By CREUSS

Here is a real story again.

It happened about 25 years ago when I was a soldier. I spent 7 years in the army from age 17 to age 24. We were all professionals, that has to be said, as the military service still existed in those days. As the “elite” of the army, discipline was hard and rough so punishment for misconduct or any failure could be severely inflicted.  We were quite often training in battlefield conditions. Usually, it was a matter of 3 nights and 4 days per training session but it could be longer, of course.

You probably noticed that when you are in a barracks, there is always a place used and/or called the “prison.”  It is not always pleasant to visit, but it happens.  Anyway, when you are outdoors for a few days, there isn’t a fixed prison, so the officers (I am unable to share with you the exact division of the army that I belonged to, let it suffice to say that we were the crème de la crème and the best of the best) have found a simple way to handle “convicts” for over a century – sorry, no pix available.

Here is my first experience:

Actually, I will start my story as my punishment began.  All day long, we were undergoing map reading and compass training. But for some reason I got lost and got back to the campsite quite late – far too late, actually.  I was yelled at until my commander was hoarse and would be punished overnight for my inability to follow orders.

Continue reading How the Army Buried Me in the Ground →