Boot Camp 2011 – code named Mission “Belfegor” (a demon and one of the seven princes of hell!) – was staged on the island of Phuket and would put both physical as well as mental abilities of participating Sailors to the ultimate test.

Designed as a full overnight operation, Mission “Belfegor” commenced at 2350hrs on arrival at Phuket airport. Arriving crews were given clear orders to “be ready for anything after crossing the exit door” and it wasn’t long before the operation jumped into action, leaving the airport on foot… running!

1.5km road running to the sea was followed by some initial push ups on the way and more push ups arriving at the beach, turn on the headlamps and more running, but now on the sand and together with the local crabs…

Just over an hour into the mission, Sailors were tested on their mental stamina as the platoon crossed a beach party in full swing – a scene reminiscent from ‘Apocalypse Now!”. The crowd was partying hard and tempting our crew with their hot bodies and cold drinks. However, the Liechtenstein Princely Navy is a highly disciplined naval force and none of our Sailors fell for the bait. A river crossing was followed by more road running and another river crossing over a rickety small bridge that almost buckled under the weight of our more heavyweight Sailors (Note to Sailor Laurent – pls check Elephant Scale upon return).

Another hour into the mission and morale is still very high as we board a fifty year old truck which visibly had spent most of his life transporting some kind of live cattle – very appropriate transportation indeed and a relief for weakened legs! After a forty minute ride we disembark in the middle of nowhere… now the night is pitch dark and we can only hear wild dogs barking around us. A few additional push-ups help to wake up the crew and we go for another stroll – but this time it is uphill. Most of us have now been awake for over twenty hours and some start to feel it. “Come on Sailor Robin, push those little legs!”

At about 0400hrs we reach one of our objectives and another mental test: a local discotheque where Sailors are given a compulsory fuel intake and are exposed to loud music. Despite our best efforts our platoon has difficulty staying undercover, possibly due to our full combat gear and the smell of “fresh lavender”. Sailor Robin proves to be extremely well prepared as he changes into a clean shirt before entering the place but as of today it is still unclear if it brought him any advantage.

The fun is short lived, however, as at 0500hrs we are back in the streets for another run, about 800m until we reach the beach for The Mother Of All Circuit Trainings! Indeed, Sailor Kaspar, who is the Navy’s Station Manager in Phuket and almost considered a local, didn’t succeed in getting us to train with a female volleyball team he was working on for the last three month. BUT, he did find a trio of extremely useful gym weights for power exercise: 30kg, 40kg and 50kg. This is of course some serious weight, but thanks to the outstanding natural motivation of our elite force most exercises were completed like a breeze.

At 0600hrs it is almost daylight and time for a swim as we conduct exercise “Mont Blanc”: a 50m swim to reach a 5 meter high inflatable raft in the shape of a mountain, climb to the top and come back, all under heavy enemy fire (actually a guard shouting and shooting us with a laser beam). Even Sailor Martin went for the swim, almost, as he was rather holding on to anything he could on the way to avoid open water.

The last bit proved the most difficult with another walk (it was supposed to be a run, but at this stage only the motivation was running… and in fact rather low) about 5 more km to the camp. After 3km two Sailors (who shall not be named here) cracked under the mental and physical stress and in mutiny style took an unauthorized means of transportation. The offending Sailors were eventually apprehended and court-marshalled on the spot with dear consequences.

At 0800hrs - after over 8 hours continuous physical and mental exercise and more than 24 hours without sleep – the crew finally arrived at the barracks with the satisfaction of the mission accomplished!

Commander O Streun

Special thanks to Sailor Kaspar for helping us with the local logistic and providing us with some basic accommodation appropriate for Sailors of Greatest Naval Force on Earth – see pictures below: