Unteroffizierschule (NCO School)

The "Unteroffizierschule" was a whole different type of difficult. We began to look at the various aspects of our training not as recipients or students (e.g. recruits) but as teachers and instructors. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the second week of training, I began having trouble with my left knee which hindered my participation in the better part of the field exercises we had.

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.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Our platoon has shed all three within the past 12 weeks.

I've sweat more during my time in the army than I have in the rest of my entire life thus far. Not that that is a bad thing. Its a sign that we are working hard, doing our best. Its a testament to reaching towards, arriving at and going beyond one's physical limits. In the words of one of my company's Staff warrant officers after the entire company had just run 5km within 23 minutes: "You really feel alive after a run like that." Not only was the run exhausting, but the outside temperature was averaging 27 degrees Celsius. In the end though, no matter how hot and sweaty one is, the shower afterward feels fantastic. After one has recovered there's a certain pride and sense of accomplishment that comes from having endured.

Blood, we've all shed it, some more than others but there isn't a week that goes by that we don't come home nursing bruises, cuts and other wounds. We give it our all and more often than not that results in cuts and bruises. We bear them with pride however, a peculiar badge of honor.

On the first of September, we unexpectedly lost one of our own. We mourned. We attended the funeral. There wasn't a dry eye in my entire platoon. The death of a friend and comrade puts life into a unique perspective. There's little that can be said to ease the pain and loss. One needs to work it out and come to terms with it and never forget his memory and the good times shared as well as the hardships endured together.

Tomorrow I return to Thun for Junior Officer School (Unteroffiziersschule). One thought that as continuously crossed my mind during the past 11 weeks is the concept of the guardians as outlined by Plato in his work "The Republic". I've seen some interesting comparisons between Plato's guardians and Switzerland's Militia system. Which brings be to another point of interest: I'm pleased to report that Switzerland has decided against changing with structure of the Armed Forces from a Militia system to a Voluntary/Professional system.

From Recruit to Tank Grenadier

Week 5 was the first time we were allowed to even touch the tanks that sit in the hall we work in. As I have previously mentioned, I am a Tank grenadier crewman. Our company has five platoons: Ambos, Bivio, Canale, Dimitri and Emil. Ambos through Canale are combatants while Dimitri and Emil are crewman. The two jobs are vastly different. The combatants are in essence highly specialized infantry that sit in the back of the tank (eight per tank) and are deployed to fight other armored vehicles, clear buildings and neighborhoods. The crewman operate the tank. There are three of us to a tank: the driver, the gunner and the commander. I am a gunner.

The amount of technology that goes into a modern tank continues to amaze me. The training I've received as a gunner is extensive to say the least. We've learned the ins and outs of the tanks weapon systems. We've disassembled and reassembled the main cannon in under 15 minutes. We've disassembled and reassembled the machine gun so many times that we can all do it blind folded. We've spent countless hours in the simulator learning the finesses of the controls as well as developing the second nature of reacting to different targets and understanding how to combat them.

I've volunteered to be a NCO as well as a candidate for officer, I was promoted to soldier at the beginning of week 8. On that Friday, the aspiring NCO and officer candidates had the honor of partaking in exercise "Grenatieri" at the end of which we earned the grenade insignia for our uniforms. Grenatieri was fun, the first station was to run through a 12 by 2 yard mud/water obstacle, on the other side we had to take off all of our gear and then neatly place it on the ground and then run back through the mud to the side where we began. We then had to select two stones from a large pile, (there weren't any small ones) and then crawl back through the mud to our gear. The next step was to put all of our gear back on (this includes combat backpack, utility belt and assault rifle, in total weighing 20 kilograms) and then run down to the next set of obstacles which were 4 tank stairs (which are used by the repairmen if and when the tanks need to be fixed) the fun part about that was we had to climb up the side that didn't have stairs, then run down the stairs to the next set. After helping our comrades over the last set of stairs my patrol (group of 11) set off to the next obstacle which was moving as quickly as we could up a hill through the trees and undergrowth. At the top was my staff sergeant who sent us to the next station. Now I failed to mention a few important details about all of this. First off this took place at dusk, in the rocky, rugged, uneven terrain of the off road tank track, next we had to carry the stones with us through every obstacle of the first station (we deposited them at the end in a pile that was arranged into the grenadier's grenade), furthermore we were split into patrols of 11 people who started at different times (to avoid chaos and enable closer supervision) finally all of this was done under time pressure, with officers and under officers yelling at us to pick up the pace.

