For
some reason or another, the Masa Mechin Kumta (preparation
for the beret march) was amongst the most difficult things I've done
since drafting. I suppose everyone has a bad day physically every now
and then in the army and mine happened to come on the day of the
march.
Keeping
in line with the policy of close to 40% added body weight in the
Mechin Kumta, I
departed with the stretcher on my back. For 25 kilometers, I lumbered
the added weight on me without complaint, giving every bit of effort
I had to push my way up the inclines and balance my speed during the
declines.
The
problems came after I offloaded the stretcher, however. I've heard
that marathon runners often hit the proverbial wall at some point
during the run. It was fitting that this masa was
the exact distance of a marathon, because my wall came after that 25
kilometer point. The pain began as a dull irritation at first,
gradually increasing each step until it was no longer ignorable.
While
usually I find myself helping others during masaot,
lending a hand pushing someone up a hill or grabbing the stretcher, I
quickly found myself on the receiving end during this masa.
It's important to mention that in the army, you're not always the
hero there to save your friends. Sometimes its your friends who come
to your aid and while I certainly didn't feel proud of it at the
time, there's absolutely no shame in it.
I
learned a valuable lesson during the masa;
even on the worst of your days in the army when everything counts
against you, you still need to find the finish line. In those
moments, you can count on the individuals you've shed blood, sweat
and tears with to come to your aid and help will you to that finish
when you need it the most.
I
finished the masa on
my own strength, though with a renewed faith in many of the men I've
learned to fight for and with.
Though
finishing was a challenge and I wasn't entirely in the best mood at
the end, one thought kept coming back to me.
The
next time I do this is for my red beret.
It was
the penultimate masa. I couldn't stop thinking about our
upcoming and final march, the Masa Kumta. Only one more time
would I be lugging the equipment on my back and bolting through the
fields at a rocket's pace for hours on end. The reward would be the
greatest one yet.
The
Mechin Kumta was not
the only penultimate task of it's kind this weel. It
immediately followed our second-to-last week of shetach,
the last being war week. This was also not lost on me and
certainly made getting through the week much easier.
It
was definitely one of the tougher weeks I've had up until this point,
but the theme of “one more” certainly resonated with me until the
finish. The red beret we've all been looking forward to for so long
is inching closer every day.
More
posts to come!
-Brett
P.S.
As of May 22nd,
I have been in the army for six months, meaning I am now a corporal.
While the increase in rank doesn't really mean anything, it's
certainly fun not to be at the bottom of the ladder. Until next time!
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