The recruits put their hand-to-hand combat skills to the test, while an elimination test on a 400 metre sand dune proves to be the final straw for four of the recruits. Among the other challenges they will face during a gruelling 48 hours are a seven-metre backwards dive and a simulated ambush while driving.

Reece and Sarah are put in charge for the escape and evasion test, while calls from home unsettle some of the recruits and prompt an honest reflection of the cost of war from Rudy. The recruits are pushed to their physical limits as they pull vehicles weighing 1000kg from the sand under indirect simulated fire. But being under pressure opens old wounds as some reflect on issues around bullying, infidelity and self-esteem.