The next station was under the supervision of the staff sergeant from Bivio. He instructed us to get in to push-up position, which we then held for close to two minutes. After that we had to take all of our gear off and pick up a tree trunk and carry it a good 750 meters with a PFC sitting on it. The last stretch the PFC got off as we carried the tree trunk up a 50 degree incline. After depositing the tree trunk where we found it, he had to to get a quick sip of water before we had to run down the hill to the next station run by the staff sergeant of Ambos.

This station was by far the hardest as we had to carry the heaviest man in our patrol (he weighs roughly 88 kg) for about a kilometer without having him ever tough the ground. This required someone to grab all of his gear, two other people to carry him and a fourth person to lay down on the ground so the "injured" comrade could stand on the back of the man laying on the ground while one or two replacements jumped in to continue carrying the "injured" comrade. The last 250 meters we were put under time pressure to reach the finish line (which was pre-determined before the entire exercise began). We made it in time and crossed the finish line with our battle cry. We were then instructed to put all of our gear in a neat row about 150 meters off to the side and wait for the other two patrols to finish.

We then had a small ceremony in which a ceramic grenadier grenade with cardboard flames was lit on fire and then smashed by our company CO. Within the grenade was a satchel wrapped in aluminum foil which contained our insignias. We were each called by our staff sergeants and each staff sergeant distributed the insignias one by one. Now there is a special tradition within the grenadiers, that upon receiving the grenade insignia, all of one's officers congratulate you, and then punch you as hard as they choose in the chest where the grenade is on your uniform. So it was with us. One by one my staff sergeant and all four of our PFCs congratulated me and punched me in the chest. Looking back its a night I will never forget.

The moment a recruit has both the rank of soldier and the grenade over his heart (on his uniform), we are no longer allowed to announce ourselves as recruits or soldiers or anything else, but as Panzergrenadiers.

The Grenade of the Grenadiers

GREN CHARS! QUEL EST VOTRE METIER?!? AOUH! AOUH! AOUH!

Brothers in Arms (Weeks 2 through 7)

In my opinion, the Summer of 2013 was one of the hottest in recent memory. The army is hard, there's no doubt about it. The sleep deprivation is what really gets to you in the long run. the days are long and one week feels like a month. The entire tank corps of Switzerland wears black berets with our dress uniforms. Each Corps has a different color beret indicating what corps they are. Every other corps wears a camouflaged cap while they work and are in their camo fatigues. We have the distinction of wearing black berets with our camouflage fatigues. Needless to say black berets don't offer much in the way of staying cool during the dog days of summer.

I am a Panzergrenadier Besatzer, that is, I'm a Tank grenadier crewman. As a crewman I wear a one piece jumpsuit instead of the normal two piece uniform worn by most other ground forces.

The first seven weeks of recruit's army service are spent learning the basics or being in the army. That is, how to shoot, how to correctly announce ones' self to a superior and comrade, the 5 basic firing positions, the ins and outs of our assault rifles, the basics of camouflage and tactics during night operations, how to properly align all your gear when placing it in a straight line, how to properly clean and grease our boots, what a properly cleaned and tidied room looks like and so on and so forth. On top of all that is the serious amount of physical exercise that we do on a daily basis. Unfortunately for me, I did little in the way of exercise before the army. In the beginning I felt I had bitten off more than I could chew. Fortunately I have my brothers in arms to encourage me, push me and keep me going on a day to day basis. We are a family, we rely on each other daily, and together we are strong. There were a few days that were real tough. I pulled through however and I'm sure glad I did.We pull each other through. All of the above mentioned sounds far simpler than it really is. It takes an awful lot of attention to detail, coordination and practice to get it all right, and after a few hard lessons in one or the other subject, you make sure it gets done right and after a while it becomes second nature.

