Getting some in; part 2

I promise these get better as time goes on, as the stress goes down.

Some notes:

MFT: Military Field Training. Where the flight is taken to a training area to put into practice in realistic situations to see if we act like the steely-eyed killers they were training us to be, or Lilly-livered civvies.

Rambo: A friend of mine from the chicken factory. Had an overbearing Mother.

Sign out: when you leave base, you had to sign a register at the guard room.

Drill check: the flight has to complete a set of drill steps with nothing other than the commands. Up to this point we had been shouting out timings. We had to dig our heels in to make a noise, a habit I still have to this day.

Weapon safety: We have to know how to handle a firearm without harming ourselves or our colleagues. Doing this safely is critical. Failure is not an option. Like drill check but holding a gun.



Dateline: 2nd October 1990, 20 Flight, RAF Swinderby.

Hi,

Just a quick line to let you know things are OK.

Got told my drill wan't up to scratch, but I should be OK by Thursday. It is the tough day, drill check and weapon safety tests. If I get through that then I'll be halfway through. MFT is to be the weekend before block leave, so |I'll be knackered. I've told Rambo he can stay for a few days over the block leave, is that OK?

Thanks for a great weekend, I really needed it. Sorry for making you work so hard Sunday morning, I felt really guilty. No one has said a thing about not signing out, aboutonly three of the flight signed out, so wasn't alone. I don't think I'll be home this weekend, but you never know.

Another bull night tonight as today's inspection went crap. We are all so bloody tired, just five and a half hours sleep a night. We had a three and a half mile cross country run this morning.

Work calls, must go,

See you soon, miss you lots,

ian