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Wednesday 1400 - Urban Maze

I joined the kids on the penultimate day of their 4 day residential course just before they entered the urban maze. Looking at the blacked out run down house it didn鈥檛 look too appealing.

All the windows are boarded up with black material on the inside to stop even a glimmer of light getting in.听 The stairs had been chopped down and the ceilings had been lowered.听 Anyone going through the maze must feel their way through the confined spaces and hope their night vision improves!听 In real life this exercise is about searching a location 鈥� soldiers would crawl and duck through the house in their full kit with the rifles and webbing.

I chickened out!听 I took a secret route to the back of the building to watch those who dared crawl through a tunnel and out of a window no bigger than the size of a TV 鈥� and of course record their reactions to the soldiers scaring them!

Wednesday 1800 - set up Bashas

I saw the 6 foot by 6 foot camouflage sheets 鈥� the sleeping bags 鈥μ� and the cam paint and the cold realisation hit 鈥� I was about to sleep under the stars with the rabbits, spiders and students!

Each pupil had to make their own basha 鈥� A basha is a makeshift military tent that consists of a waterproof sheet, a waterproof and windproof sleeping bag cover and a sleeping bag.听 Bungee ropes are used to attach the sheet to four trees in the shape of a tent and I had to sleep underneath it!听 Believe me these are not like tents 鈥� there is no groundsheet and the basha doesn鈥檛 even touch the ground.听 There is one luxury though 鈥� a roll mat!!

Wednesday 2000 - Close Target Recce

Once the beds had been set up it was time to paint up and shut up.听 The team was sent on a close target recce.听 Fortunately I posed as an enemy target.听 The students had to locate the enemy (me!)

They then had to record anything they could hear me saying if they could get close enough.听 This exercise depends on stealth and sneakiness!

Wednesday 2130 - Bed Time!

I climbed under my basha and into my sleeping bag, closed my eyes 鈥�. only to open them again to listen to the sweet sounds of gun shots and explosions in the background as another team (of real soldiers) got to work on the enemy!

Throughout the night I probably got an hours sleep.听 The thought of beetles in my sleeping bag, the cold and of course the noise of explosions kept me awake all night!

Thursday 0630 - Wake up

鈥淕ET OUT OF BED鈥澨� 鈥淕ET UP鈥澨� 鈥淗URRY UP鈥澨� 鈥淣O SWEARING鈥�.听 That was the general gist of the wake up call.听 Fortunately for me 鈥� due to recording demands (ha!)听 I was in on the secret and had a much softer wake up.

But as the kids stumbled out of their bashas and out into the cold it was hard not to feel sorry for them!听 They all looked shell shocked.

The soldiers shouted and shouted and shouted until every pupil was out of the warmth of their sleeping bags and out onto the grass 鈥� but unluckily for some 鈥� they forgot their rifles and were subjected to physical punishments!听 Laps!听 In real life a soldier can be discharged for leaving a rifle in the field!

Thursday 0900 - Physical Training

The rest of the morning was devoted to physical training.听 All pupils had to take part in the 鈥淕un Run鈥�.听 A make shift artillery piece made up of tyres and metal boxes had to be carried from one end of the field to the other.

The catch was the whole team had to run with each separate piece!听 Everyone was looking exhausted by this point 鈥� but one more push for the stretcher race鈥�

In real life soldiers would use the stretcher race to practice carrying an injured soldier.听 But the pupils had to carry a stretcher with a heavy metal water carrier on it.听 And of course 鈥� It鈥檚 all a race.

Next grub鈥檚 up and clear up!