On the 2nd of December, after a week of vacation in Malta, I began Officer's School in Bülach. Up until this point the Führungsunterstützungs Offiziersschule 30 (FU OS 30) had been in Frauenfeld. In a way, we were guinea pigs, as much of the logistical details, facilities and exercises were being done for the first time here.
After the Korpsvisite (the introduction of all the officers and class teachers at the beginning of a course or school), we got settled as best we could in our rooms (6 guys to a room, the smallest room I've ever been in during my time in the army). We also met for the first time our class teacher and his aide: Major F. and Lieutenant H. The Major is an old school bunker artillery gunner (a function they no longer train in the SAF) he has a very sarcastic humor and straightforward practical way of doing things. It took some time to come to appreciate it, in the long run however his opinion is one I learned to respect and heed (not only because he was my superior, but because there was no bureaucratic non-sense involved and he gave practical, real world advice) The Lieutenant began his service as an infantry grenadier (a detail we only learned of at the very end of Officer school) but after and accident in the 5th week of boot camp and some surgery had to change functions and ended up with the Transmission and Communication Corps as a "Richtstrahlpionier" (Lit.:Direction Beam Pioneer, they are responsible for line of sight communications in alpine areas) He then choose to become an officer and is now on track to become a professional Officer.
After settling into our rooms, in the evening before dinner we had an intro test about the basics of the Army, Swiss history, the geography of Switzerland and other stuff along that line. Thereafter we had the 5km "Waffenlauf" (Gun Run) in which you put your assault rifle in your otherwise empty combat backpack and go for a run. The time limit was 31 minutes and I finished somewhere between 26 and 27 minutes. The following day we received our personal Officers material including the Pistol 75, the Officer's Box and a third set of Combat Boots. Having a new side arm was, and still is very exciting.
Early on Thursday morning, Exercise "DARKSIDE" began. The exercise was "Band of Brothers" themed and was very exciting. I had the opportunity to be our class' platoon leader for most of the exercise. Despite being a rather taxing job, being platoon leader was an exciting and valuable experience. The exercise lasted until Friday afternoon and saw us set up a bivouac area, get dropped off (like WW2 paratroopers) without any maps or any other direction aid or locating device aside from a compass, and need to find our way back to the rendez-vous point in Frauenfeld, as well as fire our pistols for the first time.
All in all, it was a good first week. There were 14 of us in our class, the Army Translation Officer class. We are now part of the Transmissions and Communications Corps, which belongs to the Air Force, and not the Army. The objective of an officer school is to train and prepare individuals to become platoon leaders and officers. in the FU OS, there is only one Translation Officer class once every two years. Some of the training and exercises are geared towards platoon leaders. Us Translation Officers will never be platoon leaders, or have our own recruits. Because the officer school is not geared towards us (which is fine and good) the previous Translation Officer class created a bad reputation that we would have to face at every turn. Instead of just manning up and getting it over with, many of the previous Translation Officers (or so I was told) complained and made a fuss about needing to accomplish tasks geared toward leadership and leading a platoon. Because of this reputation, any of the class teachers were loath to take responsibility of and lead our class. We really lucked out with our Major, who proved to be the best of the three throughout the course of officer school.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Last Days in Thun/ Bern: The Central Officer's Course
After the UOS I attended the first week of the Panzer/Artillerie Offiziersschule. This first week of any new school or course is known as the KVK, the Kader Vorkurs. That is when all the officers and under officers spend a week together, getting to know each other and prepping for the up coming period of service together.
Though I wouldn't be attending the Pz/Art OS, I was still obliged to attend. While there, we learned some of the basic skills required of an officer: Learning how to read a map, the basic geography of Switzerland, the Tactical signs used on maps and the entire theory block and test on being a military sports instructor (which would come to my aid at a later point). At the end of this all, I was required to return all of the Corps Material (Material that belongs to the army and needs to stay on base) that I acquired during my first week in Thun as a recruit.
