TURF THE MALCONTENTS OUT.

Special Forces is airing again on Fox, opposite the first half of Monday Night Football.  I liked the first season.

I confess to enjoying a new reality show, Special Forces, in which real veterans of special operations put assorted celebrities, most of whom are a little too old for ordinary boot camp, through a few drills.  It's cathartic, in particular, to hear lines like "You can go back to your luxurious houses and your Instagram followers and feel sorry for yourself" or "Your personal assistant isn't here to help out."  And yes, if you neglect to keep your water bottle (no longer a canteen?) topped off or put your gear in the pack without first putting it in waterproof bags, there are consequences.

That first season was in the heat of the Jordanian desert, this season it's alpine and winter training in New Zealand.  Reality comes quickly for some of the participants.  There's an instructive lesson about strength requirements that might generalize to fire and police departments.   "[Tara] Reid began to complain that it wasn't fair for her to carry the same weighted backpack as others because she was older and had back problems. Reid was ultimately given the option to accept it or quit, and she did the latter."  It's only her kit, which better include several changes of clothes.  What, dear reader, is the over-under on somebody being disciplined for not properly packing, let alone bringing along, the full complement of spare socks and shirts?  It's not as if they're each schlepping a few parts of a mountain howitzer or a grenade launcher the way a real mountain unit would.

The final drill of the day exposed two of the less appealing contestants.

Dez Bryant was far and away the most physically fit competitor in Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 2. When I saw him overcome his fear of water and repeat the code phrase given to him the night before despite the freezing temperatures, I was sure he'd make it to the end. Instead, I watched minutes later as he stormed off and quit the show entirely, and I'm still a bit confused as to why.

The issues first arose during a challenge where pairs of contestants had to rappel and then run down the side of a steep concrete wall. Bryant secured himself and waited for his partner, Blac Chyna, to follow, but she had trouble working up the courage to join him. As he waited, Bryant found himself in an awkward position and began to feel pain in his stomach.

After Blac Chyna officially quit, Bryant was allowed to go down the hill on his own. By this time, the athlete was frustrated and began to yell expletives at the staff for leaving him up there so long and allowing the harness to injure him. The staff began to yell back, and as the situation escalated, Bryant handed in his armband and quit.

Other contestants felt the move was rash and that Dez Bryant acted out of anger. At the same time, others thought he was justified as he had to sit on the rope much longer than many of them did while they talked to Blac Chyna. In any case, the matter seemed over and done with until a scene showed Bryant waiting for the staff back at the base camp. Bryant apologized for his attitude and asked to return but was ultimately turned away by the staff.

Real war is not as rigorously timed as football practice, is it?  "Insubordination wouldn't fly in any actual military training, and especially not at the level at which he reacted."  Not to mention that hollering up at the people controlling his descent might blow the mission.