About the best training I had for the Nam was the old Jungle Warfare course at Ft. Sherman CZ. A crusty old Colonel named Winkeller was in charge and he setup an infamous forced march the first Friday night we were there.
When I took over my first platoon in the 4th Inf I was so used to living in the mud from Panama that I settled right in like a pig.
Panama was/is a ghastly place, to borrow a phrase.
When I was in, I consistently heard from everybody who attended, from any branch of the service, that the Jungle Warfare course in Panama was THE BEST training they EVER got in the military.
Nobody who attended it ever disagreed that I heard. And anytime two graduates got together, that’s all they talked about.
The cross-country land navigation/jungle survival phase being the main subject of praise.
Black Palm, vampire bats, Green Hell.