00:00A U.S. Army engineering convoy stationed in the Middle East pulled over beside a disabled combat squad.
00:05The team leader, Leonard, grabbed his toolbox and walked over, cursing under his breath.
00:09He wanted to see who had managed to wreck another military vehicle.
00:12The combat squad's leader, Matt, heard someone yelling at him and stormed out to confront him.
00:16The two men immediately started arguing and nearly came to blows.
00:18But after scuffling for a moment, they suddenly burst out laughing.
00:21It turned out the two men joking around had a special relationship.
00:24They were brothers. Both had the same tattoo on their arms.
00:27And they shared the same dream, to become Army Rangers together.
00:30Matt brought up the idea again of the two of them signing up for Ranger selection.
00:33Leonard felt he might be a little too old.
00:35But Matt kept pushing enthusiastically until Leonard finally agreed to apply with him.
00:39After fixing the vehicle, Leonard said goodbye to his brother and was about to return to his truck when enemy
00:44forces suddenly launched an attack.
00:45The sudden artillery strike flipped Matt's vehicle completely over.
00:49Leonard ran forward to help, but before he could reach them, another explosion blasted him off his feet.
00:53Covered in blood, Leonard struggled to sit up.
00:55He had survived by sheer luck, but a piece of shrapnel had lodged in his knee.
00:59The rest of their comrades weren't nearly as lucky.
01:01Shattered bodies of soldiers lay everywhere.
01:04Leonard then noticed Matt lying face down nearby.
01:06To his surprise, Matt was still alive.
01:08Leonard suddenly woke up from the nightmare.
01:10The memories from his dream were from two years ago.
01:13Now he was on his way to the Ranger training base.
01:15Having signed up for the selection program, all the applicants lined up to receive their identification numbers.
01:20In this special unit, no one used names, only numbers.
01:23When it was Leonard's turn, the officer noticed he was clearly much older than the others.
01:27His records also showed that he had applied countless times over the past two years.
01:30The officer offered to make Leonard a squad leader, but Leonard immediately refused.
01:34In the end, the officer simply assigned him the number 81.
01:37The sergeant major addressed the group of candidates.
01:39Over the next eight weeks, they would undergo the Ranger selection program.
01:42Only those who remained at the end would be allowed to cross the red line painted across the parade ground
01:46and become true Army Rangers.
01:48Training began.
01:49Soldiers from different heads endured brutally high-intensity drills every day.
01:53Large numbers were eliminated each year, and those who remained faced even tougher challenges.
01:58During training, number 81 demonstrated exceptional physical ability.
02:02Whether it was holding his breath or going low to the ground or running long distances with heavy loads, Leonard
02:07consistently finished in first place.
02:09But before long, the others noticed something strange about him.
02:12Leonard never worked with his teammates during group activities, and he always sat alone during meals.
02:17He seemed like a cold, elite soldier deliberately keeping his distance from everyone.
02:21Soon, they learned the reason why.
02:23During a shooting exercise, the instructor asked how many of them had actually seen combat.
02:27Many raised their hands, but when questioned one by one, it became clear that most had only experienced training simulations.
02:33The instructor then stopped in front of number 81 and asked him the same question.
02:36Spartan, Leonard replied.
02:37Hearing that name, the others looked at him in shock, and even the instructor seemed stunned.
02:41After a brief silence, he simply turned and walked away.
02:44Two years earlier, the combat squad with the callsign Spartan had been ambushed by the Taliban and wiped out completely.
02:50Number 81 was the only survivor.
02:52Leonard had even been awarded the Silver Star for his actions.
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