Band of Brother: Bootcamp
Posted By: Jetboogieman<crossland700@hotmail.com>
Date: 3 June 2004, 9:03 PM
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Band of Brothers: Bootcamp
This is the story of the 31st African Contingent.
The whole squad was woken up at 4:15 as usual by the Lieutenant Wilks and we all had to go to the usual morning inspection half an hour later. It would usually happen something like this. Wilks would walk out, he was a tall skinny man with little hair on his head but his eyes were flaming with war. Wilks walked out and we were all in out uniforms with barely any sleep in out eyes. One time he walked up to Yizwe and looked at his rusty rifle. He shouted in his ear "How the hell do you expect to kill the enemy with that piece of crap in your hand" Then he made us all run around the whole camp, which was about 2 miles long. We all didn't despise him because he was always fair but he did have random ways of punishing us. 1 day it would be running around the camp, the next day it might be moving all the warthogs from one place to another by hand. Some of us just couldn't take it. 10 out of our 50 men dropped out by the end. After the morning inspection and usual punishment it would come to breakfast. Now this was a touchy subject, no one would ever want to talk about it, it was so bad. Rations were short at this time so we had to make do with stale bread a banana (at least it was fresh) and water. And on the odd occasion we would be allowed coffee. Next would be army manoeuvres, we would do some shooting and then do some formation ambushes and patrols along the forest. The camp was based near Abuja in Nigeria in the middle of a forest. Sometime for special training we would be airlifted to the Sahara for desert training.
Months went bye and things improved. Food got better and it was bacon, coffee or tea. But because of this training got harder and we began to really get tested to our utmost limits. Although at the time none of us realised what we were preparing for, it would help us more then anything in the coming battles we would have to endure. As for the social sides of things, we had quite a bit of free time. Many of us would go and talk to the pelican pilots or fighter pilots because most of them had seen active service against covenant. One pilot which became known as Ace was a fighter pilot and had flown 34 missions against covenant forced including alongside Captain Keyes at the outer colonies when his small security force held out and let the civilians escape. Wilks was never friendly with the other commanders or trainers, he was a very secretive man with few friends. The closest thing he had was his grunt in the company NCO Sargeant Bridges.
A few weeks later me and some friends from the company were in the barracks when we looked out the window and saw people running in frenzy. We walked outside and I stopped a youngster, whom was running, "What's goin on kid" He replied to me "Reach got hit". The guys and me ran too the local Viewer screen.
"My friends and comrades of Earth, today we have received news that Reach has been completely destroyed. UNSC forces put up as much resistance as they could bur failed to stop the covenant" At this moment the crowd of Marines were really restless and silent. A few seconds later Wilks came out and broke up the crowd and we were ordered back to the barracks. For the first time we realised just what the enemy could do and just what its plans were. Just days afterwards it was announced that every man in the army would now be put into active service as of immediately. Trained or untrained it didn't matter. The UNSC forces were now expecting an attack on Earth and we would be the frontline for Africa if it was struck. For a moment I felt proud to be an African who would defend my continent wherever it may need it. There was a stir up of the people that we would not be able to survive the covenant on Earth. But something in everyone's mind would keep telling themselves the same thing that we are the human race that will stand forever. Seems funny, why should we fight such a brutal foe when we did nothing to provoke their race or people. And they suddenly turn up on our doorstep with an armada. We were always wondering what people were doing in the civilian world as none of us had been back for 5 months. The next day we were issued with the orders to go to Mombassa where we would fight the covenant just a few weeks later.
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