What Fort Bragg Special Forces spouses think about qualifications course
CAMP MACKALL — Dozens of Fort Bragg spouses headed to Camp MacKall on Wednesday to taste goat or venison, learn a little bit about how to set a trap and attempt to make it through the Special Forces obstacle course known as “Nasty Nick.”
Their husbands have gone through the Special Forces qualifications course and are students part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, but Wednesday, the wives took a shot at trying to make it through the course.
Ashton, whose last name cannot be used due to safety concerns regarding Special Forces soldiers and family members, was one of the spouses.
Ashton’s husband previously served in the Navy before switching to the Army National Guard in 2020.
She said when her husband went through the Special Forces qualifications course, he told her about the experience “almost every day.”
More: Fort Bragg Military Spouse of the Year advocates for mental health of military families
“You hear about it, but you don’t know exactly what they’re talking about,” Ashton said. “You can’t picture what this looks like.”
Along with other spouses, she was teamed up with, Ashton made her way through the “Nasty Nick” obstacle course — hopping over obstacles and climbing ropes or wooden ladders that reached treetops.
The course is named after Special Forces Col. James “Nick” Rowe, a Vietnam veteran held captive for more than five years before escaping.
Rowe used his knowledge as a surviving prisoner of war to create the survival, evasion, resistance and escape training program that all Special Forces soldiers must complete.
“I think it’s awesome,” Ashton said. “I’m sure it wasn’t necessarily awesome for (the soldiers) when they went through it. It’s more of a fun experience for us.”
She said she viewed the experience as a way to encourage other women and connect with other spouses in a hands-on way to see what their husbands went through.
DeeAnn Rader, the resiliency coordinator for the Special Warfare Center and School’s family programs, said this is the second year the school has teamed up with the Orient, Navigate, Employ, Train, Educate, Advise and Mentor Program, or O.N.E. T.E.A.M. program.
O.N.E. T.E.A.M. coordinated and paid for child care to allow the wives to attend Wednesday’s course.
Rader said that all 60 slots to participate in the course were filled within two weeks of registration opening.
“It was kind of like a concert selling out before the closing date,” she said.
The purpose of the spouse Q-course is for the wives to learn what their soldiers experience, but also to serve as a networking opportunity for the spouses to connect with each other, Rader said.
“That connection starts when they make their team name right from the registration, and you can see the interaction build and you see how throughout the day they encourage one another, and they build on one another’s strengths,” Rader said.
Michelle is another spouse whose husband serves with Special Forces. He has been in the Army for about 25 years, 19 of those at Fort Bragg.
Michelle, who is an Army veteran, said she attended a course at Camp Mackall in about 2009, but didn’t know what she’d “be getting into” at Wednesday's event because she doesn’t have social media.
“I think it’s good to challenge yourself even in situations that are uncomfortable so I would say to someone who may come to this next year to be open-minded and to accept the challenge,” Michelle said.
Michelle said she isn't usually very social, but the spouses on her team were friendly and encouraging.
“My biggest takeaway is how I am to be able to come out and do something like this and be around an awesome group of people — not just the spouses but the cadre and servicemembers themselves — who are taking their time to do this for us and teach us these things and give us a boost of confidence that many women probably don't know that they have inside," she said.
Michelle said learning how to start a fire with batteries and a flashlight was her favorite new skill learned in the course.
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Rader said the fire-starting class was a new event added to this year’s lineup. The participants also learned about primitive weapons, how to set snares and identify poisonous and nonpoisonous snakes.
The instructor who spoke about trapping told the group that there is usually “one success” for every 15 to 18 traps set.
He explained that Special Forces cadets are taught to trap because there were prisoners of war during World War II and Vietnam who relied on the protein from their catch for calories when they were in captivity or evading capture.
“It’s a lot of work, but if you’re in a survival scenario and you need calories, are you going to do this?” he asked.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fort Bragg military spouses try Special Forces qualifications course
