Say what you will about our national defense, but Joel Lambert, a US Navy SEAL veteran and host of the Discovery Channel show Lone Target/Manhunt, called the Philippine Army Scout Rangers the best in the six-part series that took almost two years to finish.
According to Lambert, “Those guys were good. They were really good. The Philippine Scout Rangers is one of the best unit I have encountered so far, yes they don’t have the advance military tech like those in the U.S but the scout rangers have captured me based on their instincts and jungle experience.” Even the executive producer of the show was impressed, saying he was “blown away.”
In the series, Lambert is dropped off ahead of time in a selected location in six countries, and must reach a pre-determined extraction point within 48 hours while elite trackers have to hunt him down. In the Philippines, the setting was the Subic jungle, and he was successfully hunted under the leadership of Lt. Jerson Jurilla. Lambert was captured when was just a few kilometers away from the extraction point.
Aside from the Scout Rangers, Lambert also evaded the U.S. Army’s Phantom Recon Unit, the Polish Straz Graniczna border guard, the South African International Anti-Poaching Foundation, a Panaman elite anti-drug force, and a South Korean National Police SWAT unit.
According to Eddie Barbini, the show’s executive producer, “Their strongest asset is the ability to sustain themselves in this harsh environment. These guys can move through jungles unlike anyone has ever seen.”
Lambert said the Scout Rangers were the best and that the Philippine episode was the most difficult challenge. He said, “As far as doing the series, the most difficult episode by far was here in the Philippines. The Scout Rangers were one of the most competent and difficult opponents I faced, and the jungle around Subic was the worst I have ever been. It completely was not I anticipated. My plan didn’t work… It was really, really miserable.”
According to Lt. Jurilla, they were able to capture Lambert despite their limited resources because of their extensive knowledge of the Subic jungle.
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