Parade

Monday was perhaps one of the hottest days here so far. On Sunday night it was amazingly hot outside long after the sun had set, so the temperature was high on Monday morning to begin with. Inside air-conditioned buildings and tents it was ok, but I really did not want to spend time outside. That is what the day had to offer, however. At 0900 there was a short rehearsal for the upcoming Change of Command parade. After that our PO's medic, M, gave me some more vaccinations, I think they were Twinrix II and Rabies II.

The parade, starting at 1100, was conducted according to normal Finnish procedures, except that the language was English, as there were troops and guests from many different nations. There was no marching, as the camp is too small, and no band, for obvious reasons. The music was delivered through loudspeakers. After the chaplain's speech and prayer and the change of command ceremony, the Finnish national anthem, "Our Land" started playing. No-one had told us that it was going to be played in the parade, so no-one stood at attention, and we all had our hats on. Another thing also happened just then, that caught everyone's attention. A few minutes earlier a soldier in the Swedish troops' column had fainted from the heat. It was a silent moment in the parade and everybody could hear the soldier hitting the ground. There were medics rushing to the scene. And just as the national anthem was playing, the poor guy was wheeled across the parade ground on a strecher by three medics, feet first, his head wrapped in white bandage! I almost burst out laughing - combined with the music, it was tragicomical to the point of being hilarious. (Btw., there were about a half dozen more Swedes who left the parade column to rest in the shade, when none of the Finns did. It must be the sauna.)

Yesterday I tried to get hold of the tailor to see if the insignia of rank that I ordered a week ago were ready. They weren't, but the man told me that I should come back tomorrow. I did, but the tailor's shop was closed for Eid al-Fithr. Somehow this did not surprise me in the least. Later, as we were stopping by in the German camp, I inquired at the local PX (Postal Exchange) if they made insignia, but was again disappointed. It seems that I will have to keep on walking around with shiny golden ranks of insignia with blue or green background if I want to wear my correct service rank, Lieutenant Senior Grade. The other option would be to disguise myself as a Captain and use proper, black insignia on khaki background.

In the afternoon, we drove back to Aybak. Our car almost overheated in the ascent, but we arrived safe, if somwhat late. The clearing and disinfection of the cellar (we had a mouse problem in the cellar) was almost done. I spent the night preparing for the next day's backbriefing.