Somewhere in America, the United States is developing hundreds of recruits for this specialized
service. Hand picked, with the aid of Army and Navy intelligence facilities, the men
are taken under guard to the secret training camp which is to be their home for the weeks
to follow. The area is located high in an eastern mountain range miles from the nearest
village and under constant guard by U.S. soldiers and Marines.
This isolated, heavily wooded terrain
offers an excellent proving ground for the student of guerrilla tactics.
Classes are limited to less than a dozen men, thus ensuring the utmost security and providing
almost individual instruction for each student.
From the moment of their induction, the identities of the recruits remain a
carefully guarded secret, which explains the use of masks in this film.
From whence they came, or for what perilous mission they're being prepared, is
the concern if nobody at camp. In this group, there are some who speak very little English.
One of them has fought in four wars, two of them are veteran guerrillas from the Spanish
Loyalist forces. Several have seen their relatives and friends die at the hands of the enemy.
But all of them have this in common: they burn with a desire for vengeance.
And they mean to deal it out as it was given:
At close quarters, with no holds barred.
After the senior instructor has delivered a short induction speech, he presents each
man with an identification badge bearing a first name only. From this point onward ,the
students are known by officers and fellow recruits merely as student “Jack” or student
“Fred” or whatever name has been assigned them. They will be confined at all times to
the camp area and when they finally leave, it will be to proceed immediately and incommunicado
to the conveyance that takes them to the scene of action.
Every item of personal equipment is supplied by the government.
The men arrive without so much as a toothbrush or pencil.
During this training period, emphasis is put on close association among members of the
same student groups. An expert guerrilla or saboteur must not only think and act quickly
for himself, but must almost anticipate the next action of his colleague. Individual quarters
are hidden in the woods and the students are taught to live in seclusion in conditions
simulating those they may encounter as guerrillas behind enemy lines.