Infrastructure: Part One Hundred and Seventeen by Imperator-Zor on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

After the announcement of war, there was a major recruitment campaign. Numerous parties were sent out to bring in the manpower required. The army was to be expanded, and rapidly. Even with reservists being called up there was plenty to do. Sergeant Ferdov Yanovivich had his work cut out for him.

He took after his father in more ways than one. He was heavyset, grew a mustache and was methodical and careful. He joined the army when he was eighteen and like his father, settled in at the rank of sergeant and eventually got employed as a general instructor. He got the latest batch of recruits. There were 48 of them, four whole squads, officially their was supposed to be no more than 36 of them in a group and usually he had to to deal with only two squads at a time. But it was still his job and they were not to bad as far as rookies went, at least on the march. For the second part of this shebang, he had the assistance of Private Bublyk. The Appropriate gear had been distributed.

"Now I see that you lot have mastered the basics of running and marching. Fair enough. Now we will move on to the tool of your trade." His tone was polite, but firm. Some instructors preferred to yell at their men as angrily as possible about everything. Ferdov did not. For one thing it left his throat soar, the other being he knew that yelling was like cold water. If you were jumped into a cold lake it was real uncomfortable for a bit, then you got used to it. The occasional sudden splash to the face had far more impact. "What you have in your hands is a Type-3R Rifle. Now I want you to make sure that you are listening, because What I am about to say now is among the most important thing to you lot. The FIRST most important thing to you on the battlefield is your duty. The SECOND most important thing on the battlefield are your Comrades. The THIRD most important thing on the Battlefield is yourself. The FORTH most important thing on the battlefield is your Rifle. If you are in battle without your rifle, you are incapable of carrying out your orders, you are a burden on your comrades and you can not defend yourself. At best you are dead weight, at worst you and your comrades are dead due to your failure. You will keep your rifle in good shape and you will respect it. More than that, you will learn to love it and treat it as an extension of yourself."

"What it does is it shoots bullets at high speed. They will go threw men and armor. It can accurately hit a loan man over four hundred meters away and is easy to use. But that is getting ahead of ourselves. It is a criminal waste for any of you lot to shoot yourselves. You won't get a bullet until you master the basics of holding the damn thing."

"First of all, even though i personally made sure each of those Type-3Rs are empty, some of you fine young lads have your fingers on the triggers. That stops NOW! Unless the gun is in bits or that you might need to shoot something, you keep your finger off the trigger like so." The corporal held his rifle by the stock, the troops shuffled to match. "On the same note, on the side of your rifle is a small switch, when it points upward, the rifle will not. When on the march, keep that safety switch switched up. Am I clear?"

"YES SIR!" After a quick inspection he saw that they were all holding their weapons properly.

"The next Important thing is the way you lot are holding the damn things. When on the march you hold in two ways. The first way is you sling it over your back. The second way is you hold it on your shoulder like so. You will do this when I tell you to Shoulder Arms. Now...SHOUL-DER, ARMS!" The group of men soldiers worked about getting their guns into that position.

"It takes some getting used to, but you will get that. Now, when you are presented before an officer or have the honor of being before the central Committee and have a rifle in hand, you will show them your weapon, that it is in good repair and ready." The Corporal assumed the stance. "This command is present arms. Now... PRE-SENT, ARMS!"

And so it continued. The process was repetitive and monotonous, but it got into their heads the mindset they would need to beet back the Dark Elves should they decide to land

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