I joined a kind of military corps a couple of weeks ago. As part of preparations for coming wars, around one hundred years ago the British Government set up a series of clubs in affiliation with the major Universities around the country with an aim to training young men and women in leadership skills that could be of use in the event that a large scale conflict required a draft, and this is one of them. The training teaches recruits those skills in three months that would normally span a whole year. There’s much that I can write about with regards to what we do because it’s pretty open, things like teambuilding exercises, public speaking, fitness training and so forth. There are also many things I can’t write about because the army, as it ought, takes security incredibly seriously. Part of this is requiring all members to swear an Oath of Allegiance (otherwise known as an Attestation) to Queen and Country, as well as becoming subject to the Official Secrets Act.

In detailing this to us new recruits a couple of days ago, the CO mentioned base and general security and one of his remarks stuck in my mind. His statement was this, and I paraphrase:

If we know that there’s a bomb in the viscinity, and we know where it is, we’ll tell you. We don’t tell you so that you can do something brave or heroic. We tell you so that when you hear, you can get out of the way. You’re not to do so calmly or with reasonable haste: you RUN as fast as you can away from where the bomb is! That’s all.

I don’t think I’m revealing anything dangerous there. We’re told, as the bottom of the rung, to peg is out of the way as fast as we possibly can. There was a wave of low chuckle across the group as he said this. I don’t think anyone had expected him to be quite so honest!

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