Despite being some of the hardest weeks of my entire life, some good came out of basic training. In week 3, while at the 300 yard shooting range, the Company XO calls me over and informs me that I'd be attending an "Information & Recruiting" day for the Translation Officer Company. The following day I went to Bülach along with 35 other recruits from all across Switzerland. Out of these 35, myself and four others were selected to be aspiring Translation Officers. Prior to that point in time, I had been interested in pursuing a position as Feldweibel (Sergeant Major). The Sergeant Major of a company is responsible for the day to day workings of the company, from making sure the rooms have been cleaned properly (which can have disastrous consequences if they aren't), making sure equipment and gear is sent off for repairs in a timely fashion along with all sorts of other tasks. At the end of the Recruitment day, I had to weigh the pros and cons of both, and found Translation Officer to be far more beneficial to my life plans as well as something I would enjoy more throughout the rest of my army service. I am now among the those who will continue on to become NCO (Unteroffizier) or Officers. Instead of finishing off 21 weeks of RS (Rekrutenschule) I will go further and serve longer. And though the first few weeks were rough, I'm glad to be serving and glad to be able to capitalize upon this once in a life time opportunity.

Becoming a Recruit: the first week of Bootcamp

On the first of July 2013, I entered service with the Swiss Armed Forces in Thun. Thun is the oldest and biggest of the Swiss army bases. Thun has always been the home of the cavalry in the Swiss army. As technology progressed and cavalry units were replaced by armored vehicles and eventually tanks, Thun became the home of all of Switzerland's armored units.

In January of 2012, I was recruited by the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF) as a Panzergrenadier at the Recruiting Depot in Windish. The Panzergrenadiers (Tank grenadier) are considered some of the toughest soldiers in the SAF, right behind the Infantry Grenadiers, the Parascouts and the Military Police Grenadiers. I was more or less oblivious to all of this at the time of my recruitment.


I took the train from Zurich to Thun on Monday the first of July. More than half of the train was full of young men much like myself. I don't think any of us knew what to expect, much less what awaited us when we arrived. I arrived at the Thun train station at 12:26. We poured out of the train on the the platform and followed the signs out to the street. For many of us, myself included, this was our first time in Thun. This horde of civilians made its way towards the specially arranged bus stop a ways down the street. The buses brought us to the the gates of the army base and from there, we made our way to our respective Halls depending on our assignment as either Command Echelon Soldiers, Reconnaissance and Anti-tank Soldiers, Tank Soldiers and Armored Sappers, or Tank Grenadiers.

We arrived, got checked in (they check to make sure everyone who is required to start their service actually shows up) and were sent to our respective platoon areas to begin to grab our gear and announce our arrival to our staff sergeant. Our company has 5 platoons: Ambos, Bivio, Canale, Dimitri and Emil. I was assigned to Dimitri. After announcing myself to my staff sergeant, I was ordered to grab a sleeping bag, put my name on it and place it along with my personal bag at the end of the row with the rest of the other sleeping bags and personal belongings of the other recruits in my platoon. Immediately there after we were ordered to shave our head. All but 2 out of 31 complied. Little did we know, but shaving our heads is not mandatory. The peer pressure to do so eventually persuaded the two to do so about two or three weeks down the line.

After the haircut, we began with platoon school, in which the staff sergeant or one of our PFCs (Private First Class) gives us orders to run around and eventually line up and practice marching in different formations. It takes a while to get right, though once it does work right it looks really cool.
The rest of the day was spent with receiving more of our gear and uniforms, getting to know each other and our officers as well as going to the barracks for the first time. It was all very exciting but also exhausting. Our first day drew to a close with the event known as ABV, which is short for Abendsverlesen. ABV is the practice of making sure everyone is in their rooms, present and accounted for at 23:00 as well as distributing important information for the next day. Because we were new to all this and there is a specific process in which ABV has to go down, the first couple of weeks it took anywhere between 30 and 40 minutes. Now this is fine if you are allowed to lay in bed and pretend to sleep. We were not. We want to be grenadiers therefore we had to stand at ease next to our beds. For anyone who isn't particularly in shape or used to standing at ease, 35 minutes is an awfully long time.

The first week felt very long and was stressful. Tuesday we received our personal weapon from our company CO. Through out the course of the week we received the rest of our gear and material. The last thing we received was our dress uniforms. It wasn't until weeks later I realized just how much we received and just how much it all weighed.

During the first week I averaged about 4 to 4.5 hours of sleep every night. Its quite a shock going from 7 to 9 hours of sleep to 4 or 5 hours a night. As with many things in the army, especially as a grenadier, you grit your teeth, put your head down and rough it out. After a while you get used to it.

