Our Class teacher was a grizzled veteran, Stabsadjudant R. (Staff Warrant Officer) whose voice never sank below 90dB. He was stubborn and liked to have things done his way, and his way only. He was assisted by three Adjudant Unteroffiziere (Warrant Officers) [Addressed simply as "Adjudant"]. Adjudant V. who was trained as a crewman (at that level as both Gunner and Driver) Adjudant W. who specialized in the Urban Combat practiced by the mechanized infantry. Finally, there was Adjudant J. who was originally one of the combatants and then re-trained as a crewman. Our Stabsadjudant himself is a combatant. There was a rumour that made its way through our class during the first week of the UOS (Unteroffizierschule) that our class teacher had served in the Foreign Legion. Whether there is any truth to that rumour, I will never know.
The instruction and training we received was fantastic. We finally received answers about all the finer details of our trade as well as the basics of being a soldier: First Aid, Means of Coercion, NBC defense and the basic manipulations and practical use of our assault rifles.
As previously mentioned as of the start of the second week of the UOS, I was having trouble with my left knee. The military med station being what it is, I was given anti-inflammatory creme and pain killers and sent back on my way. At the beginning of the last week, I was sent to the local radiological institute to have an MRI done: Low and behold, there is something missing around or near my meniscus, which allows the tendons to slide in a way they shouldn't. (I'm not exactly clear on the finer points of it) In any case the deficiency in my knee was the cause of the pain, especially if strained over long periods of time.
Another highlight of the UOS was the combined arms exercise during the final days of the UOS. We began preparing our tanks the evening before so that we could get up the next morning and make the final checks and prep before heading out to the firing range. That evening, it was also decided who was to man the four tanks the next day. I had the great good fortune to be the gunner in Uno (Tanks in a platoon are numbered in Italian). The commander of Uno was Adjudant V. whom I got along with quite well. So, In the morning we rode out to the firing range and after going over the exercise on the small miniature of the firing range as well as one dry run, we opened fire. We ran the exercise three times through, making the appropriate breaks for lunch and reloading the machine guns and smoke screen grenades. During our final run through the Chief of Staff of the Austrian Army as well as Korpskommandant A. Blattmann of the Swiss Armed Forces. I was afforded the opportunity to exchange a few words with the Austrian General, a great honor to be sure. An honor I will never forget.
A few days later the UOS drew to a close with the final inspection via the Colonel and his assessment team as well as the age old tradition of the final exercise. We had no idea what to expect, though being grenadiers, we expected the worst. We were in for a quite a treat. We were flown with a Super Puma from Thun to Grauholz (just outside of Bern) to learn about the battle that happened there on March 4th 1798 and afterward being driven to Neuenegg (also just out side of Bern) to hear of the skirmish there on March 5th. How the Swiss forces won the battle, but lost the war due to political blunders and cowardice in Bern.
Thus the two mottos engraved in the memorials: Seid Einig (Be unified) & Den Kampf Gewonnen, Das Vaterland Verloren (The battle won, the homeland lost). Due to the disputes and political indecision in Bern (thus: Be unified) the Swiss government surrendered to the French and French rule until 1803.
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