I am afraid to say that you are all wrong, no offence though.
The story is American therefore just a story
Look on the top right of the photo - you will see the palm of the soldier holding these two arachnids and thus give you an idea of scale.
Their max. size (body only not legs) is no more than half a cigarette in length.
As I have studied and bread these arachnids I know exactly what they are. And one thing they are deffinitely not, is dangerous.
They are Solfugae or Solfugids (Eremobatidae)Solfugid means, roughly fugitive from the sun (true, they don't like the sun). They come out at night but really only after rain. Also
commenly know as 'rain spider'(inaccurate name) or Wind Scorpion.
They are actually not spiders at all more closely related to scorpions but niether scorpion nor spider.
They are NON venomous but use speed and an articulate 4 jaw system to eat yes crickets pill bugs and sometimes very small baby mice.
They also do squeak like mice when they are hurt. The soldiers were deffinitely aggrevating them and hurting them otherwise they would not know that they squeaked. This is sad really as they they are very sensitive creatures and harmless
You will also notice the golf tee like stuctures on the underside of the bottom Solfugid, these are hypersensitive sense organs that can detect vibrations hundreds of meters away.
Solfugids also have the ability to climb almost all surfaces (a bit hair raising as my British lady friend found to her horror on her visit to my home in South Africa) - even glass as inside their two front feelers (not legs)or pedipulps are sticky blobs much like the tongue of a chameleon that they use to grab prey and climb smooth surfaces.
They are wonderful creatures when you get to know them and they are harmless but can give a bit of a nip with those powerful jaws - not enough to draw blood though.
My message to the soldiers is:- stop pissing about scaring people and giving Solfugids a bad name.