The Squad Leader 2

On arrival at the Para-military training College, we were greeted by officers on sentry. The look on their faces was that of curiosity but their eyes were emotionless. At the gate, we wrote our full names, our degree qualifications and any other qualifications (we got to know why later) and signed against our names. We were received by two Corporals, who were later to become our everyday NIGHTMARES! We were directed to our hostels.

The hostels are called Barracks and they are dormitory-like. There are double deck steel beds in a hall that could accommodate up to fifty officers. We were told it was our mandate to keep the barracks and our lavatory clean, and the cleaning, called “Fatigue” was to be done everyday. We were to be scrubbing the floor, the corridor and the pavements leading to the barracks everyday, the lavatory had to be spakling clean, “tumia ulimi au chochote… bora hiyo mahali igue sabi” thundered the fat corporal. We laughed our heads off. “mnanipima? Mimi ni nyama? Officers mimi si nyanya yenyu… na mimi si nyama” he was now getting infuriated. On realizing this, we all kept quite and listened as he spelt out the standing orders of the college.

Everything in the college is done in an orderly manner. We were taught how to do almost everything. How to spread the beds, how to shine our boots, how to arrange our clothes, shoes and beds, how to iron our clothes, How to wear our clothes, how to walk, how to stand, how to sit, how to turn, how to run, how to shout (no kidding), how to sing, how to swing our arms, how to position our heads, how to crawl on our stomachs.. God I can go on and on. But of course there were some we had to teach ourselves like how to cry….. That one just came voluntarily!

After the orientation, we had a meeting with the College Commandant. He gave us a warm welcome and handed over to our administrative Sergeant as well as the drill Chief Inspector.

This was the beginning of our change.

The evening was easy as we unpacked and identified our beds. I was tired and excited, I must have dozed off at midnight.

I’m woken up in the middle of the night by a loud blow of whistle and shouts of “.. watu hii manalala saa hii??…. amkeni…!!” There was a mad man in our barracks! or so I thought. I looked around and there stood the Physical Training Sergeant!! A very well built guy with a no-nonsense look on his face. “.. mimi nagaa kama mama yako gichana… amga na ufall-in” (do I look like your mother young man, wake up and queue) I jumped out of bed and glanced at my watch.. it was 2.45a.m!! I was about to start protesting but the look on the Sergeants face made me change my mind. I looked around at my colleagues and no one was complaining. Everyone was busy spreading their beds.

I slipped into my track suit and after spreading my bed, ran out for a parade before the morning run. Here, we met other recruits who seemed to know what goes on with so much precision; you would think they were robots. “PARADE” the commander thundered. There was a unison reply of “ONE!!!” Now this was interesting, it was like a scene from one of those military movies!! The difference was the fact that I was in the middle of it!! “PARADE, PARAADE SHAWN” This is a command to stand attention, but since this was our first day, we just stood there like logs! “Watu hii mananipima…. Nitawanyambia mavi mbaya!” thundered the commander. I know this is vulgar language but hey, that’s the language they use there! At first we thought it was offensive but its part of their job and we got used to it, needless to say enjoyed as well.

That morning we ran twelve Kilometres (outside the college) in darkness shouting “ONE!” when your left foot hits the ground and “TWO” when your right foot steps down. yeh ONE…TWO… yeh ONE … TWO…. [I remember this guy whose mouth was faster than his feet.. he really made us sweat tryin to catch up with his mouth…] I have never done anything crazier than this…. we complained of stomach stitches, we begged our instructor to slow down; a number of ladies cried but the instructor could hear none of this.

It was survival training, he told us. The idea of stopping to catch a breath crossed my mind. I slowed down and looked around, it was dark and cold, the area looked lifeless, lights could be seen from a distance and no sign of life existed. I changed my mind and caught up with the group!!

We got back to the college and after a few aerobics and pushups, we were released with instruction to be in the mess (dinning hall) by 6a.m. for breakfast. As we ran to our barracks for a shower, so many questions ran through my mind? Is this what this organization is all about? Is this what it takes to be an MT? Did I make the right decision to quit my former job and join my current employer? Do I really deserve this punishment in the name of training? Damn…. I had to do something.. and it has to be done soon…..

[Part 3 of the Tribulations of The SQUAD LEADER continues…]

Quotes makes me think really hard... they teach me alot as we.... I will be sharing a quote with you everytime I post...

"The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort- he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature" Arnold Bennett

M-o-n-d-a-y.... Monday

It’s a Monday once again, my work is customer facing and today in the morning I got into confrontation mode with a customer. Customers can be very stubborn, thank God for my customer care skills and anger control mechanism. The guy hurled insults at me but I did what I do best.. ignore the stupid guy. That served to infuriate him more. However, if I wasn't bound by the company policies, I would have gotn physical with that stupid man.....

