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Introduction

Last week I started a serie about my time in the Army during my Obligatory military service. At the end of this post you can find a link to the other part(s). My idea to write about this came from the news that on Morocco they are planning to re-introduce the obligatory service again. It reminded me at myself servicing the army when it was still obligated.

My daily routines

While I worked at the barracks in Ede my work consisted about the same ritual every day. Arrive at the barracks, I travelled by train, having the morning briefings with the platoon, drive with students etc. I don't know what it was , perhaps because we weren't learning anymore, but I felt more and more useless doing so. To me the whole service at that time was more of killing time than really serving a purpose. For instance, I knew that the students who got in the field wit me to exercise the phone communication were also only obligated to serve. So after a few months they would never again put phonelines in the ground again...So what was the use?

I do remember some funny things like for instance you had to wear a barret on the terrain all the time. Once I got to the gate early in the morning and the guard asked me where my barret was. I really thought that I had it on top of my head, so I told him "On my head of course"... Turned out I left it behind in the train :). I was allowed to go to our barracks, but I had to buy a new barret first before I could start working :)

Trying to get out

As I mentioned in my previous post I didn't had any real joy after I was stationed in Ede. Although some of the guy's I worked with were nice the work, the staff everything wasn't just what I hoped it would be. Being a young guy with sometimes some rebellion in me I tried to figure out if there was any possibilty to get out of the service in a legal way.

There were great punishments on refusal of service and it came on a criminal record

So i had to come with a plan on which the army itself agreed of me leaving the service. Of course on our breaks we talked about it among 'the guy's'. And one of them told us that a friend of him got out just by convincing the staff that he was homesick in such a way that he can't function anymore and that the work he had to do was against his morals...
At that moment it sounded credible so I thought I would give it a go :)..

I went to the army doctor and told him that I had a hard time at the barracks and that I miss my homesituation very much (which wasn't true obvious). At first I thought he bought it because he said he could imagine and understand, so I thought I was already half way on my way out :). He said, and I can literally remember, "Well, I can't imagine your feeling, but you're not the only one with this problem. We have some great psychologists for this kind of situations, so I let you visit one" First I thought 'this isn't going well" and "A psychologist, serious?!" ... But at second I thought, if that is what it takes we have to try it... I still was determined to leave the service.

Before I could meet te psychologist it took some time. So I got modified work for the time being. I got work in the warehouse where all people got their stuff for the field (for instance the students whith the telephone lines).
It was even more dull than the the other work, but again...if that is what it took, I had to go trough it.

In the warehouse there worked this old man, Jan, almost ready for his pension. Jan locked the doors every day between 12.00 and 13.30 for his lunchbreak. I first thought why would you lock the doors, but soon I found out that Jan climbed a little stairs on the ceiling of his office and had a bed standing there :) , he took a powernap every single day.. And I was just sitting in the warehouse lol...

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One day I asked Jan if there was any more to do because it was very quiet in the warehouse. Jan told me, with a smile, he had just the right job for me. (Jan was a funny guy). He received 500 bandage drum from other warehouses, all used. They wanted to use them again so the got refilled with all medical stuff but the only thing was that they were damaged on the outside. So I got the honour to repaint them all (by hand?!?!) , I couldn't believe I had to do that but Jan was persitent :).... So I painted them all by hand, put a stencil on them and tamponate the brush on them. It was a hell of a job, but with some music on the background I did manage.

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My brothers still bully me with that, when for instance we talk about army related things on a party or so my oldest brother always says "You were the chef of bandage drums" or "Those bandage drums never looked any better after my brother painted them passionate..

After some weeks I finally got to speak to the psychologist. It was a nice looking woman with a friendly and calm voice. She asked me how I felt when comming to the barracks and what my Medical complaints where, I told her that I slept bad, was in a sad mood etc.... During the talk I thought I was getting the right way and felt that I would get the job done untill she said "Well, I don't think it will be smart to leave the service, you have to face this problem because it might help you in the future"..... I remember just looking at her like a beaten puppy... She continued with "I can arrange that you are stationed more close at home, so your traveling and the time away from home will be minimalized, is that a idea?" .. I though that I was in no position at that moment to argue about it to proof I had to resign so I agreed to look at those options. (I just felt and knew she was on to me and knew I just was trying to get out hahaha)...

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From there on things were going quickly, after a week a got a letter that I would be transferred to the barracks in Teuge, it was about 15 km from my home. So after two weeks I went to my new workingplace for the first time, and I can tell you.... That was totally different from everything I had experienced in the army so far...

I will write about it in the next episode .......

See also the other parts in this (true) story

Part one of this story
Part two of this story
Part three of this story
Parth four of this story
Part five of this story
Part six of this story

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day

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