What crucible-type training events have had an impact on you? What worked and what didn’t?

Excellent article, CPT (Join to see). I had never heard of these crucible training events, much less Mungadai, probably for two reasons. (1) I was an MI guy and a warrant officer. (2) I retired in 2006.

This sounds like a great idea, a great (fun?) way to build esprit de corps, and an interesting (and likely effective) way to evaluate junior leaders.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this paragraph:

"A crucible event, by any name, is an opportunity to train and evaluate the leaders within your organization while establishing espirit de corps and a collective understanding of your leadership philosophy across the unit. Leaders who may rarely interact in their daily garrison routine are forced to work together and forge relationships that will be essential to the success of future operations."

That sums it up quite nicely. And, as you pointed out in your post, this type of training can help a leader determine who can be counted on when the going gets tough. It might also help the senior leader with his/her senior rater profile.