Didn't see that _Mail Call_ but I spent from 1984- 1997 working as a DAC at USAJFKSWCS and took part in the exercise for a couple of years, so maybe I can help. Note that lots of details have changed, I have been out of the loop for a good while now.
"How do you get to be one of the guys getting trained?"
Only one way, join the Army, volunteer for Special Forces, make it through the Q course. Only the Q course students get the training you are talking about going in, ROBIN SAGE is the graduation exercise for the Q course (SFQC, or Special Forces Qualification Course). Graduating enlisted students, led by officer students, are formed up into mock A detachments for the exercise, given a scenario, do an area study, planning drill and then brief back their 'mission,' just as they would in real life. They then get infiltrated into a fictional country (used to be The Republic of Pineland) to run their exercise. No guarantee they will pass either, it is not a done deal going in.
I saw one young captain/A detachment commander fail his ROBIN SAGE, for example- but only because he deserved to. He committed an egregious security breach and the G chief nailed him on it. Real world it would have compromised his entire team and their whole operation, not to mention his G force too. He should have known better than to do what he did in the first place, and definitely should not have kept on as if nothing had happened for two more days and nights. But he did... and it cost him.
"From my understanding its just the civliilan population around the area. How do I get to do that?"
Living in the area and having an interest is a start, knowing someone already involved in the program is a big help. Or you could get a civvie job in the special operations community on Bragg. Biggest help might be having property or buildings someone wants to use in the exercise. A lot of those people in the region have been involved in the exercise for generations. There are lots of good feelings on both sides, Army and civilian, established over a very long time, for lots of reasons. And the exercise is conducted over a WIDE area in western NC, and shifts around.
The civilians are just role players, like I was, never SF trainees, Gs or OPFOR. The OPFOR (opposition forces) are made up of other soldiers, usually active duty infantry types, from Ft. Bragg- they get a chance to hunt guerrillas so it's good training for them too. The Gs (guerrillas) that the student A detachment is supposed to be 'training' to liberate their 'country' are usually active duty soldiers too. Often they were cooks'n'bakers, rear echelon folks with absolutely no idea what they were in for. A friend of mine who was one of the Phase 3 committee folks who worked as a "G Chief" in charge of the 'guerrilla force' always said he could tell when the G force was really going to be special, they would show up on Bragg packed for the trip using their Samsonite luggage.... The committee liked unprepared Gs, it meant their trainee 'A detachment' was in for a real challenge.
"You get to learn how to use explosives, run around with M16s, go camping, comeon it would be a blast!"
Oh, it IS a blast, I assure you. But the civilian roleplayers don't do any playing with automatic weapons or explosives. They do things like playing part of the resistance organization the G's are actually 'supported by' and 'fighting for,' local people who provide shelter, food, transportation, security, information and anything else to help out their Gs. A lot of times that means being up all night helping the G's and then having to go off to their real world job as if nothing had happened. It calls for a lot of work and sacrifice.
By the way, ROBIN SAGE is a code name AFAIK. Doesn't stand for anything I ever heard of. In decades long past the exercise was also called CHEROKEE TRAIL or GOBBLER WOODS.
lpl/nc
crawfish- whatchoodoin on THR at work?? 8^)