The US military is set to hold expansive combat drills across North and South Carolina, warning residents that special operations trainees may fire off blank rounds and flares while simulating battle against “guerrilla” forces.
Dubbed ‘Robin Sage,’ the “unconventional warfare exercise” will be held between January 22 and February 4 on private land in dozens of counties in the American south, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School said in a statement cited by local media.
The drill will stage a mock fight with a “resistance movement” made up of “guerrilla freedom fighters” in the fictional nation of “Pineland,” the warfare center said, noting they will act as “realistic opposing forces” to the special ops candidates. Robin Sage serves as the final test in the elite Special Forces Qualification Course, an intensive training program for the Army’s Green Berets.
Trainees will be placed in an environment of “political instability characterized by armed conflict,” which will force soldiers to “analyze and solve problems” in a “real-world” setting – all the while facing down “guerrillas” selected from Fort Bragg, as well as some specially trained civilian volunteers who will act as “role players” to add “realism” to the drill.