11. Chapter – Shooting exercise in Caylus

We were approaching the last month of the basic trainings, so it was time for our first more serious shooting exercise. It was previously announced that it is going to be cold in Caylus. This time, I prepared my package with the biggest attention ever. I also bought a new bonnet in the regiment’s shop.

Our section went to the shooting-range by truck, which made the 4 hours long journey uncomfortable.

The other section from the other company arrived a half an hour later by bus. Their head made us jealous, because it was easy to recognize the signs of a good nap.

We had 40 minutes to install our tents next to a forest, 50 meters away from the instructors’ barracks. 40 minutes later, we weren’t even on half way to set the tents up, so we got a hand from the corporal team.

The game rules were very simple, even I could easily understand. After 10 push-ups, we had 30 seconds to put a part on its place. If someone still held something in his hand after the 29^th second, the number of push-ups had multiplied by 2. 

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Once we finished having fun and the tents were on their place, we had a last instruction about shooting technics with the Romanian sergeant. His pedagogic methods didn’t change anything since the beginning, so the crossfit continued after each wrong answers. This time he put some duck walking and standing in “ostrich position” between the push-ups/jumping jack combinations.

After dinner, the corporal gave the orders for the next day.

He said that tonight we’ll have a right to take a shower as long as we want. So you guys are going to be more relaxed for tomorrow. – He said.
We were happy, because eveyone was stinking after the tent construction and the Romanian’s lesson made us sweating also as well.

The only problem was that nobody knew where the shower was. Once we found it, we also found out that the Haitian was just fooling us. The shower was cold as the North Pole.

The next couple of days we completed some new shooting modules with FAMAS and we had our first shooting at night.

During the week, we threw grenades, learned how to explode something with the French materials and shot with grenade rifle. This week could have been as awesome as the week in Formiguères, but it wasn’t. The morning before the grenade rifle shooting, I did a small banan, which darkened my days a bit.

I was late two times because I didn’t understand when do I have to be at the assembly point. The result: I was carrying a big rock during the whole week in my bag and got an extra hour of guard each night. My only chance was that another banan pushed me out of the aim point. The same day the Italian guy shot his grenade 100 meters next to the old tank carcass.

He was not allowed to march anymore; he had to run everywhere the next two days.

On Friday morning, we were waiting the departure on the truck, when a corporal came over and asked if everything is okay.

I’ve already found strange his question, so I didn’t answer but someone said yes, everything is good. Once the word good left his lips, a new game begun. We were Team A, the guys on the other truck were Team B. The rules weren’t complicated this time either. The winner team was going to be that one, which can get in and get off the truck faster than the other the most times in 20 rounds.

We only had a month left from the basic trainings and I was mentally as tired as never before in my life. I was waiting the end as a kid is looking forward to Christmas…