The Army Chronicles: Phase Two

The Army Chronicles

Book 2

Phase Two

By

CR Delport

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

CR Delport at Smashwords

Phase Two

Copyright © 2013 by CR Delport

Cover Art:

Jaco Moolman

Foreword

From 1966 to 1994 it was compulsory for white South African males to do military service. As part of their military service, it was required to defend the country against any thread from both inside and outside of South African borders. This also led to the South African border war, which spanned from 1966 to 1989. Many young men gave their lives for their country, and many who returned from border duty were so traumatized, they were unable to talk about what they experienced. Even to this day, it is impossible for most of those who served in the military and doing border duty, to share with their friends and families as to what they experienced.

These books are my attempt to take the reader on a journey to give an insight of what these young men experienced. From basics, all through their service, and then border duty, or in some cases, the bush war in Angola. Although the characters in this book are fictional, most places and events that follow are not, and are based on what really happened. There were many different military units, but our story focuses on 1 South African Infantry Battalion, and our characters’ subsequent deployment to 61 Mechanized Battalion. They started their National Service as boys, but finished as men.

This is book two in the series and the events follow where book one ended.

Chapter 1

It was a cloudy day and the occasional rain shower made it wet enough to be miserable. The cool autumn air stung my face as I lifted my balsak from the boot of my mother’s silver Audi. My father, who sees himself as a self proclaimed weather guru, reckoned it would be a cold winter, and that didn’t bode well for me or my friends from 1 South African Infantry Battalion. For once I prayed he would be wrong, as he proved more accurate in his predictions than most of the official weather people.

I sighed and dropped my bag filled with more army clothes at my feet. For a few minutes my hands had better things to hold than the army bag. I grabbed a hold of Charlotte’s hand and smiled. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with her warm smile, and she squeezed my hand. We spent a memorable weekend together. Of course this left my parents fuming as they hardly laid eyes on me all weekend.

While I did basic military training, I didn’t get a weekend pass till a few weeks before the end, which meant I wasn’t home for almost three months. Charlotte and I had a misunderstanding before I reported for military duty, which we cleared up on my first weekend home. That led us to spending as much time as possible with each other. We had to make up for a lot of wasted time. My mother, although happy that we got back together, didn’t like that she got so little of my time. But I was eighteen, and my hormones and I had other plans than to spend my precious time with family.

I bent down and kissed Charlotte’s soft lips, but quickly lifted my head. My mother sounded like a cat that had a hairball stuck in its throat.

Don’t you two ever get enough of that? she asked annoyed.

I looked at Charlotte and shook my head. Her crystal laugh rang out over the parking lot of the bus terminal at Johannesburg station. All over several young men in uniform said their goodbyes to their loved ones.

Two guys headed our way, walking proud in their brown army uniforms. The short, stocky built one on the left had mischievous blue eyes, with the tall skinny guy next to him covered in freckles.

I see I don’t even have to ask if you had a good weekend, George said.

Charlotte and I both blushed. I greeted my friends, glad to see them. After spending three months in their constant company, they were like family, and I missed them.

Have you heard from Charlie? Rex asked in his easy going manner.

I shook my head and pointed to an expensive looking vehicle that pulled into the parking lot.

Speak off the devil, I said and pointed to the car.

The driver, dressed in a formal driver’s uniform, jumped from car and ran around to open the door for his passenger, but the door flew open before he reached it. A small young boy dressed in an army uniform climbed out of the car.

He looked like he should rather be in school, but he was our age and our friend. Charles Middleton the third, but to us, he was our friend Charlie. George and Rex ran over to give Charlie a hand with his luggage, which always seemed too big for him. From the way he blushed, I could see that George and Rex made fun of him. It was all in good nature and Charlie would take it from the three of us, but won’t be made fun of by anybody else. George, who was as strong as an ox, had built a mean reputation at our army base as someone not to be messed with, and he always looked out for little Charlie.

Soon it was time to say our last goodbyes and get on the bus that would transport us back to our base. I kissed Charlotte one last time, hugged my mother and stepped on the bus. Charlotte and my mother joined the horde of others waving to their loved ones, as the convoy of busses pull out of the station, and headed to Bloemfontein. We would spend most of our four hour trip back to the base, catching up on what we did over the weekend.