The following week, I arrived in Bern at the Mannschaftskaserne in the middle of the city. I was to spent the following four weeks in Bern with all of the aspiring officers from all of the branches of service.
We were divided into three companies, each named after one of the Swiss Generals. (Switzerland has had only four full fledged Generals as they need to be elected and confirmed by the Swiss Parliament) I had the honor of being in the best company: WILLE (Named after Ulrich Wille, General of the Swiss Army during the first World War).
While there I was able to make new friends, see old ones like Suresh G. (who I've know for close to 8 years from the church we both attended in Zurich) Within WILLE we were divided into six classes, each headed up by a Major. Over the course of four weeks, we learned the basic thought processes an officer and platoon leader needs to master, we looked at the various elements of the SAF from the Armoured Corps and Artillery to the Air Force, Special Operations Command and SWISSINT (the Peace Support branch of the SAF). We played Five games of Ultimate Football, not soccer, but American Football. It was interesting. I quickly realized that it was a team building exercise. Our class won out in the end and as the best team from WILLE competed against the best teams from HERZOG and GUISAN (the other two companies). We won against GUISAN and tied against HERZOG. Unfortunately, HERZOG won against GUISAN with a better Goal difference and was declared the victor of the competition.
The best experience out of this all however was the contact I had with people from the different branches of the SAF. Our class, as well as all the other classes were a healthy mix of everything from infantry and engineers to tankers and medics. It was great to be able to swap stories and see how the other half lives. At the end of it all we were a close knit group. We then said our good byes and went our separate ways, off to a week of vacation and then to our respective Officer schools.
Though I wouldn't be attending the Pz/Art OS, I was still obliged to attend. While there, we learned some of the basic skills required of an officer: Learning how to read a map, the basic geography of Switzerland, the Tactical signs used on maps and the entire theory block and test on being a military sports instructor (which would come to my aid at a later point). At the end of this all, I was required to return all of the Corps Material (Material that belongs to the army and needs to stay on base) that I acquired during my first week in Thun as a recruit.
The following week, I arrived in Bern at the Mannschaftskaserne in the middle of the city. I was to spent the following four weeks in Bern with all of the aspiring officers from all of the branches of service.
We were divided into three companies, each named after one of the Swiss Generals. (Switzerland has had only four full fledged Generals as they need to be elected and confirmed by the Swiss Parliament) I had the honor of being in the best company: WILLE (Named after Ulrich Wille, General of the Swiss Army during the first World War).
While there I was able to make new friends, see old ones like Suresh G. (who I've know for close to 8 years from the church we both attended in Zurich) Within WILLE we were divided into six classes, each headed up by a Major. Over the course of four weeks, we learned the basic thought processes an officer and platoon leader needs to master, we looked at the various elements of the SAF from the Armoured Corps and Artillery to the Air Force, Special Operations Command and SWISSINT (the Peace Support branch of the SAF). We played Five games of Ultimate Football, not soccer, but American Football. It was interesting. I quickly realized that it was a team building exercise. Our class won out in the end and as the best team from WILLE competed against the best teams from HERZOG and GUISAN (the other two companies). We won against GUISAN and tied against HERZOG. Unfortunately, HERZOG won against GUISAN with a better Goal difference and was declared the victor of the competition.
The best experience out of this all however was the contact I had with people from the different branches of the SAF. Our class, as well as all the other classes were a healthy mix of everything from infantry and engineers to tankers and medics. It was great to be able to swap stories and see how the other half lives. At the end of it all we were a close knit group. We then said our good byes and went our separate ways, off to a week of vacation and then to our respective Officer schools.
 |
| L: the badge we had made as a souvenir from our time in Bern R: The WILLE Co. Badge, comprising the Wille family coat of Arms, the Officer's Dagger and a scroll representing Instruction/Teaching |
Monday, March 3, 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
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.
GREN CHARS! QUEL EST VOTRE METIER?!? AOUH! AOUH! AOUH!
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.
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| 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.
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.
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.
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