Firestorm - 31. FS Chapter 31

Nearly two weeks later, taking just the essentials with us, we left the rest of our belongings in our home, next door to Aunty Jean’s, and we made the long journey north to the United Kingdom, and once we had cleared customs, we made our way outside of Heathrow airport, where an army vehicle was parked out front. “Warrant Officer Mitchell Benning? I am Staff Sergeant Palmer, I am in charge of getting you to Scotton, and getting you and your family settled, welcome to London and the UK:” the army man said when he saw us approaching.

“Very good Staff, we appreciate the welcome, after that long trip” I replied with a tired smile. During the journey north-west, the Staff Sergeant informed me that we had four days to get settled into our fully furnished rental accommodation, before I needed to report for duty. Angela and I had looked into the schools available for Tom to attend, and we had him enrolled before we left Australia, so just two days after we arrived in the UK, Tom attended his first day of school.

When Tom returned from his first day at school, both Angela and I were relieved that he had done well, and that he enjoyed his first day at school. On my first day of work, it took me a few hours to get settled into the job, and at first it took me a while to get used to the English accent, and for them to get use to my Aussie accent, but once we had settled into our unusual accents, and me trying to not use Australian slang words, everything at work ran smoothly.

Except one day, some months later, when I was so frustrated with a private who was not listening to instructions properly, and I just lost it, “Private Jones. you bloody wombat, what the hell are you doing you silly drongo”, there was a moment of silence, and when I realised what I said and saw how confused the men looked at what I said, I just burst out laughing, and the men soon joined in. “Staff Sergeant, can you continue, while I go walkabout, err I take a moment to… just continue on thanks staff” I said still chuckling to myself at the whole situation.

Twenty minutes later I returned to the training field to continue instructions, and at the end of the working day, my CO – Commanding Officer, Major Phillips walked into my shared office, and I stood to attention. “As you are, Warrant Officer” the Major said to me, and I relaxed a little, but remained standing.

“May I help you with anything sir?” I asked, “Yes, I heard you were trying to educate the platoon on Australian slang today” the Major said to me, and I blushed a little, “Yes sir, and I am sorry for that, no matter what I do, I just can’t get Private Jones to listen to instructions properly, I just spat the dummy, and had to go walkabout for a little while” I replied, and the Major smiled and chuckled a little, “So tell me what do you mean when you call someone a wombat, what does spat the dummy mean, what is walkabout, and what is a drongo?” the Major asked me, and I just laughed.

Once I had explained the Australian slang terms to the Major, he wished me a nice evening with my family, and left me to finish up my work, before heading home. I was a little surprised that I got off so lightly with what happened today, and Angela laughed when I told her what had happened at work today. Two days later on the last day of the week, as I prepared for another training session at the rifle range, I had just completed getting the platoon to parade, when the Major and a Captain appeared, with the Captain carrying a box. I snapped to attention, and turned to face the approaching officers.

Good afternoon Sir’s” I said as I saluted. “Good afternoon, Warrant Officer Benning, I wish to address your men before you start training” the Major said. I nodded my head, and stepped to one side, “The other day your Firearms training officer, gave you a demonstration of Australian slang. So, to make things a little easier, I am presenting each member of this platoon a copy of Australian Slang” the Major said with a big smile, and I couldn’t help, but burst out laughing, and it was so funny that I had to sit down on the ground. After a few minutes, I managed to gather myself again, and I stood up.

By now the men each had a copy of the book, and the officers were heading back to the administration building. “Right you mongrels, get back into order, before I send you galahs off on a walkabout” I shouted to the platoon, who just stood there staring at me. “That will be enough theatrics for today thanks Warrant Officer” I heard the Major say in the distance, and I turned around and snapped to attention, “Sir, yes sir” I replied with a smile, before facing the men again.

“Ok, a translation on my last statement, right you despicable people, get back into line, before I send you fools on a long hike” I said to the platoon, and I heard some chuckles in the ranks, and I smiled back, “It sounds better the first way you said it sir” one of the men said, which had all the men laughing, before I had the platoon march over to the rifle range, to begin training, where I was surprised to see that Private Jones, had made a remarkable improvement compared to the other day.

When I arrived home that evening, I found Angela sitting in the lounge with Tom, reading a book, and no sign of any cooking, which had me a little confused. “Hello, you two, did you have a good day? And are we eating out tonight?” I said as I approached them, and gave Angela a kiss on the cheek. “Can I tell dad the news please mum? Tom asked eagerly, which had me even more confused. “No, we will order take away tonight, and yes Tom, you can tell dad the good news” Angela replied.

“Mum is pregnant” Tom announced, and it took me a moment for what he just said to sink in, and I sat down on the lounge floor, a little heavier than planned. Angela’s smiled turned to concern when I sat down, and she was about to stand up when I put my hand up, “I am fine, don’t get up. Wow, I never thought I would ever have children, and now I have a step son and another child coming, this is wonderful news” I said with a big smile.

Angela informed me that she was two months pregnant, and that she was feeling fine, apart from feeling a little queasy now and then, which I knew was a normal thing with pregnant women. For the next 7 months, I made a point of getting home on time after work, and doing most of the house chores, with a little bit of help from Tom, and when the time came, Angela gave birth to a healthy son, who we named Simeon.

About a month later, I brought Tom with me to work, for just one day, to give Angela a rest from having two sons to keep an eye on, I knew that I would be doing just administration stuff today, so I felt that it was safe to bring him along. I was so busy with my office work, that I had not noticed that Tom had slipped out of the office, along with my work hat, and with Tom wearing his favourite clothes – army camouflage, he almost fitted into the surrounds, especially now he has grown a fair bit in the last few months.

I knew that the Colonel was doing drill practice with some of the platoons on the nearby parade ground, and I had no idea that this is where Tom was heading. When I did notice him gone, I had no idea where he was heading, but when I saw my hat missing, and knowing how he was dressed, it suddenly hit me where he would be heading, so I jumped up and raced out the door, running at full speed towards the parade ground, arriving just in time to see Tom standing at attention, just a few metres directly behind the Colonel.

“Attention” I heard Tom shout at the top of his voice, which made the Colonel jump in fright, as he swung around and faced Tom, “What’s wrong Colonel, don’t you know how to obey orders, stand at attention when you are told to” Tom shouted, and I could see the Colonel was not happy and was about to reply as I approached. “Thomas James Parker, Attention, about face, back to the office, quick march” I shouted at my step son, who obeyed every order I gave.

This is when I noticed most of the two platoons laughing, which stopped suddenly, when the Colonel turned and faced them again, then once order was brought back, he turned to face me, and I snapped to attention, and saluted. “My apologies sir, Tom is my stepson, as you know my wife has a young son to deal with, and is struggling a bit, and with me doing no rifle training today, I thought it would be alright to bring him to the office for the day” I explained.

The Colonel smiled and did something totally unexpected, Cadet Thomas Parker, halt, about face and return to this spot, double time” the Colonel shouted, and Tom did as order, and came to a stop three metres from us, snapped to attention, and saluted, which the Colonel returned. “Where did you learn these Army Manoeuvres, Cadet?” the Colonel asked Tom, “In the Army sir” Tom replied loudly, “Which Army was that cadet? The Colonel asked, “The Australian Army Sir” Tom responded.

“I see, Warrant Officer Benning, would you care to fill in the blanks? The Colonel asked me, “Certainly Sir, I was attached to Special Operations Command at Campbell Barracks in Perth, but I spent a lot of my time at the Bindoon Army Training facility, almost two hours north of the city, which is mostly Australian bushland and lots of hills. Tom and his mother spent some time with me on the facility, while I was running a major cadet training camp.

Tom caught out three Corporals, who were my planning team for the Cadet camp, and he snuck up behind them and shouted at them to attention, which they automatically did, and only realised that it was Tom, when I started to Chuckle. I guess he wanted to try out the trick again, but unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to do it to” I explained, “Indeed he has” the Colonel replied, before he turned to the platoons.

“Right you lot, for laughing at the cadet’s antics, you are to do a one-kilometre march around the edge of the parade ground, that is a total of six laps” the Colonel announced, before turning to face Tom. “You, Cadet Thomas Parker, are to join them for the entire March, for causing this disturbance, understood?” the Colonel said, which caught me by surprise, “Sir, yes sir” Tom replied loudly, and he marched over to the end of the first platoon and joined the ranks, “carry on Sergeant” the Colonel said, and soon both platoons, with Tom included, began their march.

“Maybe that will teach him to be so cheeky” the Colonel said, just loud enough for me to hear, and I chuckled, “Yes sir, I do believe he will have learnt his lesson” I replied, “I will leave you to supervise the punishment, then you can dismiss the two platoons for the day” the Colonel said, and I snapped to attention, “Very good sir” I said and saluted, before the Colonel departed.

Cadet Parker, you are out of time, get back into time this instant” I shouted at my stepson, not wanting to give him and favours, “Sir, yes sir” Tom replied, and he quickly got back into rhythm, with the rest of the platoon. Once they had completed all six laps of the parade ground, I called a halt to both platoons, called them to attention, then announced that they are dismissed for the rest of the day.

“Except you Cadet Parker, to my office this instant” I said to Tom, “Yes sir” Tom groaned, “What was that Cadet?” I said, Sir, yes sir, Warrant Officer Benning, Sir” Tom shouted, that is better, now off you go, I will go and get a soft drink and snack for you” I said quietly, “thanks Dad, I mean Sir, and I am sorry” Tom replied, with a little smile, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, as I ruffled Toms hair, after removing my hat from his head.

As the end of the two years on the exchange programme fast approached, we began to sort our belongings, working out what we would ship back home, what we would take with us, and what we would sell or give away, and a week before the end date, I received a large official looking envelope at my office.

