A band of brothers

I've bitten the bullet,

after all these years. (has it been years? ... yes it has)

I've gotten my hands on Band of Brothers again, and I'll watch it in its entirety again.

I remember when it came on TV, it was after I had made my decision to join, but before I had moved back to enlist.

I remember watching every week as the stories unfolded and melded.

a time later, a dark long time later.

I faced my men, men that I trained and trained with.

For the last weeks I had been taking them through the process that I too had gone through.

Forging weapons by first breaking their spirits.

I remember dishing them punishment, sudden and harsh, because I noticed a certain amount of slackness and incompetence with their machine guns.

I made them learn, I burned it into them, like it was branded into me.

But i digress,

It was long week, mixed with lectures and field training, they were tired, and so was I.

Friday afternoon, the schedule said Artillery Doctrine lecture.

They filed in, they sat, ready to pass the time, minds supersaturated.

To their surprise I flicked the lights and started the DVD - episode 2 Day of Days, featuring the Brécourt Manor Assault, a text book example of the assault on a fixed position.

We watched, then I taught. At question time, they surprised me, they gave me alternative strategies and scenarios. Absorption, analysis, improvisation to modern weaponry.

They all got to go home early that Friday night.

No one thought to question why a bunch of artillery men needed to learn about infantry maneuvers. It didn't matter, we all enjoyed ourselves, and we all learnt.