The new batch of C-2000 recruits included 34 people, representing 22 contracting companies from all over North America, and each had enlisted to learn from some of he best hvacr, plumbing, and electrical contractors in the business. These mentors functioned as drill instructors, leading participants through four days of intense instruction, often reinforcing lessons by chanting them in cadence as military music swelled. There might not have been pushups or an obstacle course, but there were wally-ball and floor hockey to release the tension after days crammed with classes, videotapes, and homework exercises. The process was designed to tear everything apart in order to rebuild it — like the military boot camp that was its inspiration. Only here, it was not an elite fighting force, but a better business that was the underlying goal.