I think that the army has progressed from being a huge tekan
session to a professional and task-oriented one where there is less
emphasis on breaking the soldier but rather building him up and
giving him proper support to fulfill his duties properly.
I don't think there is anything to be afraid of. I was nervous,
anxious and yes, a little excited. And we all went through it
together. It was a lot of fun. When I received my posting to 30SCE
(field combat engineers), my mother cried because her hairdresser
told her it was one of the worst vocations. But we all survived,
didn't we? A few scratches here, some insect bites, rashes, etc and
bruised ego from all the tekaning, but really, we all came out
better for it.
Remember, what can they do to you? Tekan you? So what? They can't
kill you! (especially after the recent spate of deaths, there are
more precautions to prevent more mishaps). If you think a certain
order given to you is needlessly dangerous or will result in
serious injury or death, bring it up to your superiors.
In short, be smart, but have fun. It's a once in a lifetime
opportunity! Guys in other countries don't even have a chance to
hold a rifle. You have an opportunity to shoot lots of rounds,
throw real grenades, fire grenade launchers and rockets, learn
martial arts, get fit, blow things up and get paid for it!
