Tonight on SAS Australia: Hell Week, the 12 remaining recruits began day two of SAS selection, with the mice plague, a lack of sleep, basic rations and the cold making it difficult to cope.
Their first task was the Ladder Troop Extraction, one of the most dangerous exercises in the Special Forces, and most recruits were unable to successfully complete the daunting climb.
With so many failures, the DS asked recruits to nominate the weakest among them, with youth worker Beck, teacher Kellie and influencer Lisa getting singled out as the weakest links.
Later, the three women were each put in charge of teams for a punishing tyre haul race along a rugged, four kilometre bush track. Both Lisa and Kellie struggled with the brutal test of endurance and chose to VW, sacrificing themselves in a state of confusion and exhaustion for the good of their teams.
Ex-Federal Police officer Gary, the oldest recruit on course, was brought in for questioning by the DS, where he spoke about a gambling addiction which saw him lose close to $2 million, including $45,000 on a corporate credit card.
“I made a lot of horrendous mistakes,” said Gary. “I had a corporate credit card and I was using it to give me money that I’d lost gambling. I was asking friends and family to pay for things because I didn’t have the money. I was going harder and harder and harder. I got charged. I’ve been to the depths of hell. I let down everybody.”
The DS also decided to question Beck after she had a shocking day and learned she grew up on a farm and didn’t start school until she was 10 years old.
“I was bullied from the start,” said Beck. “It was really challenging, learning how to do all the basic stuff when everyone else was so far ahead.”
Bodybuilder Bassim was on edge after making some rookie errors throughout the day, but nothing could prepare the recruits for a cold water conditioning test, which saw them submerge their bodies into a freezing ice bath time and time again, in a relentless late night beasting.
Stay-at-home mum Sandy’s body broke down but she battled on despite an injury, while Beck buckled under the pressure and handed in her number.
This left nine shivering recruits still on course in the hope of passing SAS selection:
