;D
Hummmm PAT Pl...man have I got some stories!!!
I was injured (seriously) fall 2003 while on basic (NCM) and was recoursed in The beginning of week eight. I left my family (Husband and Son) to go to basic for a few short months that turned out to be close to eight months. And yes, all in St Jean
In those eight months I had seen my son once and my Husband twice. That in itself was hard. I was in a wheelchair, graduated to crutches, then to a cane, then on 2 feet. I have not been able to run since.
Besides having to deal with my (ongoing) injury, yes I am still in and yes the Forces is my life, there were so many other issues I had to deal with while on pat. The first issue was the negativity. I found that after crying every single day for 2 or more weeks, and listening to the stories about how you were a dirtbag because you were on PAT, and missing my family, and taking wads of pills, I made a choice. I could either S**T or GET. IOW suck it up, get healthy and get on platoon or quit. I chose to stay. I also made alot of changes in how I looked at things while on PAT. I tried to learn everything I could about how things worked, not the stuff they teach you in basic, but how it really works. How a good attitude gets you farther than a bad one, how to shine my boots properly, how to make one heck of a bed so when I did get back on platoon I would shine.
I approached new people that would come to pat and try to tell them and guide them on how things worked, where to go , who to talk to, what to do if you needed something...etc... this gave me something to do, i got to meet new people, and it made me learn new things too.
I am not going to blow sunshine up your butt and tell you it was all great. It wasnt. there were days I did not think I could take one more inspection (4x per week) or days I could not bear to see another graduation that I was not on. The hardest to watch is always your own platoon. The hardest days were when I was working at the green desk and have a SGT say to another..."no you can keep the change from the coffee...just give it to the Private, its for her Pat PL Retirement fund." Yes some people look down on you some are even ignorant and arrogant enough to say it out loud. There are some people that I know that are still there (since Sept 2003) I think they are afraid to move on. Some, granted, are lazy.
There are no courses offered on Pat Pl. I asked repeatedly, the answer was always a firm no. No ruck marching, no "classtime type" classes. Nothing. It's not that the troops don't want it, they just are not allowed. and to answer the big question "what about reading the QRand Os? you have to request them, you have to tell them why you want them, and they will try to solve your problem without you looking at them. but I have read the First Aid Manual 2 doz times. No we are not allowed to read books, magazines (unless it is CF issued) even library books. I had to sneak to the library to get a card so I could read at night.
When I started to walk again I had to wear sneakers with my combats and it was humilitaing, and I did not need and instructor point it out to me in front of the non Pat Troops. I hated wearing the big yellow "A", I hated the white room. But I have never been anywhere that I have learned so much about what I am capable of and what others are capable of.
So Now I am here in Borden. On Pat Pl. it is nothing like St Jean. We sit outside in tents. Play cards. Have our careers messed with.
It is h*ll. Truly H*ll.
I hope I can make it through this one. If I can do this, I can do anything.
But with a bad leg I can't do SQ, and without SQ I can't get a QL3 course. Don't look down on me, us, them. Most of us are trying our guts out. If you have not been there you have nothing to say.
