Back in green for the first time in more than a year and it was not exactly a good feeling. Not that there was any "defects" in the uniform but the thought of being "interned" does not bring about scenes of joy or celebration. Yes, it is the dreaded in-camp training...
The guys were pretty much in the same mood as I was but we pretty much cheered each other up with our usual bantering over tea. For this in-camp, we were going to go through the Army Training Evaluation Course Stage 1. It consist of a series of technical tests and small unit evaluation exercises.
The only good thing about this whole period was the proximity of the camp to a special someone, making my nights off extra special. After several months, I'm still dealing with the fact that I'm no longer the single care-free boy anymore but I enjoyed every moment of it, well maybe not much the down moments but it's mostly up anyway.
Clearly I've inherited a very good group of guys who know what needs to be done without me having to lift much of a finger or voice. So naturally, every one of us did our best for the tests for the first week and we managed to get a high rating. The second week was to be a frustrating one as it was physically tiring (even though it was a much shorter distance than a full exercise) and it had to rain whenever I was out there! I find comfort in the fact that I was able to finally pay a visit to the area where I spent ten years of my life, growing up climbing trees and playing in the dirt. I barely recognised the place but the main roads hasn't changed much since we were relocated from the place.
The group did our best and we were left biting our nails about the rest of the unit but we pulled through with a good performance and scored a high rating for stage 1. It was sweet relief to finish this in-camp training and get back to my life over the weekend but then again, I'm not exactly looking forward to going back to work....
The writer is looking forward to something that's going to happen in a very short while...
