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Step Down, Sarge~ Early Show Interview

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puddin:
Surviving ‘Survivor’

‘Sarge’ back from the war


If he had “Survivor: Vanuatu” to do over again, Lea “Sarge” Masters, a Fort Jackson drill sergeant and Columbia resident, might do things differently to try and be the last man standing instead of the ninth one voted off.

He might have formed an alliance with some of the younger guys instead of the older ones. He might have struck a deal with Julie instead of Twila. And he definitely would have lost the first individual immunity challenge instead of winning it in grand style.

“That was one of the dumbest things I ever did in my life,” Masters said. That made him a threat and thus a marked man to the other survivors. He knew he was stronger physically than the others, but smartly “didn’t show it in the beginning.”

Masters, 40, is back in Columbia and back at work but returns to New York for the final live episode when he along with six other jurors choose the $1 million winner of “Survivor: Vanuatu.”

Meanwhile, we quizzed him on his experience:

How did an Army sergeant get time off to do this show?

I was a drill sergeant for four years and had no vacation. I had 2½ months saved up and when I asked higher-ups about doing the show they said that would be great.

You said your son Chris (an 18-year-old senior at Richland Northeast) wanted you to try out for the show.

Yeah. But he wouldn’t go with me to the casting call. I put my little drill sergeant get-up on and he wouldn’t go. I said, “You told me to get crazy.”

The survivors on “Vanuatu” seemed to fare better physically than survivors on previous shows, who seemed to be hungry most of the time, eaten up by insects and at the mercy of a fierce sun or pounding rains.

The big problem was the coral. The ground is all coral and the coral sliced up your shoes and chewed up your feet. I got a coral infection when it sliced up my leg. It was infected all the way up to the hip. They asked me if I wanted out of the game but I wasn’t going to quit. (After he was voted off, Masters received antibiotic treatments for a few weeks.) I have scars now.

What do you take away from this experience?

It was Civilian Life 101. My friends are all soldiers. Every day I deal with soldiers. I had to learn that not everybody lives a disciplined life. I’m going to have a big challenge when I separate from the military. (“Survivor”) helped me prepare for my future. (Masters enlisted in 1986.)

Are there any survivors you would enjoy as friends?

Chris and Chad and Julie even. She’s a high-spirited person.

Did your wife give you a hard time when you took a dare and flashed some derriere while sunbathing?

That was a joke. She laughed her head off when she saw it. We’ve been married 20 years. She knows I was playing a game.

Were friends and colleagues at Fort Jackson watching?

Everybody has been supportive. Probably 50 to 80 percent of them never watched it. No one has time. But they set their VCRs and they’d shoot me e-mails.

On the CBS morning show, you (said) Twila might have a good chance of winning. Are you sticking with that?

No. I just said what came into my head at the time. Julie could do well. I’ll be watching to see what they have to say. There’s a lot of anger going on now and it’s going to get ugly. Scout doesn’t like Eliza.

— Pat Berman

Bathfizzy:
Good article.  I am sure Sarge's wife got a good laugh when she saw his white butt blurred on national tv.  I am sure he will be razzed for quite a while. 

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