holy smokes!
It's hard to believe that the last time i updated this thing was back in december. This post is really not well thought out and i have turned off spell checking so spare me you judgment... PFFT every one has become a critic!
I only have notes from january... the rest i'll just wing it. It seems that it has served me well so far :)
6/1/2010
New Years eve.. The night was dark. A thick layer of fog was covering the otherwise empty hills where the base is set. Two people stand guard by the door, doing the 22:00 to 00:00 shift. The road leading to our base is empty. Every now and then the silence is broken by the humming of a car engine, usually accompanied by the drumming of bass, signifying the existance of loud music. I find myself being one of the two guards by the gate. Text msgs from the States, Canada and Greece, keep coming and going with wishes of health, prosperity and overall happiness.
The fog grows thicker as the seconds roll by. I am carrying my loaded weapon, and a strange and overwhelming feeling of stillness and peace washes over me. I am calm... at peace with everything. Everything around me is silent. I drift into thoughts. Somewhere, new years has occured, people are hugging their loved ones, (or newly loved ones). Others, closer by are preparing to do the same. I am standing here, rifle on arm, bullet proof vest strapped around my chest, and a bayoneete prodruding rudely from my rifle. My thoughts are clear. The past year runs through my mind like a film noir. The good, the bad, the unexpected all together, completeting the puzzle of a year that had it all.
My train of thought brings a smile to my face. "Things are looking up this year. I can feel it!" My inner dialog is being interrupted by booming sounds. The fog is so thick that i can't see where they are coming from. I realise that it is time. The year has changed; The city, and the villages sourounding it, are celebrating with firework displays. "If the fog was not so thick i would be able to see them" I think to myself. I turn to my fellow guard, and wish him a happy new year... soon enough, the line change shows up. In what i believe to be symbolic, i surrender my gun and allow others to take the burden of keeping guard.
That was the actual new years i had. Simple, and without the fanfare, as some from the past. However i like to think of it as almost poetic...
Three days later, i get my first big time off from the army. A whole week! My very first day out, my friends and i go out for dinner... having drunk 5-6 cups of wine, i am still very much sober... After all my best friend is leaving for Germany. We have to celebrate. The night rolls on, the live band is playing traditional songs. We all sing along in nostalgia, and we find ourselves singing with random people who are invited to our table to share a cup of wine with us. By 1 am we have had our fill. We decide to move to a different venue. So we take it to a bar/lounge. We have a few drinks there along with some good laughs. We head home, drunk, tired but with a smile on our faces.
The day after finds me sleeping all day long. The army really tires you out. Those who know me will attest that i rarely sleep in. Yesterday i woke up at 12 and today at 1, only to eat something and go back to bed till 6. Good times indeed :)
Well i am off for a coffee date!
30/01/2010
There has been quite a bit of time since i last updated my notes. So much has happened that it is almost impossible to recall everything right now.
Soon after new years, the plesantries in the military ended... By that i mean, all officers had a complete shift of attitude. The took me up to the missile base, (not sure if i mentioned this in the past, the base is separated in two sub-bases, prep and missile base.) where our "training" started.
First night in, went smoothly... I did my gate guard duty, with no issues arising, save for the guy who was with me, who i almost stabbed with the bayonette... but that is a different tale on its own.
Dawn broke and the officers run in the bed whole yelling for us to wake up. We get up, get dressed and the whole full metal jacket treatment starts... not quite as extreme... they have us empty our stuff and pack them back up, untie our weapons and tie them back up, and basically recite the military oath and prayer which till now i have no idea what they say... well the prayer at least. From there we are summoned to do our morning cleaning chores... Washrooms, mopping, dusting, beds.
