Besides heavy fighting, almost everything the army does is much duller than in the movies. Here are a few examples:
I think I’d add: Vehicle Maintenance/Daily Inspections, washing and lubricating Armoured Personnel Carriers (CVRT - Spartan APC). We’d wash them and if prepping for an inspection, would wipe Swarfega over the armour which makes for a very nice finish, but sadly also screwed up the IRR paint. However, looking good was more important, as if the inspecting officer didn’t like the look, it would have to get washed and cleaned again.
The ridiculous efforts one has to make for an inspection of one’s workplace or base for some senior officer’s inspection (painting lines on the ground, painting stones white, painting the grass green, sweeping the Bondu etc).
The rotation of keeping Gunners occupied on IS duties: 24 hours on patrols and IRF readiness of 2 minutes prepared to move (so resting with boots on, webbing next to you, ammo issued, weapons in the rack next to you), 24 hours off for rest and personal admin, 24 hours training, which if weapons sometimes involved going back to SLR lesson 1, where previously you had been out on foot patrol with live rounds in the rifle. Incongruous. For reference, this was in the British military in the 1980s’. At FT Riley, 1st ID would do the annual Pass and review at the parade grounds every summer that I was at Riley. So Battalion sized units would March past the reviewing stand. This event would take up most of the day, not counting all the practicing my Battalion did leading up to the event. My Battalion was always the second to the last Battalion to march past. We were at parade rest for so long. It was very hot and soldiers in the ranks were passing out. You had to stay alert because when someone passed out you could get struck by their M16 as they fell backwards. Plus the sun just cooked your feet due to those black boots. I hated that day, it was miserable to say the least.
One of my worst memories from my service was sitting in a hot classroom listening to the instructor drone on and on after spending a night on guard detail.
My god! If I could bottle the feeling of sleepiness of those classroom sessions and sell it in a pharmacy I’d be a billionaire. Transport by train is the part which I camr to know recently. My jiju was going to a camp at Guwahati and the train took 5 days to reach. We were worried all the time and I can imagine how frustrating it can be for army personnel who are traveling in AC coaches when ACs are turned off and train is stalled for 5 hours at some random place. It's humid and you aren't supposed to leave the coach to get some fresh air. I can totally relate to the train issue. The following really happened during the South African bush war (Angola/Namibia)
A regiment (that shall remain nameless) were loaded on a train back to South Africa on the conclusion of their tour of duty.
The worst about the trip was that it took about 4 days travelling from Windhoek to Johannesburg.
Halfway through the trip the troops became so bored that they dismantled the interior of a coach and turned it into an indoor cricket pitch. Rumours had it that nobody was sober from the start to the end of the trip.
All hell broke loose on their arrival and the whole regiment was sentenced to another tour in the ops area, with almost immediate effect. I know about them, we were the original regiment who relieved them in Ovambo. That was the year with the most mishaps I ever had up in Ovambo. On our way to Ovambo the kitchen wagon on our train caught fire. Nearly the end of winter and the tents are bone, bone dry. Somebody screams:”fire!” I run out of my tent and am just in time to see the tent pole slowly toppling, the tent already burnt up. A civvie working there got a new R1 and decided to try it out. Bullets flying through the camp and everybody running around like a chicken with his head chopped off. A whole lot of ammo cooked off because the previous regiment’s guys wanted the pullrings from the smoke grenades and stuffed matches in the splitpin’s place to keep the handles on. Little incidents that made life interesting at the time. This is universal enough, i thought you were an American vet for a moment. On reading about railhead, i went back to see the author and where in USAEUR he was ( i read the answer before looking at the author).
The instructors…. The best can actually make a dull subject interesting and the average to worst could make a class on sex with demonstrators boring enough to snooze to. Too bad the best are so damn rare.
- Speeches from officers. Everyone just prays that they are over quickly. It’s a lot like in church when you were a young child that wanted to play outside. Boring as freely
- Parachuting after your tenth jump. Once you know how it works, the whole thing isn’t fun anymore. The most boring part is getting into your parachute gear (which is extremely uncomfortable, especially in the groin area) and waiting for hours for your plane. It's almost exactly like waiting for a civilian flight, only that you have to arrive five hours before check-in and there’s no airport bar.
A German Navy diver (photo: Focus)
- Diving. A friend of mine was a Navy diver. They were getting so bored from the routine diving trips that they lay down on the seabed, slept an hour, and then got back to the surface. Most of the time, the water was so dirty that they couldn't see anything.
- All classroom activities. Army instructors are very good at turning even the most interesting subjects into dull and boring lectures. Your biggest problem will be not to fall asleep.
- Transport by rail. Army trains have the lowest priority level which means that they are much slower than even the slowest local train. Sometimes, you stand still on the tracks for hours and hours. A 170-kilometer (105 miles) train ride from Kassel, Germany to Bergen-Hohne Training Area took us once over 18 hours.
Military life is not ‘James bond' work everyday. It is pretty mundane and monotonous most of the time.
Classroom lectures.
Many people join military thinking that they don't have to study anymore. But the reality is just the opposite. You'll have to pass exams and courses regularly in military life.
Parade
Parade definitely looks good to a civilians eyes. But when you start doing it everyday it kind of becomes boring.
Patrolling
A soldier wearing full gear with loaded weapon doing regular patrolling around sensitive areas looks good for a picture. But it becomes boring and monotonous after some time.
Firing in a firing range
You might be thinking “ you gotta be kidding me” . But ask any infantrian who goes to firing range every week for regular firing. After a year or so of service you'll start feeling boring of firing.
Picture courtesy Wikipedia
Thanks for Reading
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