On Saturday morning at 0630, the entire company clad in our dress uniforms, stood in a half circles around our staff sergeants. After standing in formation and then at attention for the company CO, we were released on leave for the weekend. I needed to be back on base for ABV at 2300 on Sunday night. We made our way to the train station, bade each other a pleasant and restful weekend, and took the respective trains back home.

I survived the first week. I was officially no longer a civilian, but a Tank grenadier recruit in the SAF. Though the hard part was yet to come.

Just What I Needed

It happened again. I didn't make a point to update my blog and before you know it, 5 months have passed. Though, to be fair, I have had a pretty busy five months.

I am now back in Switzerland and have been for a little more than a month. I've spent the month of June preparing for the next big adventure ahead of me, but more on that later.

My last semester at Moorpark College went well. It has hard though, there were a few moments that were touch and go. Overall I ended with three B's and three A's. I was able to walk out of Macroeconomics (the class that was the most trouble) with a solid B. Moreover, not being a math person I also got a strong B in Statistics, which peculiarly has rekindled my interest and appreciation for mathematics. I've suddenly understood just how valuable mathematics, especially Statistics can be.
 [As a side note for inclined towards literature, Ian Ayres' book "Super Crunchers" is a mind blowing look at how statistics effect day to day life. Now a book about statistics sounds boring, but Ayres does his best to make it straightforward and tangible in such a way that anyone would understand and appreciate it]

Around Christmas time I began a serious search for the next step in higher education. Despite the possibility of studying at a university in Switzerland, after making a few very disappointing calls to some of the local universities and putting some serious thought into studying here, I decided to apply to a university in the United Kingdom. The application process is different from that in the US. In the UK you apply through a central service(University & College Application Service, UCAS for short), who then relays your application to the universities of your choice. After getting all of the requisite information together I sent off my application to 5 Universities: Aberystwyth, Durham, Edinburgh, Sheffield and St. Andrews. It took about a month and a half but I heard back from every one of them. As it currently stands, I have a conditional offer from the Welsh university to study International Politics & Intelligence Studies.

In other news, I decided to get my GED in April as a sort of safety net, and it cant possibly hurt to have it. The greatest academic accolade I achieved this year was my Associates Degree from Moorpark College. I graduated on the 23rd of May with an Associates in Arts with an emphasis on Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a GPA of 3.46. I glad to have graduated and been able to bring to a close that chapter of my life.

Between graduating and flying back to Switzerland I was afforded the opportunity to drive up to northern California with my father (who flew out to California to see me graduate and help me move back to Switzerland). We spent a day in Sacramento which was very fun. I had never been to the State's capitol before and Old Town Sacramento is really a blast. I was able to see a few of my GBT friends who I hadn't seen since the GBT V graduation the previous summer.

All in all, I will and do miss California and all the adventures I had there. The time has come for me to move on however and I look forward to the next adventure that lies before me: Boot camp in the Swiss Army!


The past month has been spent in getting adjusted to a different time zone, cleaning up and out my room and meeting up and reconnecting with friends. This weekend we had the whole ratpack (katlyn included) over for a great of pizza and a host of Wii games! Otherwise I have been mentally preparing myself for the army as well as breaking in my combat boots.

Tomorrow morning, the first of July, I will get on a train and make my way to the barracks and Army base in Thun. It will be my home for the best part of the next 5 months give or take. I'm not only excited but a little bit nervous. I am looking forward to the change of scenery, pace and life style. I plan on keeping a journal as best I can while there and will try to provide an occasional update on my life in the army.

Babel

The first week of a new semester is always disorienting, no matter how long you've been in school.  A host people hopelessly lost, trying to find the right class room. There's a general confusion in regards to classes, class rooms, teachers, time schedules and everything in between.

I've survived the first week of school fairly well. I'm feeling pretty good about my classes this semester. I'm taking Statistics, Macro Economics, English Composition, Critical Thinking, Meteorology and Western Civilization 2.

On Saturday the 18th I took a day trip up to Ventura with my friend Samantha from school. Not only was I searching for a change of scenery, but also one of the cultural highlights of Ventura county: Salzer's Records. Salzer's is an old school record shop right off Victoria boulevard in Ventura. Walking in felt like walking back in time to the mid 1980's. Salzer's has a little bit of everything, vintage vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, T-shirts, Incense sticks, Stickers and lots of other miscellaneous items. Our mission was to pick up the latest Mumford & Sons album "Babel" which I found on vinyl!

Looking forward to a great final semester! One week down, 17 left!