Thread: Soldier shot in shoulder during Tekapo live firing training exercise

While I was never in the armed forces, when I was a teenager I was in a similar enviroment that provided routine, structure, discipline and regulation. Those 5 years at Boarding school were EXACTLY what I needed. With that experience I am a far better man than I would ever have been without it. And I would expect that the similar structure and regimen in the Armed forces will do the same for a lot of young kiwi men. Especially in todays enviroment where discipline and honour are concepts most youth seem to be completely unaware of having received little to none in their formative years.

One of the strongest points from the experience was the loyalty to others and the honesty and integrity that follows. No matter how much they liked or did not like you, they would stand beside you like a brother with you in any situation, If you did something wrong and you were challenged no one would dob you in, but they would remind you that you are responsible for "owning up to it". As such, if anyone asked "Who did that?' the person responsible would not stay silent but would step forward and accept their responsibility. Definitely not a quality that is common in todays world....Imagine Mallard asking the 120 poli-children in his care "Who leaked Bridges travel expenses?" and having the culpit own up without hiding thier involvment. It would save a fortune on enquiries that would be better spent elsewhere.