Sam's Army Adventure

  We started off this week with an RFT (Role Fitness Test). That meant doing a mid-thigh pull (like a stationary deadlift), a medicine ball throw, and a 2 km run. I was happy with my results. We have a Troop Commander, who is the captain in charge of our troop, who is very fit and he attends our PT sessions. So during the 2 km run I was keeping a good pace and noticed he was just ahead of me, about 50 metres maybe. I kept up with him and at the last stretch gave a full sprint and gained on him a little bit but he still had 5 seconds on me. I finished with a 7:25 which I’m pretty sure is my PB for 2 k. My last 2 km best time I recorded was 7:40. So I’m really happy with that but I reckon I can improve that, maybe aim for around 7:00 and catch the captain.     All throughout this week we were learning Skill at Arms which means a lot of weapon drills to be able to pass our Weapons Handling Assessment this coming week. That basically means doing Normal Safety Precautions, pro...

This week seemed really long. A lot of stuff going on and a lot of new habits to form, a new schedule, and new information.     We officially started basic training on May 8 so last Sunday. Met a lot of new people. We are Masters Troop in the 96 Duke of Gloucester Squadron at ATC Pirbright. There are 32 of us in the Troop and we are divided into 3 Sections so approximately 10-11 in each section. I am in 2 Section. I feel pretty lucky because I have some cool “muckers” (squad mates). There’s Williams, Clapham, West, Hamilton, Elwin, Mancuso, Cummings-Jones, and me. A couple of them have been in basic training before either in the Navy or the Army so they have some good tips and advice for the rest of us, especially for admin tasks like ironing kit, polishing boots, etc. We get along well and some struggle with certain tasks more than others but we all try to help each other out and support each other.   I am the oldest in the Troop – the next oldest ones are 25 and below. ...