Following all that our training begins. Being a topographer with no one to actually train me, they handed me excerpts from the manual of the instrument i am supposed to be using, and a variety of military maps. Along with the phrase, "train yourself" and a friendly pat on the back i am sent to take my post. Just to complete the picture, my post is located on the highest part of the missile base, where there is nothing to shield me from the elements of nature. So imagine me with a helmet, a tripod, a machine gun and a angle meter, *running* to position myself on top of that hill, while also carrying maps and rullers... in the freezing cold... who said that it does not get cold in Greece? I don't care if you were born with a laugh gene (and i do believe that is the medical term for it)... if you had seen me, you would have probably pissed your pants from laughter :P
This cherade went on for about a week. People yelling (LOUD NOISES), barking orders, without any real reason. Few days after all was done, we find out that there is going to be a training evalueation excercise. With in two days, i basically graduated topography... pffft, and others take 4 years to get a degree in this :P ( I LIKE MY ALPHABITS!)
The training evaluation was awesome! Not because i was stationed on top of the hill with below zero temperatures for more than 3 hours but because i was given POWER... OH SWEET SWEET POWER!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ehm... by that i mean that i played an integral part in the formation and positioning of the troops within the base. I got a bunch of pretty flags that signified a variety of events.. such as impending airstrike, enemy incoming troops etc, and i was supposed to spot, and alert the command post. Quite possible the highlight of my time in the army was having 3 F-16 participating in the excercise screaming just a few hundred feet from our heads, and me having to notify everyone on the field by radio or yelling to receive defensive positions.. It really was alot of fun... save for the biting cold.
around the 14th of January we actually had a bit of snow. That helped brake the humidity, but it made night shifts all the more difficult. We don't have any heating units where we stand guard so that we don't get cozy and fall asleep :P Bad weather took Greece by surprise, and a bunch of areas were cut off due to cold conditions and snow. It actually went to -10 for a short period of time. Strange thing about it, i was the only one in camp that felt somewhat comfortable in that weather. :)
With this and that, time went by... nothing really changes in every day life in the army, but you do appreciate the time you are given off base, a hell of alot more.
February
... Wait... i am actually drawing blanks for this month... Lets start from what i remember... Cold, guard duty, frustration from the fat guy (review previous posts), and oh yeah... i became one of the new chefs on camp! No srsly... i can cook! I SWEARS!
Thing is that being a chef doesn't get you any special treatment. On the contrary you get less sleep between shifts and more responsibility if food is not ready on time... Try being late for 5 minutes with a hungry mob carrying guns and bayonets... *cowers to corner*..
In the mean time the older soldiers than us, are about to retire, which means that there are less people to take care of cleaning and less people allowed to step out of camp... hence it's been about a week since i was last able to sleep at my place. :( oh well! soon it will end as we have new people coming in...
Our term is supposed to be for 9 months since august... that is the lowest amount of time, ever, that someone had to serve in the military. On with the mr. no-consequence comment.... they are seriously talking about increasing that term to 12 and 14 months in the coming year because, due to the financial situation here is gonna save some money on base maintenance.
*extra rant*
The financial situation here is shitty as hell... yet in a complete paradox, i see peoples habits not really changing... they are still enjoying coffee, going out and having fun etc, just as much. There are some groups that suggest a social uprising but for me the only way this shit is gonna get rectified is if there is a fundamental change in mentality and form of goverment. Lets just face it.. Democracy, as implemented today in greece is just not working for us.... As hard as it might be to accept, there has to be some HUGE changes really soon, otherwise we might just have to start selling off our islands and overall country... OH! and to the germans!... give us the rightful compensation from WWII OR, deduct it from our overall debt...
I do believe however that one way or another, the germans (that are so negative in helping a fellow union ally, out) are still gonna pay ... come summer time, if you are german, i forsee a 500% increase in all prices.. HAVE FUN On our islands!
Once again, a big shout out to all those who email/text or even think of doing so :). That very fact, has helped get me through some very rough nights :)
Cheers :)
Petros.
PS. I owe you guys some songs. I still need to explore some different genres and melodies. I do have a few in mind, so i think i'll link them soon :)
I only have notes from january... the rest i'll just wing it. It seems that it has served me well so far :)
6/1/2010
New Years eve.. The night was dark. A thick layer of fog was covering the otherwise empty hills where the base is set. Two people stand guard by the door, doing the 22:00 to 00:00 shift. The road leading to our base is empty. Every now and then the silence is broken by the humming of a car engine, usually accompanied by the drumming of bass, signifying the existance of loud music. I find myself being one of the two guards by the gate. Text msgs from the States, Canada and Greece, keep coming and going with wishes of health, prosperity and overall happiness.
