Okay. In this first update I will just answer your questions. More interesting stuff will come later.
did you get any preparation before being conscripted? Or were you just thrown into the thick of it?
I have known for over a year that I would be conscripted this July, so I had plenty of time to prepare. Didn't use it too well, though.
What time do you get up at?
How does a typical day go?
We get up at 6 AM, when a member of the staff comes running through the halls of the barracks with a boomblaster playing 'Riverside'. Nice way to get up, isn't it! We then spend the next 45 minutes getting dressed and cleaning the room. The room has to be almost as clean as an operating room to pass inspection, so it's no small task! We then eat breakfast between 6.45 and 7.15 before we go upstairs to clean some more before inspection at 7.30. The rest of the day we have lessons (shooting, battlefield medicine, radio communication, gym etc.). Lunch is served at 11.45 and dinner at 16.45. After dinner we ususally have the rest of the day off, but during the first few weeks there is a lot to be done, so there's often some service after dinner as well. In the evening I usually chill in my room with my laptop, train or play PlayStation, ping pong or pool.
Have you driven any cool vehicles? Fired from a bazooka? lol
No, not yet. But eventually we'll get to drive snowmobiles and ATVs on border patrol. If I get stationed at a border station near the river, I'll get to drive an awesome patrol boat as well! We don't get to use bazookas or any fancy weapons at all. All of us have been given
HK-416 rifles, which are all brand new since the Norwegian Army only recently started replacing the old AG-3 rifles. I think I have described what using it is like before.
Who won the Russia - Norway football match?
We won 5-1!
Do you communicate with the Russian soldiers?
No. Not at all. The people higher up in the system are frequently in contact with the Russian brass, though. Our two countries are on very good terms.
How many push-ups can you do now?
I could do 23 shoulder-wide-breast-touching-floor push-ups when I first got here. Now I can do 38. A significant progression, I'd say.
How's the food?
Surprisingly good. I wasn't expecting much, but the GSV is a prioritised part of the Norwegian Army, so I guess we have the best food in the military.
Do you have to do night shifts?
Only when we're away on field exercises, in which case the squad always has a guard post outside the base. Someone has to watch the base at night so someone has to do night shifts. Fortunately, we're not out on field exercises often.
If so, do you get funky goggles?
Yes! They're uber-awesome!
If you see someone (eg. Matyuv) what do you do?
I have no idea what we do, exactly. I'm not actually out patrolling the border yet. I have six months of training to do at a camp some miles from the border before I get to become a Border Hunter. When we're out on the border, we'll try and stop people from entering Russia from Norway, and we'll arrest anyone who manages to get into Norway from Russia (which hasn't happened since 2004), that's about as much as I know.
More updates will come. Don't expect any big updates, though. It's much easier for me to give you small drips of information more frequently rather than to dump an enourmous essay about military everyday life into your laps. I think that's easier for you too.
