As you may have noticed this blog has more or less gone silent, those who've kept tabs know its because I've joined the Canadian Forces, a buck private recruit at the age of 43.
I didn't come to this decision lightly, and I have found it even more challenging than I anticipated. Obviously the physical component is very taxing, but frankly I'm not doing too bad at all keeping up with the twenty somethings on my platoon. More difficult for this soldier is the adjustment to military life, realizing that you are at the beck and call of your superiors 24/7/365. That is of course as it should be, military service inherently means that you put yourself second and your country first.
Basic training is 13 weeks long and on Monday I'll be embarking on week 8. Everything is designed to see how the individual copes with stress, be it physical, mental or emotional. Being in my forties is in many ways an advantage, although I do miss my children incredibly. That's something that has to be dealt with though, once fully trained if I'm sent on a humanitarian mission to say Haiti, well missing family is part and parcel of the job.
I won't have many oppourtunities to update this space but if I do I'll jot down a few lines.
Thanks to you Canadian Soapbox is now listed in the Top Ten at Canadian Blogosphere. To help this blog climb even higher click on their icon, then hit the green button to vote - limit 1 vote per day per IP - thank you.
I didn't come to this decision lightly, and I have found it even more challenging than I anticipated. Obviously the physical component is very taxing, but frankly I'm not doing too bad at all keeping up with the twenty somethings on my platoon. More difficult for this soldier is the adjustment to military life, realizing that you are at the beck and call of your superiors 24/7/365. That is of course as it should be, military service inherently means that you put yourself second and your country first.
Basic training is 13 weeks long and on Monday I'll be embarking on week 8. Everything is designed to see how the individual copes with stress, be it physical, mental or emotional. Being in my forties is in many ways an advantage, although I do miss my children incredibly. That's something that has to be dealt with though, once fully trained if I'm sent on a humanitarian mission to say Haiti, well missing family is part and parcel of the job.
I won't have many oppourtunities to update this space but if I do I'll jot down a few lines.
Thanks to you Canadian Soapbox is now listed in the Top Ten at Canadian Blogosphere. To help this blog climb even higher click on their icon, then hit the green button to vote - limit 1 vote per day per IP - thank you.
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7 comments:
Kudos to you for signing up.
Any reason that pushed you to join?
I certainly wish you all the best. I hope to hear more about your life in the Forces.
I'm 43, and can't imagine trying boot camp.
They take 43 year-olds? What are you angling to do?
Good luck! And thanks for your service!
Kudos. I wouldn't even have been able to make it at 19 :)
I'll have more to write on the topic later hopefully...a lot of joining up had to do with mid-life crisis and a re-evaluation of my life after a bitter divorce.
"a lot of joining up had to do with mid-life crisis and a re-evaluation of my life after a bitter divorce.
I hear you. Oh, do I ever. We're the same age, and I'm divorcing... and signing up had been something I'd twice considered in my life. I stopped thinking of it because I thought they didn't take old men like us... but now that I've learned that they do, I've now found myself actively considering the prospect again.
If I join up, it's all your fault. LOL...
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