Passing basic training in your forties

Well, I did it! I passed basic training, on August 26th I was on the parade square at St. Jean garrison in St. Jean sur Richelieu Quebec with 160 other graduates. Finally!!! It did take me a little longer than most, but I take solace in the fact that many my age never complete it. In fact a lot of people aren't able to get through no matter what their age, because it isn't easy.

Let me give you a glimpse into a pretty typical day. At the recruitment centre and through the literature provided I was told that a typical day starts with getting up at 5 AM, I wish!!!

Actually some mornings the first timing is 5 AM, having a morning jog isn't unusual and it usually starts at 5 AM. That means getting up, dressed in your PT gear(physical training, shorts and t-shirt) and formed up downstairs. After 30-40 minutes of jogging, push ups, sit ups, squats...its back upstairs, 5-10 flights (elevators are out of bounds) for a two minute shower and then getting changed for breakfast. Back down those stairs in the appropriate dress of the day, properly shaved, then back up those ####ing stairs again to set up for an inspection that comes at 7 AM.

Think you might want to skip breakfast? Not enough time? Hah, too bad! You have to have your ID card swiped at each meal and meals are mandatory. So if you can't get your kit laid out for inspection in 15/20 minutes, well you'll just have to learn how. And that doesn't include time for 'station jobs', cleaning and keeping tidy the common areas like laundry rooms, bathrooms and hallways.

Sound like fun? Your bed has to be made the proper way, with the sheets tucked in at 45 degree angles....Boots polished with a nuclear shine, all the clothes in your locker properly folded and shirts ironed with starch, rifle dismantled and laid out on the bed in the proper format.

I heard of one guy who lost it just prior to inspection. With only a minute or so left before staff came to inspect his space he was laying out his rain gear, bush hat and gloves...fingers toward the pillow, thumbs toward the wall. Only problem, he slipped and banged his arms on the wall sending everything sprawling across his bed....his gas mask and carrier, boots, weapon. Everything in disarray and with no time to get it back in order he started screaming, "#### IT!!!!", while proceeding to have a tantrum and making a mess of his desk as well.

Inspections normally took about an hour, given that there would be 3 or 4 staff inspecting about 50-60 recruits.

After inspection there might be a class on military knowledge, or a physical training session in the gym or pool. There were also lots of drill lessons: learning how to halt, about turn, present arms....and the older you get the harder it is to learn.

Ruck sack marches of 3, 7 and 13km with up to 75 lbs of gear on your back. Dragging another recruit 20-30 metres along the ground, digging out a box (about 3'x7' and 3' deep) filled with gravel in six minutes. Obstacle courses with climbing walls and logs to run over, crawling through pipes on your hands and knees. And push ups, push ups, push ups. Get some one's rank wrong, gimme 20. Have a button undone? That's 25.

Fitness of course is huge, and you may have seen a very recent article about how the CF has had to make changes to Basic because of so many out of shape recruits. Its true, about 10% of those coming in, based on my observations, are unable to meet the minimum requirements. I had no problem with it, but then I'm not addicted to video games like a lot of younger guys.

Anyway its onward and upward for this middle aged soldier, I'm now posted in Ontario for further training but first I'll be heading out west shortly for a month long training exercise.

Here's a picture from my graduation, sorry for the proof but the real one is on order so it'll have to do for now. Thanks for reading, I probably won't be able to update this space until October sometime.

Know Someone in the Forces? Send them a letter

A very quick update for those who've been keeping an eye and looking for the very rare updates here, I've completed basic and have left Quebec for a new posting in Ontario where my training continues.

Being in the CF has resulted in a reintroduction to something many consider to be outdated and old fashioned, writing letters. I'm not talking about emails or updates on Twitter and Facebook. I'm taking about taking out some paper, putting pen in hand and sending an actual letter, through the mail. You use things like envelopes, stamps and mail boxes. It occurs to me that there are likely some twenty somethings out there who have never received or sent an actual letter, birthday cards with a couple of sentences don't count.

Satisfaction delayed is satisfaction savoured in my books, and waiting a week or so for an actual letter to show up makes it all the sweeter. Sitting with a group of 30 or so other soldiers when mail is delivered, its an interesting dynamic. Most of the mail received is the usual assortment of bills and account updates...however when someone gets an actual letter, you can smell the jealousy in the room and I'm not immune, unless I get one or two letters of my own.

Hacking out some words on a keyboard, and hitting the send button is just too easy. Knowing that someone took the time to actually seek out pen and paper, then took even more time to address, stamp and post the letter...it means something. And I try to always answer letters sent to me, many emails go unreturned.

And it doesn't have to be someone in the Forces, my kids love getting letters...but then their Dad can go weeks without access to a computer so communication is harder, but also much more appreciated in whatever form it takes. Those of us over 40 remember things like pen pals and checking the mail box every day in anticipation of correspondence.

If you know someone in the Forces, take the time to send them a letter...I promise it will be very much appreciated, whether they're in Canada or overseas. Soldiers, just like everyone else, get too many bills.

Father Time at boot camp, entering week 10

Two and a half months I've been here, I arrived March 13th and if everything goes according to plan on the 18th of June I'll be done and on to my next posting. As time marches on the training gets tougher and tougher, but I'm holding strong and having made it this far I'm not going to stop. The CF does allow recruits to ask for a voluntary release after 5 weeks, but that isn't even on my radar, I just add it for those who might be curious.

I didn't realize I was claustrophobic until this past week when I had to crawl through a maze in a sewer pipe that was pitch black. Down on my hands and knees the darkness closed in on me and I had a panic attack. After screaming "I HAVE TO GET THE #### OUTTA HERE" I soon realized that with 20 guys behind me the only way out was forward, so moving as quick as I could I scurried ahead and jammed the butt end of my weapon into the ass of the guy in front of me. After pulling back my weapon he told me to keep my hand on his foot and he'd get me through...and he did. Canadians never fight alone, we hang tough together, the second time through I was fine.

Still more tests await me, field training comes in weeks 12 and 13 along with a week of sleep deprivation, but I took parental leave with both my kids so I'm sure I'll survive.

For any forty somethings thinking of joining up I'll offer some advice. Firstly get in shape before you get here, there's lots of running, lots of push ups and sit ups and lots of physical training. Those who don't meet the minimum physical standards on arriving are sent into training which lengthens the stay is this little corner of hell. Before joining I used to run 5k two or three times a week with plenty of sit ups and push ups. Two weeks back I managed 45 sit ups in one minute, not too shabby I think....the top guy in our section of 15 or so did 50, but he's only 19 or 20 years old.

Oh yeah, and be prepared to deal with the juvenile behaviour of "kids"...most of whom consider breaking up with a girlfriend in grade 10 to be their most stressing life experience. I can handle the stress of basic better than handling the stress of dealing with freaked out teenagers.

That's enough for now, thanks for reading and feel free to ask questions. I do check back from time to time and may add to this space on the holiday Monday.

Life at boot camp...at the age of 43

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.


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