Royal Guardship

Chapter 2:

Jamie left school full of excitement. More than usual. He waited at home, killing time, for 2 hours until 4:00. He took a long shower and got ready as slowly as possible to cut down wait time. He waited in the car, £50 in his pocket. Then his father came.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes!" Jamie said.

Upon arrival. All the students were lined up on the Foul shot line. Then a young man in his Early 20s came in. He walked with more dignity than a peacock, but without all the self importance. Following him were a young woman, and young man. Both appearing to be the same age as he.

"Ok. My name is Colonel Scott Field. I am the District recruiter for Battalion 17. Which is From Penzance, to Weymouth, to Bristol. Behind me are Lieutenant Colonel Susan Jones, And Lieutenant Colonel John Christiansen. They are both trained in all areas available in stages one and two. And they are to be treated with the upmost respect. As am I. Now you will spend most of your training with NCOs, not officers. For those of you who don't know, a Non-Commissioned Officer is a Sergeant. Don't salute NCOs. Salute officers when outdoors." He said. "Now, let's go over customs and cortices. First, the chain of command: Company! Fall in!. Two elements! Now that means that one of you stands to my left at arm's length, steps forward two steps. Then do an about hace, which means turn around one-eighty degrees to the right on your left heel and right toe. Basically, bring your right foot back to make a c, and swing around to face the other way. After that, everyone else line up in two rows, called elements, at arm's length to his left. Ready? Detail, fall in!"

The five fell in like clockwork. Jamie was the second element leader. Parents watched from the doorway.

"Ok, the chain of command goes like this: Team, You guys; Company, Which is four Teams; Platoon, which we don't use in Bristol Battalion, Division, Consisting of you're grade. All the way up to the CO himself, Who leads the branch, and reports to the Board of defense. And a detail is any group with no absolut designation." said Jones.

Then Colonel Field gave the next instruction, "Attention, that means to stand tall with your shoulders back, hands in fists with thumbs on the seems of your pants, feet at a 45 degree angle, and eyes strait forward. Do not move. Now Parade Rest: Same deal, keep your feet 12 to 16 inches apart though, rather than touching. Hands behind your back, left hand cupped around the right. Elbows out like I am. At ease is the same as parade rest but you can look around." He said, while demonstrating. "At rest is the same as at ease, but you can chat. If you are asked a question, or need to talk, you snap to attention. Raise your right fist for permission to speak. To fall out, do an about hace, and scatter. Speaking of, a right hace: you turn right 90 degrees on your left toe and right heel, and catch up your left foot. A left hace is just the opposite. Seven standard responses are: Yes sir, no sir, outstanding sir, no excuses sir, thank you sir, permission to (whatever you need permission for) sir, and: as you were sir. Sir can be replaced by: mam, First Sergeant, Cheif, Cadet, or any rank when in doubt of staff position. Detail, Parade rest! How are you doing?"

The nominees snapped to attention, and answered "Outstanding sir!"

"Outstanding." He said. "Now, when you fall out, you'll follow Jones and Christiansen to get your information. Detail, Fall out!"

"Oh, and if you don't make it through the first year, your uniform will be traded in and you will spend the rest of the year in whatever Junior Officer Training Core you choose. That way you still get your money's worth, even though your not in the Royal Guards." said Christiansen.

Jamie went home knowing his destiny was here.