Reaper has a great point I agree with. The problem with supplements is that too many people view them as a shortcut to the result they want.
I have pretty extensive experience with the supplement market and high level atheletics and can confirm this is the case most of the time. For supplements to make a difference you have to be operating at an extremely high level and for pretty extended periods for the supplementation to be needed or to make a difference.
There are two different types of "supplementation" that people tend to use on a regular basis; nutritional supplementation and chemical supplementation. The nutritional supplements tend to be more useful over a long period and also less harmful. I.E. if you want to spend a lot of $$$ on protein powder and are willing to work a lot harder to put it to use, more pow(d)er too you. thanks for helping the economy and plugging the pipes. Your muscles can only repair themselves at a certain rate and you can only use a certain amount of protein at a given time; it's a fact. Extra powder is just that; extra and unused.
The other category, chemical, is less useful and very much more dangerous. The more common stimulants like ephedra and creatine offer no advantage, and can or will kill you under the types of activity you would be undertaking in a Special Forces training situation or active engagement. Stress, lack of nutrition, exertion and temperature extremes and dehydration will cause you heart problems or worse.
Recently they released a study on ephedra and it's . The end result was thametabolic effect. The upshot was that if you took ephedra, your heart would speed up enough to burn off 1 piece of bread in 24 hours. So if you need the boost of taking ephredra, try and beg a cracker from someone. It's about the same.
Creatine; what a joke. I was part of a double blind study in college on the effects of creatine. End result; no benefit. The act of taking creatine makes you believe your muscles heal better and you worked out harder. Getting bigger. They did the same study at Notre Dame at the same time, and got the same result. Taking creatine motivates you to work out harder, getting stronger. So forget the ephedras, and creatines. Roids, that goes without saying. I have personally seen a lot, and I mean a lot of roid users. Yes, roids can get you tremendous muscle gains and you can actually make use of that extra protein, but the costs are too high. And I'm not just talking about M.U.S. (miniscule unit syndrome) or W.A.M.B. (where are my balls?!) syndrome but pretty severe skeletal or joint issues because of the increased size. Then there are the "other" issues, not the least of which is death, so avoid roids.
Now, all this being said, and I've already said too much, there IS a benefit in supplementation for certain people and situations. I've never been in the military but I've been in similiar training programs as far as physical stress and there is a lot to be said about going into said program in top physical condition so as to increase your chance of not being injured or degrading to the point of compromising your performance. This generally means, a good workout program, a good strength training regimen and great nutrition. Great nutrition might include protein loading if you are lifting that hard. It also might include calcium because if you are lifting that hard you are building bone up and bone is an often overlooked structural issue. Calcium is also critical to muscle function, exactly why I forget but if you are low on calcium you'll cramp like a biaatch under heavy load.
But when you are in top physical condition, and you finally get into the "program", enjoy the fruits of your preparation and use just two supplements; Water, lots and lots of water, and carbs.
You will be burning calories like mad and you should keep up on your carbohydrates. Low glycemic index carbs beat high ones but I'd take whatever they fed me since you probably don't have much choice in food when you are getting shot at, either figuratively in training or literally.
One supplement that was popular with my group during heavy training or games were glucose tablets. These were big round lime flavored things that were just straight sugar of a kind that was easily absorbed. Marathoners are also a valuable source of quick energy sources, locally they are fond of the honey packets from KFC
I'm serious. They are cheaper than the commercial ones and still a pretty serious jolt of pure energy.
So just make sure to eat right, and stay hydrated and you will mostly have your bases covered. If you aren't eating right you might benefit from some supplementation but the right answer is what Reaper said; eat right, work hard and take care of yourself and you're good to go.
CrashBurnRepeat