One Down

And nine more in camps to go.

The aims are noble, but in practice the entire affair is rather farcical. Wayang, some call it. In an organisation where individuals are constantly under pressure to show results, where mistakes are desperately covered up, where the ends matter infinitely more than the means, things quickly lose their original meanings.

The overall picture is really quite depressing, so let's not go there.

Despite everything, there were some nice memories to be had. Watching endless waves of helicopters taking part in a massive Guardsmen exercise flying through the night sky, accompanied by the glow of fireflies and lit cigerettes of your fellow soldiers. Watching the sky make its slow transition from night to dawn, and to hear the forest come alive with the light. Sitting at the head of a 40 vehicle convey, waiting for orders to head out to the next deployment ground.

One redeeming point was that the people in my company are generally quite nice, responsible and cooperative. Of course you will inevitable have a couple of bad eggs, but as a whole these are a bunch of people I wouldn't really mind spending the remainder of my in camps with.