Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-30
els Trained to Lough
At Terrors of Jungle
Soldiers Learn to Fight
In Punomq Ruin Forest
BY THOMAS r. HENRY

fear of the jungle.
It may become a sort of super
claustrophobia, or dread of closed
places. One is constantly shut in.
There are no open vistaS. On every
side are lurking terrors, real and
imaginary. Vines coated with green
lichens swinging from treetops become
monstrcus serpents. Every sound can
There are no landmarks.
Removal of this instructive fear is
the first step in training soldiers for
Jungle war at the Army's training center
in the Canal Zone, a part of Maj. Gen.
Lionel c. McGarr's Caribbean Army
Command program. Through this
training during the next few years it is
probable that thousands of infantry
soldiers will pass, so that the Nation
will have a substantial nucleus of
hardened jungle fighters in case Of
another major war.
Unquestionably many Of the dangers
are real. I'm jungle combat" says
Caribbean Command release, the
soldier faces not only one enemy but
two. He must face the enemy in his
opponent and his enemy in the jungle
itself. But coexistence with the
jungle is entirely possible. The steam
ing, thickly vegetated, insect filled,
snake-ridden surroundings may become
allies for the skilled jungle fighter"
Major Fear Is Snakes
Perhaps the major fear of soldiers in
the training program is of poisonous
snakes. The terrain over which they
must maneuver. often in total darkness
and carrying heavy packs, undoubtedly
contains some Of the most venomous
serpents in the world-the six-foot-loug
fer-de-lance which can strike with al
most twice the speed of a cobra. the
mano de piedra or jumping viper. the
eyelaSh snake which swings from h!2h
branches by means of prehenSile sail,
the Commute snake whose bite is sup
posed to kill in that period. These scare
the beginners, but statistics show, the
soldiers are taught. that the danger of
being bitten is not quite as great az
that of being struck by lightning. The
snake is about as afraid of the soldier
as is the soldier of the snake.
Much of the training is in complete
darkness. Columns move single file,
yards apart. There is real danger of
losing contact with the man ahead or
behind and stumbling into the jungle
until the soldier is lost This is nat
urally terrifying experience but, the
beginner is taught, there is little real
danger if one does not become panic
stricken and wander about in circles.
If the soldier remains in one place
sooner or later he will be missed and
search party sent out to find him.
KnOw-How Can Help
Especially in a case of real war a
group may be cut off from headquar-
tiers for days at time. Then at least
an elementary knowledge Of what
plants can be eaten, how animals can
be trapped and how water can be OBJ
tanned is essential. When one gets
through Maj. Robert G. Abarrs training
he is equipped somewhat better than
an amateur jungle explorer, at least.
in the resources upon which he can
depend for survival. He will not be very
much afraid Of the jungle any more.
The terrain over which the jungle
fighters are trained is real, not hair
combed jungle. It is sparsely inhabited.
If at all. It is essentially unchanged
from the jungle where the British
buccaneer Henry Morgan fought 800
years ago. The area is an irregular
plot Of land, 7 miles wide and IL miles
long. On the south Is the Rio Pima with
its swollen, rushing waters during the
rainy season. This river feeds into the
Caribbean, which bounds the LANA
choked vegetation on the west and
north.
The area Is overgrown with all kinds
Of tropical and semitropical flora
that is interrupted only by few road
ways and the deep, broad Rio Chagres,
the only river in the world that emp
ties into two oceans. It is a part Of
the earth-belting rain forest-a dupli-
cate in many ways of any tropical
environment that might confront the
armed forces anywhere in the. world.
A total of 81 subjects is taught dur
ing the training, most of them on an
individual level. Many of these are
completely unfamiliar to the soldier.
most Of whose training has been in
the United States, or even at regular
establishments in the Canal Zone it
SELF There are experts in all the nee
essary lines-men who have learned
the secrets of the steaming jungle dark
ness at first hand.
Soldiers Own Zoo
There are some strange appurte-
nances for a military setup. This is
probably the only army camp in the
world. for example. which maintains
zoo and zookeeper. 1t is a Gagged
collection rapidly being made complete,
of all the jungle reptiles and mammals.
Here the soldiers are given elementary
courses in the appearance and habits
of these creatures. There is, for ex-
ample, a giant boa constructor which
Pvt. Sullivan, the Zookeeper, lifts out
of the cage and gently strokes There
are gaspS from the uninitiated. The
idea, of course, is to demonstrate that
the biggest of snakes is really quite
gentle creature.
Military training here includes rather
comprehensive training in jungle
botany. Innocent and inviting fruits
are often virulent poisons. Repulsive-
appearing ones may be quite harmless
and nourishing. The soldier is taught
the alarming habits Of the giant sand
box tree, whose ripe fruits explode with
the violence of hand grenade, scat
tering hard shell fragments in all direc-
tons. Such an explosion might be mis-
taken for enemy action. He is taught
to stay away from that deadly vine, the
cats paw, which contains one of the
deadliest poisons known in the world.