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