I decided to wait till I arrived home before opening it, so as a family we could learn what it said at the same time. As I entered the house, Angela was holding a sleeping, twelve-month-old Simeon in her arms, and Tom who had just turned 13, was busy doing his school homework, on the dining room table. As I sat down at the table opposite Tom, I pulled out the envelope from my briefcase and held it up, so everyone could see, and Angela came over and sat next to me.

Tom had stopped his homework and looked at the envelope, “Your new orders Dad?” Tom asked me quietly so as not to wake Simeon, and I smiled, as I liked Tom calling me that, “Yes, son, I believe they are, let me open it and see” I whispered, and I opened one end of the envelope and pulled out three pages, that were stapled together.

“Warrant Officer Mitchell Benning, you are hereby ordered to prepare for travel to your new posting – as part of a Fire Officer Exchange Programme. Your family will be permitted to travel with you for this two-year term exchange. Your posting is to British Columbia, Canada, where you will complete 16 weeks of basic training, before being posted to a fire station in rural BC, Canada, for a two-year period. Signed Brigadier Murdoch” I read out to my family.

“Wow, Canada eh, that will be a great new experience for all of us” Angela said with a smile, “You don’t mind? You sure you don’t want to go home to Perth to be with Aunty Jean?” I asked Angela, “My home is with my husband and family, and where ever you go, we as a family go too” Angela replied. “Yippee” Tom shouted, forgetting about his sleeping brother, who squirmed a little then went straight back to sleep.

After a big send-off party, which included a full company, English rendition of Waltzing Matilda, what I didn’t expect was what happened next near the end of the party, as the Colonel stepped forward and called for silence. “Cadet Parker Benning, front and centre” the Colonel ordered, and dressed in an Army Dress Uniform, with the same patch and badge as my dress uniform, Tom, my step son, marched forward to the colonel holding a small felt container.

“Warrant Officer Mitch Benning Front and centre” the colonel ordered, and I snapped to attention, handed Angela my glass of punch, and marched to the front, stopping in front of the Colonel, and saluting. Tom turned to face me, with a huge smile on his face, holding the felt container in front of him. “Warrant Officer Dad Benning” Tom said loudly, which brought a few chuckles from those gathered, including the Colonel.

“By order of Brigadier Murdoch, from the Australian Army, I am happy to present to you the Conspicuous Service Medal” Tom announced, as he opened the box. The Colonel took out the medal and pinned it to my uniform, then shook my hand, “well done and congratulations young man,” the Colonel said, “Thankyou Sir” I replied. “Carry on with the next bit thanks Cadet” the Colonel said to Tom, who snapped to attention, and faced me.

“Warrant Officer Mitchell Benning, you are hereby dismissed from your service to the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick, North Yorkshire, with the thanks of all the men and officers” Tom announced, and the men gave me three cheers, which woke up Simeon in Angela’s arms, and he began crying loudly, which made everyone laugh, at his input in the celebrations.

For the next few days, we said farewell to our British friends, before we began the long journey to Canada. We selected a flight, that would have two stops on the way, so as to make it easier on the children, especially young Simeon, so the first leg of the journey was a nearly 6-hour flight from London to St John’s on Newfoundland Island off the east coast of Canada, with an overnight layover of 18 hours, then a nearly 5-hour flight to Toronto, Ontario, with a 5-hour layover, and finally the 5-hour flight to Vancouver.

When we finally arrived in Vancouver, we were all very tired and grumpy from the journey having crossed at least 5-time zones, with 8-hour’s - time difference between London and Vancouver. This time we did not have a greeting party, and we had to make our way out of the airport, and find our way to our temporary 4-month accommodation, which was a rental house. I had a telephone number for a realty agent, who would meet us at the house, to have us sign a rental agreement, and hand over the keys to the fully furnished house.

When we arrived at the house, we were a little disappointed that the house was barely furnished enough, and only with the basics, but we only had to live in it for four months, so we decided to put up with it for that time. I knew that I had one full week to settle into our home before I start training, so that gave us enough time to settle in, and buy a few extra comforts for the house, as well as a decent 4x4 vehicle, with a brand-new carry capsule for Simeon.

We decided to keep Tom out of school for the four months, so he could help his mum with looking after Simeon, and doing some of the chores around the house, which was in the north-eastern suburbs of Vancouver. When basic training began, I found it very tough physically, even with all my previous Australian Army training, but I managed to get very fit again quickly, and was soon amongst the top of the class.

When we graduated from basic training, just before Christmas, I was informed that my posting was to Fort Nelson, in the far north – east of the state of British Columbia. 1600 kilometres by road. After some discussions, it was decided that a few days after Christmas, I would drive up with most of the luggage, and the rest of the family would fly up there, which only takes 3 ½ hours. It is mid-winter, so I was hoping that the weather would not be too bad, as I made the journey north on my own.