72 km route march
finally over and done with. just in case if you dunno i've been waiting this day for a long time...not for the walk but the beret. in the whole SAF this is the hardest beret to earn. not a single soldier (that i know of) will take more than 6 months to earn one, and i've taken like 10 plus months! bleahz. now it feels better to be someone, and not a little junior wearing jockey cap in the camp of the Reds.
10 months, full of blood and sweat, lotsa abrasions and blisters too. Blood shed in missions, hit by rifle which gave me terrible ulcers; nose bleeds like gushing water taps but is just a norm for me. Sweat, all over soaking till the tip of the toe when you've to run with your alice packs ( dun ask me why the name, and i'm sure the one from wonderland din carry it before even though red may be her favourite colour); endless SOCs, IPPTs, power run trainings, static PT sessions, all just part of the usual practice for becoming one. Abrasions, can be prevented but as times goes by, no prevention could help. it can happen anywhere, any place, anywhere. red fleshy skin you'll see, as you shower you'll feel, as you walk others may see too. lol. thankful i din have any at the groin, just all on the thighs. weird eh? it's just so unpredictable. Blisters too, may just pop out around your blister prevention plaster. and as you step on it, it'll just spread as the liquid in it presses all direction and start to expand it's mass. and when you walk on rocky paths you'll feel the stones as you jump up cos your blister has stepped on one.
before the march we were asked, are you worth it? should i ask all this trouble we've gone through, is just to be one, a better man contributing to the society for this 2 years and then is just reservice? sigh. i guess someone has to do the job, and i've not exactly regretted for being in the unit, even though the choice is not up to me to decide. i guess being 'operational ready' is better than 'in operation' . nevertheless, it's not easy to be in the reds, to go outfield like nobody's business. but i can't say it's difficult, it's all in the mind. what we have is not individual strength, but brotherhood. helping each other, Unity means strength. just a hand, just a push on the back to let you feet move faster and catch up with the rest, helping each other with the heavy load, helping each other to stay awake, sharing water and food, little acts means something, easy to say but in the situation all shagged out are you able to demonstrate it?
at the end of 2 years i guess there's something for us to be proud of, something we can't buy. we learnt to live as a better man, mentally stronger than others and a leader everywhere we go.
to all who belong to the brotherhood,
For Honour and Glory.
