Learning Pt. II

During the first ten weeks of training everyone learns the basics - be they drivers, artillerymen, chefs or infanteers. I guess that's why it's called basic training. After that each trade goes off to learn its specialist trade. Drivers learn to drive, artillerymen find out all about big guns, chefs learn how to burn food and the infantry are educated in the finer points of travelling the world, meeting interesting people and killing them. I'd chosen the latter - although according to the manual I was going to learn to "close with and kill the enemy".

Phase 2 training for the infantry is 12 weeks long and this time as I got off the train I was feeling slightly more confident than I had first time around. It was a totally different station I'd got off at though - a new phase, a new barracks and hence a new station. I was quite surprised when I entered my new home to find that in a former life it had been an airfield.

Now airfields are windy.

There is a reason for this although I don’t know what that is. I’m sure one of my “colleagues” in the Royal Air Force could elaborate. Not only was it a windy former airfield but it was a windy former airfield in the north east of England which means it was cold as well as windy.

Leaning into the wind with bags on each shoulder I set off in search of my barrack block ready to begin learning again....