What was on the programme?
The second day of Camp Waes was exactly an hour and a half young when Special Forces instructor Fly got the thirteen remaining participants out of bed. After a short bus ride, they were welcomed by host Tom Waes and Fly to the swimming pool of the Royal Military School. Fly announced “a water habituation test”, in a manner as if it were a hopping tour through a flower meadow.
Because water during this edition of Camp Waes will play a major role, fear of water is not an option. “The swimming test is intended for the safety of the candidates,” said Waes. The assignment: jump into the water, swim 50 meters, dive to the bottom, put on wet clothes, surface and swim 50 meters again. Fly, the telegenic dry stubble: “We’re going to see who can swim. And especially: those who are afraid of the water.”
Immediately afterwards, Fly sent the group on the bus to an unknown destination, which turned out to be the military domain of Marche-Les-Dames. There they were met by paracommando Damien, a howler like you know from the war films. “Courage!” Fly had still cynically addressed the candidates. The goal was to wear out the group after a sleepless night.
With assignments at dizzying heights – first they climbed a rock, then they waited beamellekea plank 4.4 meters long and 30 centimeters wide, at a height of 70 meters – would show “who can overcome their fears,” according to Fly.
Did Fly have any surprises in store?
“There will be some shaking knees,” Fly had predicted when announcing it beamelleke. You step into thin air, it is the courage test in paratrooper training, Tom Waes said. And then relentlessly announce that whoever it is beamelleke does not defy loses weight. Candidate Youssef Challouki considers heights to be his greatest fear, so he had been terrified for a whole day.
If anyone from the group matched, it could have been Youssef. But even though the sweat was pouring from his body in liters, Fly viewed it with confidence: “That guy has an extremely positive attitude. I think he will find the strength to do it.” And so it happened. Ultimately, all thirteen participants would have it beamelleke to walk. Conclusion: Tom Waes put together an extremely strong group. “But,” Fly tempered the enthusiasm, “who will keep up this pace?”
Who made the biggest impression?
It will be important Camp Waes do not assemble so that the program The big show Dries Borstlap is becoming. The robotics and space travel student with a name like a cartoon character looks like a super human, the Mathieu van der Poel of the group before whom the fellow candidates pale in comparison.
During the swimming test, he had already completed the course at a time when Lode had not even put on half of his wet outfit. And he darted through the para commandos’ course with flair and confidence. While everyone stumbled across the finish line after a day full of hard work, Borstlap arrived with his chest stuck out.
Were there any casualties?
Strangely enough, not. “The candidates are better prepared,” Fly concluded. Youssef was staggering – literally – but giving up is incompatible with his warrior mentality. Emma has an unusual running and swimming style, and her doubts seemed to take control when she did beamelleke saw, but she is also mentally strong. For others, certain tests seem a walk in the park. But now that fatigue is setting in, the candidates’ deterioration may just as quickly occur in the coming episodes.
Who is on their last legs?
It is striking how down-to-earth this group is. Everyone is realistic and seems to have sufficient self-knowledge. Candidates like Mohammed, Sara and Jef are ambitious, but their confidence never veers into arrogance. Jan, on the other hand, is the only one who boasts. “They call me Jan Dolfijn because I swim so well. I don’t think there are three people my age (Jan is 52, ELV) are they who swim better than me.”
While rock climbing, Jan said, bursting with confidence: “This is familiar territory. A familiar feeling. I’ve been wall climbing for years, right?” He ultimately reached no higher than 20 meters, and gives the impression of being a man of more blah blah than boom boom. Just like last week, he also injured his leg. It seems like waiting for Jan’s bubble to be painfully punctured.
