In this shocking footage, Indonesian soldiers proved their worth in front of the United States Secretary of Defence, Jim Mattis, by tearing live snakes apart with their teeth and drinking the animal’s blood in a bizarre military display.
The astonishing clip showed soldiers screaming as they chewed on snakes and poured the reptiles’ blood all over each other.
The Defence Secretary – whose own nickname is ‘Mad Dog’ – watched as the comrades flung the snakes around before one crazed fighter bit through a live King Cobra, much to the enjoyment of the audience.
In this shocking footage, Indonesian soldiers proved their worth in front of the United States Secretary of Defence, Jim Mattis, by tearing live snakes apart with their teeth
The theatrical ceremony even featured a blindfolded soldier who shot out a balloon held between the legs of one of his colleagues. At least one shot missed, although no one appeared injured.
To the sounds of beating drums, the Indonesian troops performed a series of gripping martial arts techniques, breaking what appeared to be concrete bricks with their heads.
Wearing a hood to blind him, one knife-wielding fighter slashed away at a cucumber sticking out of his colleague’s mouth, coming just inches from striking his nose with the long blade.
The astonishing clip showed soldiers screaming as they chewed on snakes and poured the reptiles’ blood all over each other
Mattis appeared to enjoy the display, which came at the end of a three-day visit to Indonesia
At the end of the demonstration, soldiers – along with police dogs – jumped out of helicopters to the theme tune ‘Mission Impossible’, in a staged hostage rescue operation.
Mattis appeared to enjoy the display, which came at the end of a three-day visit to Indonesia, and spoke about how the Indonesian forces were smart to wear the snakes down before trying to handle them.
‘The snakes! Did you see them tire them out and then grab them? The way they were whipping them around – a snake gets tired very quickly,’ he sais as he flew to Vietnam.
Indonesian forces have to face jungle conditions on occasions and sometimes encounter snakes.
To the sounds of beating drums, the Indonesian troops performed a series of gripping martial arts techniques
Wearing a hood to blind him, one knife-wielding fighter slashed away at a cucumber sticking out of his colleague’s mouth, coming just inches from striking his nose with the long blade
Mattis appreciated the intensity of the training and added: ‘You could imagine how much training went into each individual there, that they were able to do that.
‘When you watch a force do that, many small things, perfectly, you can imagine that they can also put the bigger things together.
‘Even the dogs coming out of those helicopters knew what to do when confronting the terrorist.’
Some of the troops came from Kopassus, Indonesia’s elite special forces, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Indonesia hopes Mattis can restore closer U.S. military ties with Kopassus, which have faced restrictions under U.S. law over human rights abuses in the 1990s.
Mattis spoke about how the Indonesian forces were smart to wear the snakes down before trying to handle them
The Defence Secretary – whose own nickname is ‘Mad Dog’ – watched as the comrades flung the snakes around before one crazed fighter bit through a live King Cobra