Insects as appetizer, cobra’s blood as thirst quencher: US soldiers learn jungle survival

US troops taking part in this year’s Balikatan joint military exercises were taken to an all-natural gastronomic treat by their Filipino counterparts in the jungles of Fort Ramon Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija.

The American soldiers were served with salad made of wild leaves, insects for appetizers, rice cooked in bamboo tubes and blood taken from a king cobra as thirst-quencher.

The jungle survival training given by Filipino troops to their US counterparts is part of the annual bilateral exercises, aimed at exchanging skills among soldiers from both countries.

More than100 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry, Guam Army National Guard, 2nd Battalion, 200th Infantry, and New Mexico Army National Guard, took part in the training, which was given by elite Army Special Forces.

After learning how to trap game, the US soldiers learned to gather other essential resources from the jungle, such as edible and medicinal plants and insects, as well as water-gathering methods.

US Army Sgt. Randy Eustaquio, who took part in the training, described little red ants taken from a tree branch as tasting like lemons. 

Philippine Army S/Sgt. Manolo Martin, assistant chief instructor at the survival course, taught the US troops how to catch a snake with a stick, skinning and cooking it for lunch.

The jungle survival training has become a well-known event during the 28 years of the Balikatan history.

Aside from the jungle survival part, US soldiers also honed their rope negotiating skills inside the Special Forces’ training camp at Fort Ramon Magsaysay, which has been hosting these kinds of activities of the joint exercise.

Soldiers tackled the ropes course, which feature various obstacles that weave through the canopy of the dense jungle.

The most dominant feature of the course was the slide for life that requires a soldier to hold on to a thick branch placed on a rope tied 100 meters off the ground, then sliding down back by about 300 meters.

This has been a signature of the members of the elite Special Forces, who aside from their jungle skills are all qualified paratroopers.