Charlie spent his time on his parents’ horse farm just outside the city. His dad was a prominent figure in the South African horse racing community, and owned several race horses. Charlie aspired to become a jockey, and if it weren’t for the fact that he had to do his two years’ national service, he would have already been enrolled in the Jockey Academy. He had a great love for horses, and often shared stories about their horses.

My dad bought a new horse, and called her Charlie’s Girl. She’s a two year old chestnut filly and runs like the wind, Charlie said with stars in his eyes.

We smiled at him, and George slapped him on the back.

About time you get a girl friend.

Charlie snorted. So what did you do this weekend Don Juan?

George lifted his shoulders. Did some bowling and helped my dad out at the garage.

George was an avid Ten Pin bowler, and contemplated going professional. His dad owned his own petrol station and believed George would be better off helping out at the garage, which led to a lot of friction between them.

I actually got to spend a lot of time with my family, but we did nothing special, Rex said, and I detected a faint hint of sadness in his voice. Rex was from a poor family and his dad worked almost every weekend, so having his father home for a weekend was a great gift.

They all three looked at me and I asked innocently, What?

George growled like a hungry bear and said, Don’t give me that crap, you know very well what.

I smiled and said, I spent most of the weekend with Charlotte.

Rex snorted. Yes, I saw the thrilled expression on your mother’s face.

A pang of guilt ran through me. I should have spent more time with my family, but oh boy, my hormones were going crazy.

Well, the fun is over and it’s time to get back to reality. What do you think will happen now that basics are over? I asked, and the smiles disappeared from their faces.

We knew that our paths were due to split. Charlie would go to the gunners to further his military career as a Ratel gunner. George hoped to become a Ratel driver, while Rex and I were enrolled in the Section Leaders program. We would all still be on the same base, but was unsure of how much we would see of each other. Having spent the last three months in each other’s company, sweating and bleeding together, we forged quite a tight friendship.

As we neared Bloemfontein, the bus got quiet. While we did basics, we always expected the worst when we returned to the base, and more often than not, we got it. But now that we were done, were unsure of what laid ahead of us. When the bus drove through the big black gates that marked the entrance to 1 South African Infantry Battalion, nobody said a word.

We hadn’t been told otherwise, so we grabbed our gear and made it to our old bungalow. I stepped through the door and the familiar smell of the place welcomed me back. Our neatly made beds and the shining floor were just like we left it. I tossed my balsak on my bed and unlocked the steel cabinet that stood next to my bed.

It almost feels like we never left, Charlie remarked.

The euphoria of the weekend quickly faded.

I was unsure if I should unpack and prepare for inspection in the morning, or wait for further instructions. We milled around when I heard a loud bang. Someone literally fell into the bungalow. A pair of innocent blue eyes on an even more innocent face stared at me, and then a smile lit up that face.

Hey guys, you’re back already, Frankie said and picked himself from the floor.

Frankie Thompson, our platoon’s know-it-all who had a knack for getting himself into trouble, had arrived. Frankie, although a walking disaster, was a friendly guy, well liked by all in the platoon.

After he reached his bed and dumped his balsak on his bed, George asked, Hey Frankie, any idea what we’re suppose to do now?

Frankie pulled up his shoulders and said, Its Sunday, nothing happens on Sundays. I’m sure we’ll find out tomorrow morning.

We look at each other, unsure of what to do the rest of the afternoon. We decided to check in on Frik, our other friend which was a chef in the kitchen. With nothing better to do, we reverted to our usual Sunday afternoon pastime, a game of poker. Most of the time we had Sunday afternoons to ourselves, so ever since we started basics, we had a Sunday afternoon poker game. It wasn’t a high stakes game. We played with two cent coins, but it was a lot of fun, and we often attracted a crowd of on lookers.

By the time we went to bed, there was still no word from our corporal. I had a suspicion that it was only the lull before the storm, but I didn’t know just how right I would be. Monday morning we got up, got dressed in our overalls and reported for breakfast. All seemed perfectly normal until we returned to our bungalow. Corporal Minnie waited for us, and the look on his face showed he meant business. He waited till we were all present.

With a slight smile on his face, he said, Everyone who signed up for Section Leaders, get your battle gear and hiking bag. We’re going for a little walk.

Chapter 2

George and Charlie looked at Rex and me with sympathy. We strapped on our battle webbing and grabbed our hiking packs.

