i visited this country back in 1996 as a controller. i was, by then, a staff officer in the battalion headquarters and all major activities in the battalion workplan had been completed. the men were clearing their leave and awaiting their release from the 2-year conscript service and it was a lull period for the battalion headquarters. i was this pulled up to the division headquarters to help out with an armour unit exercise. it was the first time a division headquarters took control of an exercise of such scale. and an infantry division commander was the exercise director. it was during this exercise when i saw the worst of a senior commander. i lost all respect for this armour unit commander after that. here's the story...
as the exercise director, the division commander had to approve the amour unit’s plan. the commander came forth with his headquarters and gave a presentation on the plans. this armour commander was clearly and armour person who drew broad strokes. when he was queried by the division commander about some tactical coordination (that would impact the larger manoeuvre) and his contingency plans, he couldn't articulate sufficiently well. a discussion ensued and the division commander gave some guidance about the plan and how it could be shaped as the battle unfolds. after the session and after the division commander left the command post, the armour unit commander commented in front his headquarter staff - who is he to comment on my plan, he's an infantry person and knows nothing about armour operations! rubbish! i was personally taken aback by such a comment. it was not something a senior commander should utter.... anyway, it reflected more of him and his character than the division commander. that was one incident which i can never forget. i reflected on it and learned lessons about humility.
well, so much for this incident. let's talk about my experiences in this country. it was in the southern hemisphere and the land was vast and arid. it was dusty and the base camp that we put-up in was superbly dusty. and the temperature was cold during the period i was there and still vividly remember how we would run from our resting tent to the shower tent for showers. also, as it was in the wilderness, we had to shit in portable loos. interestingly, these portable loos come with waste containers that has some worms (so we were told) that would feed on our waste and turn them into fertilisers. well, i didn't get to see the process, not that i want to, but i was pleasantly surprised that the toilet didn't smell at all. during that particular exercise, the defence minister (who became our president years later) visited us. and my division commander planned an interesting itinerary for him. for a start, after briefing him about the exercise design, etc, he took him for a tour of the area. and guess what - the first stop the minister was brought to was - the toilet. lol.
well, the training ground was vast and spanned hundreds of kilometers. we had a good time traveling up and down the exercise area. and as we travelled, we had to make sure we protect ourselves by tucking our pants into our boots, and rolling down our sleeves to avoid being bitten by sandflies. also, we were taught how to avoid coming into contact with snakes (that are known to be all over the training grounds)... and most interestingly, we were taught to drive slowly and keep a look out for marsupials that might just jump out across our paths. thankfully, it didn't happen to my truck although some of the other units weren't so lucky.
and above all, my best takeaway from this trip was the fact that i got to know a good friend - guan. he was an armour officer who eventually left the service and we kept in contact till today. i like him, he's a really nice guy.
:-)
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