# Ultimate Soldier Challenge (History Channel) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658 "2013-02-28T20:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/1 "2013-02-28T20:34:32Z")
Anyone watching this? I’ve only seen the second episode. I’m not normally a fan of reality television shows but this one has real soldiers doing soldiery things: hostage rescue, sniper shooting, knife fighting, etc. Beats the hell out of their usual programming these days: monsters, aliens and conspiracy theories. “Each week we put our teams through five grueling challenges, from urban hostage rescue to long distance sniper challenges to hand-to-hand knife fighting, all designed to simulate real world combat environments.” 1x01 82nd Airborne vs. Israeli Defense Force - Feb 19, 2013 1x02 Rangers vs. British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 1x03 Green Berets vs. Norwegian FSK - Mar. 05, 2013 1x04 Navy Seals vs. Spetsnatz - Mar. 12, 2013 1x05 Marine Force Recon vs. Canadian Light Infantry - Mar. 19, 2013 1x06 Army vs. Navy - Mar. 26, 2013 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/2 "2013-02-28T20:44:10Z")
Is there anything particularly special about Canadian Light Infantry? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/3 "2013-02-28T20:57:39Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Is there anything particularly special about Canadian Light Infantry? Dunno. They don’t sound particularly imposing. First, they’re Canadian, widely regarded as the most polite people in the world. Second, they’re light. _Light_ anything sounds weak: beer, loafers, etc. Get a load of their complete name: [Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Patricia%27s_Canadian_Light_Infantry). My money would be on the marines. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/4 "2013-02-28T22:43:33Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > 1x01 82nd Airborne vs. Israeli Defense Force - Feb 19, 2013 > 1x02 Rangers vs. British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 > 1x03 Green Berets vs. Norwegian FSK - Mar. 05, 2013 > 1x04 Navy Seals vs. Spetsnatz - Mar. 12, 2013 > 1x05 Marine Force Recon vs. Canadian Light Infantry - Mar. 19, 2013 > 1x06 Army vs. Navy - Mar. 26, 2013 As an American, I’d like to say that I’m proud of our boys, knowing that one division is able to take on the entire Israeli army single-handedly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/5 "2013-02-28T23:02:39Z")
My money’s on The Womens Auxillary Balloon Corp. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/6 "2013-03-01T03:30:20Z")
My neighbor\* was technical advisor for the series. Let me know if you have any technical questions. - former Marine and boy-howdy tough guy, but nice fellah to have as a neighbor ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/7 "2013-03-01T07:46:40Z")
Elite-shmelite. A regular army dogface fighting for a truck of coca-cola is far deadlier. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/8 "2013-03-01T08:23:57Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > As an American, I’d like to say that I’m proud of our boys, knowing that one division is able to take on the entire Israeli army single-handedly. 😃 No shit. Well? So who won? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/9 "2013-03-01T08:59:58Z")
I wonder how Israelis would do in the jungles of SE Asia. Or the Norwegians in the desert? This is a stupid premise. As it is, my money is on the Canucks. They are infantry. The rest except the Israelis are all special ops or marines and airborne. Unless the merkava shows up. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/10 "2013-03-01T09:27:30Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > 1x02 Rangers vs. British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 Bet you that there were no serving “British Special Forces” involved in this. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/11 "2013-03-01T14:36:34Z")
Yeah, I need to see which specific units are involved. Not divisions and brigades; platoons. ---
**Author:** ![glaeken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@glaeken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glaeken)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/12 "2013-03-01T14:59:20Z")
It sounds like deadliest warrior which was extremely flawed in its results. I still remember the episode of Jessie James vs. Al Capone where they rated a revolver above the Thompson sub machine gun as close quarters weapon. This was based on the revolver weapon effectiveness test being carried out by an expert revolver shooter and the Thompson effectiveness test being carried out by a guy who had written a book on the Mafia. There were loads of similar silly things in their testing. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/13 "2013-03-01T19:39:44Z")
> [@glaeken](#): > > It sounds like deadliest warrior which was extremely flawed in its results. I still remember the episode of Jessie James vs. Al Capone where they rated a revolver above the Thompson sub machine gun as close quarters weapon. This was based on the revolver weapon effectiveness test being carried out by an expert revolver shooter and the Thompson effectiveness test being carried out by a guy who had written a book on the Mafia. There were loads of similar silly things in their testing. No, not like DW at all. It’s just guys (two guys from each branch) competing in various military drills (marksmanship, hand to hand combat, search/rescue, etc.). They represent their particular branch in pretty much the same way as the Army football team represents the entire Army. No Jesse James vs. Al Capone nonsense here. Granted, some drills will favor some branches over others but them’s the breaks. I’m enjoying it for what it is. They do have a cool outdoor set consisting of an entire village built in the middle of nowhere. One the 82nd guys said that he wished Fort Bragg had something like that for training. Winners so far: 1x01 82nd Airborne - Feb 19, 2013 1x02 British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/14 "2013-03-01T19:49:04Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Winners so far: > > 1x01 82nd Airborne - Feb 19, 2013 > 1x02 British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 I’d agree with that…any predictions for the remainder of the run? Mine: 1x03 \*\*Green Berets \*\*vs. Norwegian FSK - FSK sounds pretty hard-ass, but I think Green Berets have a wider range of training and operating environments. 1x04\*\* Navy Seals \*\*vs. Spetsnatz - Squeaker, but going with Seals. Spetsnatz had a reputation for being hard-asses in Chechnya and Afghanistan, but the Seals have superior equipment, resources, and probably better training. 1x05 \*\*Marine Force Recon \*\*vs. Canadian Light Infantry - Please don’t make me explain this. 1x06 **Army** vs. Navy - Unless the Navy participant is a Seal, Army wins hands down. The average soldier will have at least some combat training; many sailors will not. Edit: I don’t think proper thought was put in to the match-ups for episodes 1 and 5. It pits a regular unit against an elite unit. The outcome should be obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/15 "2013-03-01T19:56:54Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Winners so far: > > 1x02 British Special Forces - Feb. 26, 2013 What regiment did they claim to belong too? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/16 "2013-03-01T20:01:41Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Bet you that there were no serving “British Special Forces” involved in this. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What regiment did they claim to belong too? Care to elaborate as to why there would be no active duty British special forces members on the program? Besides, who said they had to be active duty? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/17 "2013-03-01T20:23:28Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What regiment did they claim to belong too? Royal Air Force Regiment ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/18 "2013-03-01T20:27:17Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I’d agree with that…any predictions for the remainder of the run? No idea. It’s pretty much a crap shoot. For example: Gunning down the towers. The Army boys had the disadvantage of being downwind from the others and couldn’t even see the target through the dust. I also would have thought that: the IDF would have done better at knife fighting. Then again, the 82nd guy had the reach. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/19 "2013-03-01T21:07:26Z")
Assuming the IDF guy was a run-of-the-mill assault infantry warrior, like I was, then the extent of his knife training amounted to a grand total of zilch. The way we were taught, the proper way to deal with a man wielding a knife is to shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658/20 "2013-03-01T21:27:32Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The way we were taught, the proper way to deal with a man wielding a knife is to shoot him. Mangled quote from an Army general: “If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan it properly.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-soldier-challenge-history-channel/651658.md?page=2)