I watched a show on TV about training for military special forces in which the trainers put men through obstacle courses in such a way that the only way they could survive and complete the training was to find ways to break the rules. For example, they would not make it without going off the trails to find and drink water. It was forbidden to do this. Those who put survival ahead of rules not only reached the end, they reached their goal of becoming special forces.
Anyone who knows the military knows that breaking rules is usually not a shortcut to a grand career.
"Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." Indeed.
Ping!
"RULES ARE RULES AND RULES HAVE TO BE ENFORCED."
Not that I was surprised since he had the same attitude when he was First Sergeant. I think he is still in the Navy.. But I can clearly see the benefits of special forces testing to find them "exceptional candidates"..
How ever did we learn semaphore so fast? We cheated! I made sure we got a few letters wrong, too. We did a few other things, positive and negative. Threw at least one tough competing patrol off -- faked a staged "rescue" they had to do so that they missed the real one.
Later I joined the Order of the Arrow, they had an pre-entry overnighter test where you had to sleep out on your own, and do a bunch of tests and such. I was a rainy night, you had to have a blazing fire going by 11pm. I was one of the only ones to have a fire -- why? I used small parrifin firelogs I had boiled together at home with rolled newspaper and candle parrifin. Made them to look like fat twigs. It worked.