Stand Down

As you know I'm just a tad busy at the minute.

I'm also finding it hard to find anything new to say on this blog. Hence the reason it's all got a bit crap lately.

So for the time being Universal Soldier is being stood down.

I'll almost certainly start blogging elsewhere.

I might be back here at some point. We'll see.

Thanks for reading.

How Exciting

Looking forward to trying out the new version of blogger - that makes me sad doesn't it?

Answers - #10

Gonorr asked:

"PBI* or support?"

Well I used to be the former until my body decided it wasn't such a smart move and now I'm definitely a REMF.

* - Poor Bloody Infantry. Support = support troops - did you know there are something like 9 support troops to keep 1 infantry soldier in the field?

Here Comes The Bride

Although it is nearly 8 years ago I can still feel the ice in belly as I woke up on the morning I was due to get married.

The party had started the night before with a little 'light ' karaoke that had broken the ice between the in-laws and assorted guests but had left me with a slightly thick head despite my best intentions.

For any budding grooms out there can I recommend a 5 mile run and a full cooked breakfast to get rid of any wedding jitters.

Oh and getting into a spankingly smart uniform helped too.

And walking through my home town with all the passers bye gawping helped too.

And a couple of pints in my local helped too.

As for the wedding - well it's all a bit of a blur really (and that had nothing to do with the couple of pints).

I do remember seeing the soon to be Mrs Soldier walking down the aisle - red hair standing out even more than usual because of her wedding dress.

I do remember giving my wrong hand to Mrs Soldier and ending up shortly after the wedding being told that I was a prat and had my ring on the wrong hand.

I do remember thinking "Oh dear" as the lads who'd come over from my regiment sat down at a table with the only available ladies and then ordered tequila - at about 3 in the afternoon.

I do remember thinking "That'll be the tequila" when some of my friends decided they couldn't wait for the first dance.

I do remember thinking "Oh shit" when the DJ decided it would be a good idea to play 'Kung Fu Fighting'. *

But apart from that it was all a bit of a very pleasant blur.

* - Fortunately just the one casualty when one of the blokes managed to 'accidentally' kick his missus in the head.

Answers - #9

Dr Jest asked:

"How much does the regimental tradition still survive with all the political buggering about, and is this(the tradition)for good or ill?"

Yes the regimental tradition survives even though some famous regiments were forced to merge during the last round of tinkering.* Yes I believe the regimental tradition is a good one - every soldier in every infantry battalion is 100% convinced that they are in the best battalion in the whole army. Regimental life brings with it a sense of family that can be very important for both the soldier and his family when he is on operations. It also brings a sense of history and place that I personally believe to be important.

Having said that I really don't believe that soldiers fight for their battalion, regiment or even country most of the time. The soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan generally do so well because they are fighting for their mates and they don't want to be the one to let the team down.


* - tinkering that was actually long overdue and has been carried out in a sensible way.

R.I.P