Both Uses of

ordeal
in
Fearless

At the same time, former SEAL Dick Couch was gaining clearance from the Navy to observe and document what Adam was about to undergo, "a process," he would write in The Warrior Elite, "that transforms young men into warriors...a distillation of the human spirit, a tradition-bound ordeal that seeks to find men with character, courage, and the burning desire to win at all costs, men who would rather die than quit."†
p. 108.5

ordeal = very difficult or painful experience

Throughout this sad ordeal, Adam sought moments of refuge, comradeship, and ultimately spiritual strength from Chaplain Springer.†
p. 226.7 *

Definitions:

(1) (ordeal)
a very difficult or painful experience
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Much more rarely, ordeal can refer to a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control. Escape or survival was usually taken as a sign of innocence.