"Laxity?" Richard asked with a raised eyebrow as they walked along.
Marco smiled slightly and nodded. "Most of them can be a handful and I've tried my best to drill the military mind set into them. Take for example, Arianna."
Richard wanted to make a comment about the so called military mind set but in the end he decided to let it pass. If it were up to him, he would rather teach them how to fight and survive rather than how to be a good soldier.
Sometimes these mind sets could actually get a lot of them killed. He sighed and asked, "How is she troublesome?"
"She is strong headed, bold and smart. She questions every instruction as if she wants to know the logic behind why you ask her to do a particular thing.
"I actually like her way of thinking but her guts…well, I think she has what it takes to be a great soldier but in a battle field following instructions promptly could be the difference between failure and success."
Richard nodded. "I think I understand what you mean."
They arrived at outside and he handed his clipboard to Richard. "I will sit this one out. I will let them experience a new kind of lecture."
Richard smiled with pursed lips and took the clipboard. He stepped into the training ground. The sight of him made the whole place to become quiet. The new recruits had been summoned a few minutes ago after Richard arrived.
When they noticed that it wasn't Lieutenant Marco, they relaxed only slightly but some even felt nervous. They had gotten used to Marco's brutality that thinking of this new soldier made them think he would be worse.
Richard scanned their expression and nodded. "I'm Colonel Richard Brad from the military HQ and I will be taking the place of Lieutenant Marco till the field training is over."
He paused to observe their reactions before continuing. "The field training is designed to give you real life experience of what you have been learning. You will put your combat skills to use, you will put your shooting skills to use and you will need to survive for the whole week.
"We will go to the forest. You will be guided in training so you will come to terms of what a real battle field could be like. You will practice on moving targets. Now the interesting part:
"We won't bring any food with us to the forest. If you're hungry you'll have to hunt for food and whatever you can find is yours to keep. You won't bring any tents or pillows. Only the team leaders will sleep in tents.
"You will learn to construct tents for yourselves using materials available to you. In the end your performance will be rated and this will determine if you pass out as an enlisted soldier or…"
Richard paused and gave them a smirk at the last part. Things were better left mysterious. "We will spend a week in the forest but for today and tomorrow I will guide you through practice. Take ten minutes break."
The recruits who were itching to voice out their opinions to each other dispersed and formed groups of threes or fives. They began discussing in low voices.
Richard—who was looking through the clipboard—noticed two recruits walking towards him. He turned and immediately recognised Edwin Trueman. The two saluted him respectfully and he nodded.
"It's so good to have another instructor besides Lieutenant Marco." The lady said.
Richard gave her an amused look. "And you must be Arianna Francesco, correct?"
"You know me?" she beamed. It was very pleasing that she was known by Colonel Richard.
Richard shook his head with a smile. "Your reputation precedes you. However, why are you relieved?"
"Well, Lieutenant Marco is a little strict and overbearing and he makes sure to suck us dry every day."
"And you realise that you're badmouthing a soldier to another soldier? Didn't they tell you we always watch each other's' back?"
Arianna paused and bit her lip. "I just felt you are different."
"True I am different but that doesn't mean it's in a good way." He smiled eerily and asked, "Have you ever been sent to the 'wall'?"
She nodded. "Countless times."
"Good," Richard nodded slightly. "I can do much worse like…the swing."
"The swing…"
Richard patted her shoulder. Her eyes showed the very meaning of defiance. "Don't worry, that will only happen if you don't follow my instructions."
She nodded, a bit relived. Richard glanced at Edwin who just stood behind her timidly. He nodded at him. "How do you find military life?"
Edwin sighed deeply. "Very intense."
Richard exchanged a few words with them before sending them back to line for the day's training. He found Edwin to be less enthusiastic today. He reckoned that it was largely due to him discovering that life at camp was not all rosy.
"Break up into teams of threes and fall into formation!" Richard instructed and watched as they moved around to fit into a team. "Each team will work on the usual endurance and fitness exercise. If a team member fails then one team member will take punishment for the whole team till all exercises are completed.
"Are you ready? Begin!"
He stood by and watched with keen eyes as they began to run around the track. After they finished the run, they pulled along the balls and brought them to the small stone wall and jumped over them. All three members participated.
"Arianna fall out of line please!" Richard calmly spotted. She hesitated before jogging out of the line. "Who will take the punishment for her mistake?"
Arianna raised her eyebrow. "What mistake did I make, Colonel?"
Richard sighed and shook his head. "You just questioned my authority and that in itself is a mistake plus you dropped your ball before the finish line."
Arianna's face paled. She took a deep breath and said, "I will take punishment."
"Okay, to the swing. Give me twenty."
The swing was a pole on which a string was attached. One had to hold onto the string and swing around it for a specified number of times before letting go. It would leave one relatively dizzy which was why if you fell to the ground you'd have to do it again.