We received an encouraging slap on the back and they said, Good luck.

We donned our battle helmets, grabbed our rifles, and rushed outside to join the others. We were instructed to make sure we pack our sleeping bags, PT clothes and extra socks.

Ok, load them up, a corporal instructed and we piled into the waiting Samil trucks.

Once again, fear and uncertainty was noticeable on every face. There was no chatter, no jokes. Everyone stared straight ahead. The Samils left the base and headed out of the city.

When the trucks stopped on the lonely dirt road, the corporals were on hand.

Get out, come on, move it! We don’t have all fucking day!

All the shouting had a new purpose, a new urgency. We were divided into sections, ten per section. Rex and I ended up in the same group, and as fate would have it, we ended with Corporal Minnie.

One of the corporals shouted at his section and a few moments later they set off down the dirt road. It was the start of our, Vasbyt. I heard about the three day endurance walk, but nothing I heard comforted me, or made me look forward to what lay ahead the next three days.

I glanced up at the sky. Although the morning autumn air had a chill, the bright blue sky had not a single cloud. With the promise of a warm day, I regretted not filling up my extra two liter water bottle, or that I didn’t take more provisions for the road. We just returned from pass, so were fully loaded on extra supplies. I looked around at the other people in my section, and apart from Rex, didn’t know any of them. I recognized one guy from another platoon in Charlie Company, but didn’t know his name. The other people were all from Alpha and Bravo Companies.

Before we had time to get acquainted, Corporal Minnie started shouting.

Come on boys, saddle up. We have a long walk ahead of us. We better get going. Move your asses, we haven’t got all day!

We set off in single file, following a few hundred meters behind the section ahead. We walked long distances before, so I figured it won’t be too bad. We fell into a steady rhythm and Hitler, as Corporal Minnie was fondly known, made sure we kept a brisk pace.

For an hour we walked in silence, or at least, we didn’t talk. Hitler couldn’t keep quiet. Every now and again he had the urge to hurl some obscenity at us to make us walk faster. We did the first thirty minutes, if he yelled, we walked faster. After a few minutes we would slow again, until he yelled once more. After a while we ignored the yelling, and kept to one steady pace.

About an hour after we started, Hitler shouted, Hey you, Short Shit! How far have we walked since we started?

We all looked around, because compared to Hitler’s tall lanky frame that towered over us, we were all short. We quickly determined he referred to the short, slightly stocky guy in front of me.

Eh, about ten kilometers? the guy guessed.

Ha! In your dreams! Hitler yelled at him.

We continued to walk in silence. Next to the road were a line of telephone poles, spaced equal distances apart, forming a long line as far as I could see. When I got to the next pole, I started to count my steps. That way, I could figure out the distance between the poles. When I reached the next pole, my step count was at a hundred and five. I had a few stumbles, so I figured the poles were hundred meters apart. From there, instead of counting my steps, I only counted the poles.

As we approached the thirty sixth’ pole, Hitler shouted again, So how far have we walked since the last time I asked?

I glanced at him. He asked the group in general so I answered, About three comma six kilometers, Corporal.

Hitler looked at me in surprise.

And how did you work that out, Wiseguy?

I repositioned the heavy rifle in my arms and said, I counted the telephone poles since you last asked, Corporal.

Mmm, is all he said, but I saw the slight smile on his lips before he took a sip from his water bottle. The bottle was the only baggage the corporal carried.

After a three hour walk, we approached our first checkpoint. A water tanker, a Jeep, and a big plastic crate waited for us. Hitler turned to us with a sadistic smile on his face.

Ok boys, see that crate? Anything that was not issued by the army goes in there!

We just stood and looked at him with astonished faces when he shouted, That means all sweets, cool drink, cigarettes and anything else you might be carrying. Toss it, and be quick. We haven’t got all day.

I dropped my pack to the ground and opened it. I carried some extra provisions, a can of condensed milk, a few chocolate energy bars, and a few sachets of powdered energy drink to be mixed with water. I reluctantly dropped my loot into the crate.

One of the guys with us had a whole armful of sweets and cookies.

Corporal, will we get this stuff back? he asked.

Hitler smiled at him and said with a voice filled with pure syrup, Sure, when we reach our destination, you’ll get it back.

At that moment we knew that we