The fog grows thicker as the seconds roll by. I am carrying my loaded weapon, and a strange and overwhelming feeling of stillness and peace washes over me. I am calm... at peace with everything. Everything around me is silent. I drift into thoughts. Somewhere, new years has occured, people are hugging their loved ones, (or newly loved ones). Others, closer by are preparing to do the same. I am standing here, rifle on arm, bullet proof vest strapped around my chest, and a bayoneete prodruding rudely from my rifle. My thoughts are clear. The past year runs through my mind like a film noir. The good, the bad, the unexpected all together, completeting the puzzle of a year that had it all.
My train of thought brings a smile to my face. "Things are looking up this year. I can feel it!" My inner dialog is being interrupted by booming sounds. The fog is so thick that i can't see where they are coming from. I realise that it is time. The year has changed; The city, and the villages sourounding it, are celebrating with firework displays. "If the fog was not so thick i would be able to see them" I think to myself. I turn to my fellow guard, and wish him a happy new year... soon enough, the line change shows up. In what i believe to be symbolic, i surrender my gun and allow others to take the burden of keeping guard.
That was the actual new years i had. Simple, and without the fanfare, as some from the past. However i like to think of it as almost poetic...
Three days later, i get my first big time off from the army. A whole week! My very first day out, my friends and i go out for dinner... having drunk 5-6 cups of wine, i am still very much sober... After all my best friend is leaving for Germany. We have to celebrate. The night rolls on, the live band is playing traditional songs. We all sing along in nostalgia, and we find ourselves singing with random people who are invited to our table to share a cup of wine with us. By 1 am we have had our fill. We decide to move to a different venue. So we take it to a bar/lounge. We have a few drinks there along with some good laughs. We head home, drunk, tired but with a smile on our faces.
The day after finds me sleeping all day long. The army really tires you out. Those who know me will attest that i rarely sleep in. Yesterday i woke up at 12 and today at 1, only to eat something and go back to bed till 6. Good times indeed :)
Well i am off for a coffee date!
30/01/2010
There has been quite a bit of time since i last updated my notes. So much has happened that it is almost impossible to recall everything right now.
Soon after new years, the plesantries in the military ended... By that i mean, all officers had a complete shift of attitude. The took me up to the missile base, (not sure if i mentioned this in the past, the base is separated in two sub-bases, prep and missile base.) where our "training" started.
First night in, went smoothly... I did my gate guard duty, with no issues arising, save for the guy who was with me, who i almost stabbed with the bayonette... but that is a different tale on its own.
Dawn broke and the officers run in the bed whole yelling for us to wake up. We get up, get dressed and the whole full metal jacket treatment starts... not quite as extreme... they have us empty our stuff and pack them back up, untie our weapons and tie them back up, and basically recite the military oath and prayer which till now i have no idea what they say... well the prayer at least. From there we are summoned to do our morning cleaning chores... Washrooms, mopping, dusting, beds.
Following all that our training begins. Being a topographer with no one to actually train me, they handed me excerpts from the manual of the instrument i am supposed to be using, and a variety of military maps. Along with the phrase, "train yourself" and a friendly pat on the back i am sent to take my post. Just to complete the picture, my post is located on the highest part of the missile base, where there is nothing to shield me from the elements of nature. So imagine me with a helmet, a tripod, a machine gun and a angle meter, *running* to position myself on top of that hill, while also carrying maps and rullers... in the freezing cold... who said that it does not get cold in Greece? I don't care if you were born with a laugh gene (and i do believe that is the medical term for it)... if you had seen me, you would have probably pissed your pants from laughter :P
This cherade went on for about a week. People yelling (LOUD NOISES), barking orders, without any real reason. Few days after all was done, we find out that there is going to be a training evalueation excercise. With in two days, i basically graduated topography... pffft, and others take 4 years to get a degree in this :P ( I LIKE MY ALPHABITS!)
