Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
When I first joined my unit as a Second Lieutenant, along with two others we were brutally ragged. We had hell for a number of days with skin from our knuckles and shoulders scraped clean. This ragging which was actually illegal continued, we were struck, slapped and punched for the pleasure of those sadists dishing it out to us. We did not fight back. When we reported to the unit we were not fresh out of Officer Cadet School, we had just completed a gruelling and tough course in Kota Belud under Lt. Col Amir "Gontor Kamparputra". He was an American trained Ranger. It was 6 months of hell, living on the barest of necessities. This particular training was a tactics course with all the basic skills to lead fighting men into battle. One of my friends 2Lt. Bala died there during this course.
The reason given by my seniors who were ragging us, was to ensure that we did not break under fire and did not disgrace the unit and the corps. Basically to me they were just sadists. We were sent to to the Tactical Headquarters in Gua Musang to meet up with the our Officers Commanding and our Commanding Officer. Before the 3 of us deployed we were issued with our rifles, ammo and grenades. There we met up with more sadists. One night they beat us and whacked us and pumped us with alot of beers. The pain was excruciating. The reason again was to find out how we would react under fire. I left the other two young officers, who were virtually crying as they were being whacked by a hockey stick to the rear of their thighs. The thighs looked raw with black and blue streaks. I told them that I was going to solve their problem and went to where my rifle was. I hooked on my ammunition pouches, the sadists were not there. I took my M16, this was at night. I cocked it, yelling, "Okay you motherf*(&%^ let's see how you react under fire !" I fired 8 rounds, they ran helter skelter for their lives, some dropping their sarongs and crawling in the mud. One guy hid behind the "New Straits Times" holding it up for cover. I went up to him and asked him if he wanted to die. He was practically shitting in his pants trembling and saying, "Swami, not me, not me." In a way they were lucky, as I forgot that I had hand grenades.
The rest is history, nothing happened to me. I was placed on a one month duty officer in the Number 1 Dress, which means I was to wear the ceremonial dress and carry a sword. Somewhere in this story there must be a lesson saying that we must face down bullies and norms even if it is detrimental to us. Oh yes, after that incident they left me alone.
