water balloons at you.”

  The ARTT members begin the obstacle. Everyone is doing okay for the most part. Operator Phil begins having trouble.

  Commander Cole looks at operator Phil and says, “You couldn’t miss on the grappling gun range because you were calm. Now you’re rattled emotionally, Phil.”

  Operator Phil says, “I’m running out of time, Commander Cole.”

  Commander Cole replies, “Forget about the time. Don’t let external factors make you believe you can’t do it. Act without fear of failure, and you won’t fail. You lost too much time to finish the rest of the course on the route you are on. You have thirty-five seconds left. Improvise another way to the finish.”

  Operator Phil takes a deep breath and observes. He shoots the grappling gun hook over a rafter, and the hook bounces off the roof then spins around the rafter. The hook catches. Phil swings to the finish of the course and goes down the rope just in time. Commander Cole pulls Phil aside.

  Commander Cole says, “Good job, Phil. You will find there is always a way if you stay calm. Your priority is not the problem around you. It’s the problem of emotional instability within you. This emotional state of the ARTT philosophy I teach will keep you alive in situations where most would die.”

  Operator Phil says, “Yes, Commander Cole.”

  Operator Pete hesitates to make the jump and falls after not jumping far enough.

  Commander Cole walks over to where Operator Pete is in the pool and pulls him out of the water.

  Commander Cole says, “Pete, what happened?”

  Operator Pete replies, “I doubted I could make the leap and hesitated.”

  Commander Cole says, “I saw that. There can be no hesitation with this obstacle. It is designed to fail you if you stop or hesitate.”

  Operator Pete says, “Yes, Commander.”

  In the next training phase, Commander Cole is testing the limit of his ARTT unit’s ability to control their emotion. He and the ARTT operators are climbing a rock. Once Commander Cole got high enough to safely parachute down, he got rid of his safety rope. He instructs the others to keep their safety lines. Commander Cole keeps climbing. He is looking for a harder route to the top. He makes a leap to a protruding rock and barely hangs on with one hand.

  Commander Cole looks down at the ARTT operators adjacent to him and says, “You can’t make this leap with a safety line holding you back. You can climb to the top of the mountain if you like, but the purpose of this exercise is to test your ability to let go of what is safe in order to reach your full potential physically. The peak of the mountain is in here.” Commander Cole points at his heart with his free hand. “Do as you will.” Then he puts his other hand on the rock and brings his feet up to the rock. Then he jumps away from the rock and parachutes down. The other ARTT operators have parachutes to and want to try to make the jump Commander Cole did without a safety line.

  Operator Judd discourages them, saying, “I want to make it to the top. You guys can jump if you like.”

  The ARTT operators keep their safety lines, and none of them jumps. Once they make it to the top, they all parachute down to the rally point Commander Cole had designated. They are judged by how close they hit the targeted landing spot. All ARTT operators make close landings.

  A few days later, all twelve ARTT operators are lined up in front of Commander Cole with a three-story compound made of steel and aluminum.

  Commander Cole explains, “This is a fire house. You will learn to use everything you have learned here in real scenarios. This is as real as the ARTT training gets. We will light up the rooms and put accelerants in places to make it hard to accomplish the mission. There are two 150-pound rescue dummies in there that you will have fifteen minutes to find and rescue. In all the smoke and chaos, you will have to work as a team—stacking on hatches and clearing room by room until you find the rescue dummies. I want every door checked on every floor all the way to the roof.

  “My assistant instructor Mike will be the variable outside the compound adding to the hell and anarchy you face inside. Again, you have fifteen minutes to retrieve both rescue dummies and bring them here to me. Now that I see Mike has lit every room and left the compound, your time starts now. Go!” Commander Cole starts his stopwatch.

  With full gear, the twelve ARTT members line up against the structure next to the front entrance. Flames are raging out the front door and all windows in the structure. Operator Pete is first and detaches a Fit-5 extinguishing device from his leg then throws it through the front entrants. The device cuts the flames in half, and the team enters the front entrance with foam guns drawn. Efficiently putting out flames and checking everywhere for rescue dummies, they move from room to room. ARTT assistant instructor Mike Hail picks up some small red balloons filled with gas. Mike estimates what room the operators are in and throws a balloon through the window, adding to the fire. The ARTT operators deal with it.

  Operator Johnny finds one of the rescue dummies in a room still being doused by other ARTT members. He picks up the rescue dummy in a fireman carry and gets too close to the window. ARTT assistant instructor Mike Hail hits operator Johnny with a gas-filled balloon. It ignites on contact in the superheated compound. Operator Pete reacts quickly, shooting foam at operator Johnny. The flames on operator Johnny and the rescue dummy are quickly put out by the foam.

  Eventually, the twelve-man team clears all the rooms using the foam guns and Fit-5 extinguishing devices. They extinguish all the flames as they reach the door to the roof. It’s locked and reinforced. Operator Pete sticks an ARTT C4 wall buster device to the door, and the team takes cover. The door is blown off, and the team quickly hits the roof. They see the other rescue dummy sitting there against the wall. There is only twenty-five seconds left on operator Pete’s watch. ARTT assistant instructor Mike Hail’s g
as-filled balloons, thrown earlier, cost them some valuable time, and the mission is in doubt.

  Operator Pete looks at the ARTT members and takes off his pack, saying, “Got no time to carry the rescue dummies down through the compound and then drag them to Commander Cole. Johnny, attach a rescue dummy to my pack and the other to yours.”

  Operator Johnny quickly takes off his pack and does as instructed. Operator Pete then shoots his ResQmax grappling gun hook just over Commander Cole’s red military-style jeep parked directly behind Commander Cole. Then Operator Pete pulls the line until it catches on the jeep and quickly cranks down on the ratchet until the line is tight. Commander Cole looks at his assistant Mike Hail and smiles with a nod. With seven seconds left, Operator Pete zip-lines down with a rescue dummy attached to his pack, and Operator Johnny follows with the other rescue dummy. They both land safely in front of Commander Cole, take off their backpacks, and lay them in front of Commander Cole with the rescue dummies attached.

  Operator Pete looks at his watch and sees they are ten seconds over then puts his head down in disappointment. The other ARTT members zip-line down and gather around Commander Cole.

  Commander Cole says, “You failed the mission by a few seconds but showed great adaptation and teamwork. The variables won today but not bad for the first time. This was some intense training. It has to be this way for you to become comfortable in these situations. Remaining calm no matter how bad it gets and knowing you can trust one another makes all the difference.

  “It’s not easy dragging a fire hose up through a burning structure and clearing rooms. In some cases, it’s impossible. That is why you have these foam guns attached to your backpacks and the Fit-5 extinguishing devices. They allow you to clear rooms and floors efficiently enough to save structures and lives. Time lost is lives lost. Okay, let’s head back to the ARTT station.”

  A week later, the ARTT graduates are learning to fly a helicopter for their last training phase. Commander Cole is in the cockpit of a training helicopter with a recruit and helicopter trainer.