The training evaluation was awesome! Not because i was stationed on top of the hill with below zero temperatures for more than 3 hours but because i was given POWER... OH SWEET SWEET POWER!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ehm... by that i mean that i played an integral part in the formation and positioning of the troops within the base. I got a bunch of pretty flags that signified a variety of events.. such as impending airstrike, enemy incoming troops etc, and i was supposed to spot, and alert the command post. Quite possible the highlight of my time in the army was having 3 F-16 participating in the excercise screaming just a few hundred feet from our heads, and me having to notify everyone on the field by radio or yelling to receive defensive positions.. It really was alot of fun... save for the biting cold.
around the 14th of January we actually had a bit of snow. That helped brake the humidity, but it made night shifts all the more difficult. We don't have any heating units where we stand guard so that we don't get cozy and fall asleep :P Bad weather took Greece by surprise, and a bunch of areas were cut off due to cold conditions and snow. It actually went to -10 for a short period of time. Strange thing about it, i was the only one in camp that felt somewhat comfortable in that weather. :)
With this and that, time went by... nothing really changes in every day life in the army, but you do appreciate the time you are given off base, a hell of alot more.
February
... Wait... i am actually drawing blanks for this month... Lets start from what i remember... Cold, guard duty, frustration from the fat guy (review previous posts), and oh yeah... i became one of the new chefs on camp! No srsly... i can cook! I SWEARS!
Thing is that being a chef doesn't get you any special treatment. On the contrary you get less sleep between shifts and more responsibility if food is not ready on time... Try being late for 5 minutes with a hungry mob carrying guns and bayonets... *cowers to corner*..
In the mean time the older soldiers than us, are about to retire, which means that there are less people to take care of cleaning and less people allowed to step out of camp... hence it's been about a week since i was last able to sleep at my place. :( oh well! soon it will end as we have new people coming in...
Our term is supposed to be for 9 months since august... that is the lowest amount of time, ever, that someone had to serve in the military. On with the mr. no-consequence comment.... they are seriously talking about increasing that term to 12 and 14 months in the coming year because, due to the financial situation here is gonna save some money on base maintenance.
*extra rant*
The financial situation here is shitty as hell... yet in a complete paradox, i see peoples habits not really changing... they are still enjoying coffee, going out and having fun etc, just as much. There are some groups that suggest a social uprising but for me the only way this shit is gonna get rectified is if there is a fundamental change in mentality and form of goverment. Lets just face it.. Democracy, as implemented today in greece is just not working for us.... As hard as it might be to accept, there has to be some HUGE changes really soon, otherwise we might just have to start selling off our islands and overall country... OH! and to the germans!... give us the rightful compensation from WWII OR, deduct it from our overall debt...
I do believe however that one way or another, the germans (that are so negative in helping a fellow union ally, out) are still gonna pay ... come summer time, if you are german, i forsee a 500% increase in all prices.. HAVE FUN On our islands!
Once again, a big shout out to all those who email/text or even think of doing so :). That very fact, has helped get me through some very rough nights :)
Cheers :)
Petros.
PS. I owe you guys some songs. I still need to explore some different genres and melodies. I do have a few in mind, so i think i'll link them soon :)
"The night was dark. A thick layer of fog was covering the otherwise empty hills...."
ReplyDeleteLOL. Oh Petros... you're such a poet.
hahaha LOUD NOISES! Ahh, No Consequences Man, you crack me up!
ReplyDelete:)
xoxoxoxox
Pfft, bullet proof vests... in a city unit, no less! You guys have it easy. We didn't even get that shit at the damn border back in the day.
ReplyDeleteJust remember, a little bit of loufa didn't hurt anyone
@ Peter
ReplyDeleteI are a poet? those guys tend to die young and depressed... i'd rather think of myself as somewhat expressive :)
@ Lee & Theo
DUDES... i can't describe how being no-consequence-man rocks! first off i am not having a child! (no consequence..) and bulletproof vests are no more.. now there are frag proof vests... which means that can save us from grenade frags but not bullets.. as if its more likely we get attacked with grenades.,.