Well at the end of the incidence, he was the stupid one.. you knu.. like a dog barking at a stationary tree......

well, thats how I started on my Monday.. wonder how my week will turn out..

The Squad Leader

My week has been interesting.. I boarded a dhow for the first time eva.. and I tasted shark (meat?) for the first time as well.. It was an interesting experience though dhows are very dirty and stinky.. the crew members are very rough people and they are run by shrewd business men... all the same.. it was an interesting experience. I was at old Town of Mombasa.. the place is good and I will tell you about it later.. for now.. let me share with you some experience... Things I had to go through and why I am a Squad Leader

This is the story of the Squad Leader. The tribulations, the joys, the dark days, the bright days, the long walks, the cold water dips, the chilly nights, the early morning runs, the excitement, the achievements, the growth, the resistance, the thrills, the hurdles and the occupational risks of being a Squad Leader.

The survival tactics and survival instincts: the experience of leading a group of intelligent, energetic, innovative and diverse young men and women. This is the story of a SQUAD, from a Squad Leaders perspective.

The day is 17th July 06, the room is packed with well dressed young men and women, the venue is PanAfric hotel and the occasion is opening ceremony, Management Trainees (MT’s) for a Kenyan organization (referred to herein as The Organization). I look around sizing everyone and trying to read their characters. Everyone looks confined though composed, the first impressions are impressive. I warm up to my seat mate and squeeze out her name and her occupation. She is a lawyer! I’m impressed. Lawyers fascinate me (I’m a Computer Scientist), and now that I will be working with one, it will be an interesting experience.

The opening ceremony is presided over by head of HR, coordinated by two HR officers. The Head of HR articulated the Vision of The organization and the fact that we were the first MT’s to be recruited in this particular section. We were to go through a specialized training. First, para-military training and then a leadership and experiential training in Mt. Kenya. After which, we would go thru a thorough training in The organizations college. (That sounded easy, but events that happened between then and today, still amaze me!!)

At the end of the induction course, we had to choose the leader of the group. I must confess I love challenges and I’m not a spectator. I love being part of the action, if not action itself! I offered my candidature and so did a colleague. I was voted in as the leader (in the military arena, the leader of a squadron is called a Squad Leader) and my colleague as the deputy. The group elected the lady’s leader as well. With the induction course over, it was time to get into real action… it was time, as a group, to begin our first test of endurance, teamwork, physical, psychological and inborn strengths. A week later we all packed our bags and headed for the Paramilitary training and this was the beginning of the making of sharp, intelligent and analytical young leaders……

The second part coming soon….

"The Money Makers"

“THE MONEY MAKERS” The headlines on Saturday Nation Newspaper captured my attention. I held out a fifty bob to the vendor and grabbed the paper. All the faces on the front page are very familiar to me… these are Kenyans I admire, these are the CEO’s running the show on the corporate scene….and they are youthful. I am a very ambitious person, and I consider myself a leader.. as I read through, I keep telling myself….. “.. I swear I will be like one of these people…” (and I still swear I will!)… These are Kenyans who have been entrusted with responsibilities and proved that integrity and professionalism can do wonders….. I once worked in the business headed by Adan Mohammed and I truly admired his business acumen, he is professional and means business (incidentally, Martin Oduor-Otieno and Julius Kipng’etich-KWS have worked for the same business)

Of interest to me as well was Mr. Titus Naikuni, the man heading Kenya Airways. He joined Magadi Soda as a trainee engineer and rose up the ranks to be its MD in 16years. I joined my current employer as a Management trainee/Graduate Trainee and this gives me hope and the necessary motivation to aspire for the top post as well. …

My First

I’ve been an on and off reader of ThinkersRoom, Shiroh, Milonare, GND and the rest of the crew blogs, then one day a voice told me.. may be you shud join in.. n a second voice replied.... hey why not… and soo.. here I am…. Alittle about me now, eeehh.. Kenyan ofcourse, currently in coast on an assignment till Dec then back to Nai… Lets just say, I have a paramilitary training experience.. not Kiganjo though…. So I’m not a cop…. and let’s leave it at that…….been in coast for the last seven months now and its alotta fun. I believe ours is a great country......

Soo.... this is the blog of a Squad Leader. The tribulations, the joys, the dark days, the bright days, the long walks, the cold water dips, the chilly nights, the early morning runs, the excitement, the achievements, the growth, the resistance, the thrills, the hurdles and the occupational risks of being a Squad Leader. The survival tactics and survival instincts, from the Squad Leaders Perspective...