November 30th I got home from the final 12 day camp of ours. Came back with plenty of great memories and experiences, not only because it was such a unique environment to battle but also because it was both revealing and wistful knowing that it would be the last time camping with all the good friends.
We left to Niinisalo Monday the 18th and went there by bus. The leader of platoon Bravo, who was in charge for the transportation, didn't get any specific orders besides getting there by certain time so he decided to keep a break at a gas station halfway there. It was kinda cool to "take over" the place with our company and to get a cup of coffee in a military suit. I don't know how permitted that was though, our guns were of course in the trunk of the bus but the MT-LB tank guys, who only carry a pistol instead of an assault rifle, had their FN's in the chest pocket throughout the visit.
The actual camping area at Niinisalo turned out to be a lot more comfortable than expected. Instead of outhouses we got actual toilets with plenty of plugs to charge your phone in. I was prepared with a 2700 mAh power bank in case of no electrics but it was a cool addition not having to worry about running out of battery. Also there was a cafeteria which we could use at evenings to have some coffee and watch TV with fellow soldiers.
Monday and Tuesday we did nothing but got used to the area and wondered around a bit. Monday was great when it came to the weather but the whole Tuesday rained and was a bit cold. The environment, which was basically a huge 2x20 kilometer desert, surprised everyone. We all had heard how it looks like from older friends who had already gone through the army but it's something you can't really explain to someone who is used to a Finnish view full of trees and woods. All of a sudden everything was brownish instead of green and looked a lot more like Iraq than Finland which added a feeling of it's own to the mix.
Wednesday to Friday! Time for some actual war with simulation stuff against the unknown people. Actually against us were 25-30 year old guys who were at refreshing training which is basically an order from the state to go remind you of the stuff you learned and make sure you can still act as a soldier. They had
CV's,
Leopard 2's and
Pasi's against our
MT-LB's. Make sure to check the links I underlined. Everything went pretty much as expected: they beat the shit out of us when it came to fighting with tanks. It was quite a challenge to our anti-tank weapon guys since they were the decisive part of how quickly they destroyed us and whether we were even able to set foot outside from the tank or not. Inside the tank you have no idea what's going on outside, a few times we got the "destroyed" sound to our helmets without even knowing anything about why and how.
When it came to fighting on foot the whole thing turned upside down. Once our platoon Alpha was fighting against a whole company and two platoons and we beat them in an hour. It happened a lot that we didn't have any clue where the others were and had to fight on our own but did well in the end. What I loved about fighting "freely" in a big ass area was that the staff and trainers didn't give our leaders any orders about where to go to. Earlier, in the smaller and shorter camps in a limited area they had to kinda get us and the enemy to actually face each other and keep it in control since the area was that limited. This time we could just wonder around like in an actual war and then set foot outside after facing the enemy. Everything was a lot less controlled and since the bullshit was dropped we could fight a lot more freely and kinda live by the situation like in the real thing. Loved every fight!
Saturday was just resting and we got a change to go to a sauna and change some clothes at a nearby garrison. Sunday we actually moved to the northern part of the area, also got to throw some handmade 60 gram TNT-explosions and see a set of 200 and 1000 gram ones that easily destroyed a tree or even a rock when planted inside.
The reason for moving was the hard bullet shooting that took place from Monday to Friday, Friday being the final day of the camp. To keep this thing reasonable and so that it wouldn't take me more than these four weeks to get this thing written, I'll skip to the good parts. Monday, November 25th, take two of the day, night: Fucking awesome. The most memorable part of this 12 day beast and probably the most beautiful sight I've ever witnessed. Open area plus
tracer ammo's on every assault rifle and machine gun made it an experience I won't forget for a while! A laser show like no other.
Friday, November 29th: The last take. I'll put up a video of the very final company tank charge. It's a pretty long video but it'll give a pretty good sight of the environment out there, how spacious and desertish it is. You can see a long line of tanks, see how they move and shoot their machine guns and so on. Hope you enjoy, I think it's the coolest piece of material I've shown you guys.
That's it guys, there's a finish to everything in life and this was my thing for six months. I still remember going through the gates for the first time on July 8th, the depression of the first few weeks, the first time I shot a bullet and set up the tent... All of that might have sucked big time back then but now it's just a bunch of great memories and the most unique six months of my life so far. What I love about closing a circle as big and challenging as this is that you can now just wrap all those memories together, grab a beer and reminisce knowing that there's no army stress ahead anymore. It's a bit sad knowing I'll probably never meet the good friends anymore but that's just life I guess!
Hope you guys enjoyed reading these posts, I apologize and thank you for being able to use the Ask WH thread as a diary. It's been a joy writing this stuff! Keep challenging yourself even more in 2014, whether it's landing stunts, lifting weights or larping in the woods acting a soldier! Try new stuff and meet new friends, don't be afraid to socialize and have a good time. It's not always pleasant and it's not supposed to be, I just spent half a year doing everything but pleasant things and now I'm finishing 2013 with a cold beer in hand and fuckloads of so great memories richer. Happy New Year everyone and take care, love you all!
