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By Root 1748 0

guerrillas managed what the Vietcong could not. They assassinated Nick Rowe while he was serving in the Philippines. Today, the Rowe Training Facility is a secure compound on Camp Mackall that is home to Special Forces Phase I, Phase II, Phase IV, and Special Forces SERE training. Within the compound there are barracks, classrooms, a chow hall, support facilities, and the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group. First Battalion is responsible for all training at the Rowe Training Facility. The compound itself is a study in the old and new. Most of the buildings have numbers that begin with “T,” which stands for temporary. They date back to World War II. Gradually, these are giving way to new construction, including a modern shower-and-head facility, and an extensive new do-it-yourself laundry. There will soon be a new chow hall. But the sleeping quarters are old and cramped. The soldiers who train there still live in the old-style barracks, very much the same as did the airborne troopers who lived and trained at Camp Mackall before they parachuted into France on D-day, sixty-plus years before.

The buses from Fort Bragg arrive in threes and fours and disgorge soldiers, each one with a duffel bag, a parachute or gear bag, and a rubber M4 rifle. As they do, Hacker goes out to meet them, checks their names from his list, and sends them to their assigned barracks. So far they’ve all been the regulars, soldiers from conventional units here to try out for Special Forces. They come from all over the nation—all over the world, actually. Many are from the airborne divisions, the 82nd at Fort Bragg and the 101st at Fort Campbell, but some are from units in Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, and remote bases around the globe. The rain has stopped for the moment, but a low overcast hangs over Camp Mackall with the likely prospect of more showers. The bus ride from Fort Bragg to Camp Mackall takes about forty-five minutes. At 1630, three buses arrive with the men from Pre-SFAS Class 8-04. Hacker doesn’t have to ask if they’re the X-Ray soldiers; he could tell by looking at them.

“Where’s the class leader?”

“Right here, Sergeant.”

“OK, get them in the five ranks with their gear and be quick about it.”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

Hacker watches with a quiet detachment as the soldiers form a human conveyor belt, passing their bags from the back of the bus up to the door. Byron Hacker grew up in New York and joined the Army right out of high school. After four years in the 82nd Airborne Division, he put in for Special Forces, and like the men arriving here today, came out to Camp Mackall for selection. That was twelve years ago. He spent all his time in the 3rd Special Forces Group and has made a half dozen deployments to Africa and one to Afghanistan. As soon as the new arrivals achieve some semblance of a formation, he walks over to the class leader.

“The detail is formed, Sergeant. One hundred and four men assigned, one hundred and four men present.”

Hacker returns his salute. “OK, listen up, everyone. I’m going to call out your name, followed by your roster number and your barracks number. Sound off when you hear your name. Then take your gear to the barracks and find an empty bunk. Dump your gear on your bunk and fall in back out here in a separate formation. Everyone understand that?”

“YES, SERGEANT!”

“Class leader, when you’ve got everyone mustered back out here, I want you to go over to the phase headquarters building and get First Sergeant Sarno. He wants to have a word with you, clear?”

“Clear, Sergeant.”

Hacker begins taking roll. He speaks loudly, but there’s nothing particularly harsh in his tone. Soldiers answer up, then shoulder their gear and stagger off for their barracks. Soon they are forming back up, and the class leader is checking them off as they re-form. They now carry only their rifles—still the rubber rifles for SFAS. The class leader is a specialist who’s been in the Army for three years. He was in the medical corps and was trained as a respirational therapist. Since he lacked current field