COEUR d'ALENE - Sometimes, it's fun for the military to whoop a little civilian arse.

Sometimes, it's good for the civilians to take a licking, too.

Mission accomplished.

"I love it," said retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. J.B. Spisso, who led a group of civilians through a rescue mission Tuesday afternoon at Tubbs Hill, complete with scolding and rough-edged commands. "It's awesome."

But who knew a group of Sunshine Minting, Inc., Wine Cellar restaurant and Power Audio Video employees could save a downed pilot?

They can, though it isn't easy leaving the workplace for the outdoors to search and recover.

"They were exhausted," said Patricia Power, owner of the three Coeur d'Alene businesses who hired Spisso and his company, Elite Leadership Training LLC., to teach her employees the skills of teamwork, toughness, communication and courage through military exercises "And they thought it was going to be a walk in the park."

But it's not as crazy as it seems, Spisso said.

Name a workplace where those qualities won't get you ahead and where teamwork isn't appreciated? Elite, established in 2005 in Phoenix, has been hired by major businesses such as Pepsi and National Hockey League teams to sharpen teamwork training.

"It can be a little bit tough on them," said Spisso, a 26-year veteran of the Army. "Look at them, they don't know what's going on."

The afternoon mission in Coeur d'Alene required saving a downed and injured pilot off Tubbs Hill. He was waiting behind some rocks on the west side beach. In this scenario Tubbs Hill has a Landing Zone where the team can catch a helicopter out. But they only have 40 minutes to crawl on wire they set up between trees, find the pilot, splint his leg, pack him up in a gurney, and carry him through water, and up the rock facade to the trail, which is where the chopper would come.

"You don't know what you're getting into," said Bill Ballard, SMI lead and trainer in the mint room who traded that position for camouflage, face paint, buckets of sweat, and the right to get barked at by an Army sergeant major for the first time. "You get a little taste of what the service men are going through."

After the initial squad found the pilot, they left him alone to search for wood to splint his leg. That didn't please Spisso.

"Are you (bleep)ing me?" he yelled. "You just found him and you're all going to leave him? Who does that?"

In the end, teamwork, trust and 100 percent effort got the pilot out, seconds to spare. And that was the name of the game.

Michael Gardiner, SMI supervisor, took a plunge shoulder deep in the water while crossing with the pilot.

"Well worth it," he said.

The major commended the team. After all, it wasn't a bad showing - for civilians.

"There are some," he said, "that are just comical."