The Indonesian military ate snakes, headbutted bricks, and walked through fire for James Mattis

On Wednesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, a lucky crowd was treated to a display of firewalking, snake-eating, and brick-headbutting. No, it wasn't a carnival or some bizarre game show — it was an exercise put on by the Indonesian military for Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Mattis witnessed this ... unique demonstration of military ability as part of his excursion through Southeast Asia. The Fear Factor-esque display was apparently a surprise, Newsweek explains: "The press traveling with Mattis was expecting a hostage rescue drill."

Mattis was quite taken by what he saw, Newsweek reports, and exclaimed to reporters: "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." The hostage drill did happen eventually, "to the tune of the movie Mission Impossible," Newsweek notes.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Watch a video of the action below. Kelly O'Meara Morales