| Pyla, Plateau, Cyprus | | | | be that of the Lieutenant. He asks me to come from |
| The shift starts 12 midnight exactly, our comrades | | | | the observation post at once. I follow his order, take |
| woke us up at 11.45, and we struggle to our feet, | | | | up position and salute 'report no incidents, Sir'. The |
| sleep drunk, exhausted. Outside our 'Nissen hut' (Alu | | | | unbelievable happens, here, at 12.30 AM, in the middle |
| built structure, half-round shaped, used for | | | | of nowhere, he asks me to quote the 'duty |
| accommodation and command), the wind is howling | | | | paragraph's, including specific rules. Thinking to myself |
| over the plains, it makes me shudder to think to be | | | | the man has tilted over, I nevertheless stumble all |
| on patrol after midnight. In January the icy winds | | | | the points he refers to, leaving out some. He lectures |
| blow from the Anatolian highlands across the Cyprus | | | | me for 30 minutes giving me the focus of his career, |
| strait and covers the island with a blanket of cold. | | | | how he intends to bring sanity in this platoon. A |
| Radio communication is set at every full hour, just as | | | | moron I think to myself, what a moron. He wants to |
| my colleague takes his seat the control call comes in | | | | make a point, so let him. After he finishes, he |
| 'Nicosia to all report'. I grab my FAL NATO rifle, full | | | | abruptly turns back, asking me to return to my post, |
| gear, recounting what I wear, for the exterior is chilly | | | | and vanishes. |
| , at winds reaching strength 10 at some points, the | | | | As he came he disappears. Now I am left with the |
| cold creeps up fast. Cotton undershirt, warm long | | | | wind and still can't make sense of all that happened a |
| sleeves undershirt, Cotton over shirt, Army issue, | | | | while ago, figuring out what was wrong with this guy |
| pullover 1, alpine pullover, wind jacket, 7 PCs of | | | | who happened to be our commanding officer. At |
| clothes protecting me from the freezing wind. | | | | exactly one hour into the morning we exchange |
| I relieve my colleague from his post, and the | | | | posts, my colleague who remained inside on readiness |
| sub-zero temperature hits me straight into the face. | | | | will now take post up in the cold. I tell him of the |
| This must be the coldest night experienced on the | | | | incident and he is puzzled, too. |
| plains. I am fully awake by now, and climb up the | | | | Once inside, the warmth is overwhelming. I stand |
| ladder that leads to the outlook checkpoint. Trying to | | | | near the oven, rubbing my hands and generally feel |
| get accustomed with the darkness I grab the | | | | better within minutes. I switch on the radio and '10 cc |
| binoculars to survey the area under our scrutiny. | | | | blares from the British Forces radio in Nicosia, 'I'm not |
| Nothing unusual I gather, the wind is pulling on the | | | | in love'. They must be playing this song a hundred |
| trusses and supporting steel cables, making it squeak | | | | times a day, I recollect. The night is long, and |
| and moan. I can not remember when such a storm | | | | sometimes you tend to doze off. Overcoming the |
| has blown here before. In my six months of duty I | | | | 'inner Schweinehund' literally the 'pig's dog', as the 'dog |
| find the cold has gone worse day after day, and in | | | | within us' is called in our parts of the world. You have |
| the H.Q. as here we use Kerosene heaters in our | | | | to focus and you master self discipline, as I learnt in |
| sleeping wards to keep warm. The resulting fumes | | | | the Army, compliments of Hauptmann Walter |
| are still in my nostrils, and I can't help thinking that | | | | Lukesch, my mentor and company commander, |
| the fumes are a health hazard. No one cares, as we | | | | whom I respect. |
| have no choice, if you don't want to wake up frozen | | | | With every turn the morning is closer, and the |
| stiff.. | | | | thought of the Lieutenant returning is a vague |
| In all my life I remember this to be of a unique, moist | | | | possibility. I take the last turn above the roof of the |
| cold that cuts to the bone and marrow of one's | | | | hut, and watch in disbelieve when the sun's first rays |
| body. I think of my life ending up in these remote | | | | flood over the plains before 6 AM. Our night shift is |
| parts of Cyprus, what made me enlist in the service. | | | | over, the next six hours will be spent in readiness, |
| And the wind rattling goes on and its howling is eerie | | | | but allowed to grab some sleep after breakfast, |
| at some stage. | | | | which we gladly follow. Another night in the plains for |
| It is 12.30 AM past midnight, a loud voice cuts | | | | the next eight weeks has passed. |
| through the storm, the shadow below I recognize to | | | | Next: The Alarm .... |