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
