I have a very vivid memory of a sunset I shared with a friend of mine. He was a friend I met during my National Service, and we were good buddies. I say this from my point of view, but I really enjoyed the months I had with him before he left the force, and before I finished my service period.
He was much older than me, an army regular at that time, and he had served in a number of places. I had first heard of him, because I heard him shouting at a recruit when I was a recruit myself. It was part of his role, but also part of his view of military discipline and professionalism.
Later, after I had commissioned, I was posted back to the same camp that he was at, and we became fast friends. We were on the same groove of life, and we kinda looked at life in the same way. A super memorable statement he told me once was that “an officer should the very least be able to shoot, and to do well for his physical fitness.” It stuck with me, and I’ve gotten my marksman award for shooting, and never getting lower than silver for my physical fitness tests throughout my reservist years.
The sunset I remember the most was a day when we had just processed in all the new recruits together. I was supervising the in-pro, and he was situated at one of the stations. I actually assigned him there, because I was in charge of the deployments, but I totally forgot. After the day was over, I was walking back from my post, and bumped into him along the way.
The part I can’t recall was whether he already had a case of beer, or if he had ordered a case of beer with me. But I remember polishing off a case of beer with him, because he asked me to join him. We chit chatted, drank beer, laughed at the state of things. The sun was setting and the long day over. It has been one of the best sunsets I had ever experienced with a friend, and still remains in my top few even after getting married. It was just such a pure moment of friendship and companionship.
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