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Private Adam Brazolot: My legs are Jell-O right now. You have all these other people around you. To me, it’s what pushes me. If they’re not stopping, why am I stopping?

Captain Adam Orton: Hi! This is Captain Adam Orton with the Canadian Army Podcast.

Capt Orton: For those of you who are interested to know what the first sixteen months or so of joining the Army, being recruited and going through all the training are like, this is what we’re going to be talking about today. For those of you who are already in the Army, strap on your helmets, we’re going to hear some Basic war stories. Joining me from Halifax is Private Adam Brazolot from the Princess Louise Fusiliers. Welcome to the podcast.

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Pte Brazolot: Thanks for having me.

Capt Orton: So tell us a little bit about your career up to this point.

Pte Brazolot: So, my career is very short at this point. It’s been about a year and four months— so nothing crazy. I joined when I was thirty. I’m now thirty one, obviously. I did my BMQ, DP1. So, for people who don’t know, it’s just the Basic Military Qualifications. And DP1 is basically a trades qualification course. So, for me, it’s Infantry, so an infanteer course. I mean, it’s been exciting up to this point. So, here I am now—I’m on a course right now in the Basic Assault Pioneer Course which is very exciting. I think so.

Capt Orton: So, we can’t really talk about how you got here unless we talk about what got you here. So, what led you to join the Army?

Pte Brazolot: That’s a good question. My parents ask me that all the time as well. Yeah, I think it’s a pretty standard answer as to why I joined the Army. When you’re a little kid, you watch all these military movies and you think like, that’s such a cool thing. Right? So I had the ability to try and join when I was younger. And I tried, obviously. And that didn’t work out. So at thirty years old, I figured, I’m going to join the Reserves. And I joined because, you know, the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Army is a big thing, you know. It’s a family thing. And that’s something I always wanted. Moving out here to Nova Scotia, which is where my regiment is—it’s the Princess Louise Fusiliers. Moving out here from Ontario, you know, I didn’t have any family. So, I figured this is the way of having a family, you know, like—so I have great people around me all the time, like great troops. So there’s a bunch of girls and boys who I can call at any point, and just you know. I mean, that’s why I joined for the big reason was the camaraderie and the family.

Capt Orton: And, so you selected Infantry as a trade. What led you to choose the Infantry out of all trades?

Pte Brazolot: Honestly, so I work construction for a living. I’m very hands-on. I had a lot of people try and get me to join the Combat Engineers since it is somewhat close to construction. The Infantry, to me, I think, is that you have the biggest amount of camaraderie in the Infantry. And the thought of being first in battle and really putting yourself out there for Canadians—I mean, that’s something that really intrigues me.

I’ve also seen in the past, there’s a lot of young folks in the Infantry and I think being a little bit older, I can bring something else or maybe help with maturity in that sense. And, I mean, obviously, if they have more years, then they’re gonna have more knowledge than me and I can respect that. Age doesn’t matter when it comes to that kind of stuff. You know, I feel like being the maturity that I am at this point, I could bring something different to my regiment and the Infantry on its own.

Capt Orton: Ironically, you’re talking about, you know, that experience of maybe going into the engineers. And then you’re like, I want to do something a little bit different than construction, and now here you are on the Assault Pioneer Course. And for, maybe, those who don’t know what that is, it’s kind of like that sweet blend between infantry tasks and also engineering tasks. It’s kind of like, you know, when you get extra medical training but you're not a medic. So the equivalent of that, but for engineers. So how did you find yourself in that particular role?

Pte Brazolot: So, it’s interesting. It’s been something that my unit has been trying to do for a couple years now. Obviously, we’ve had setbacks here and there. So I was actually on my DP1 course. So, this is the Infantry Qualification Course, which makes me a fully trained infanteer. And I was looking through my emails one night—you know, we could finally go to sleep after training, and I was in my room looking at my phone, and the chief actually sent out an email asking who wants to be part of the course. And it was a pioneer course. I had a couple of friends that were saying, you know, I’m really interested in it. And I was like: “You know, why not! I'll join it.” I put my name in and luckily enough, they picked it. And, I mean, I’m excited about it. It is very close to construction. We’ve learned a lot about tools and stuff and things that I’m very familiar with. So it wasn’t like I would say there were some parts of the training that were a little easier to me just because I have that history of using tools and building stuff. So, the knowledge was there. Yeah, I mean, it’s like you said it’s ironic. Right? You’re a Combat Engineer so now being pioneers. So, I mean, I'm not regretting it at all. So I’m happy about it.

Capt Adam Orton: Tell us a little bit about what you found the challenges were—especially in the infantry course. Like, what did you find yourself having to overcome to get through that?

So, I think just the military on its own, I’m used to running my own business or leading a crew of guys. So now being at the bottom of the totem pole, you know, it was a huge difference for me. So that’s something I had to overcome and adapt to. As well as, there’s a lot of knowledge that you have to, you know, contain. There’s a lot of what we call “death by PowerPoint.” They put a lot of PowerPoints up, and you really gotta like, stay up and listen to this stuff. And, you know, it’s hard at the time—but at the end of the day, it’s something you really need to remember. And there’s a lot of little tricks that they teach you. And I mean, even rank structures. I mean, when you're not in the military, you have to start remembering all these little things: big crown to small crown to whom do you salute. You know, it’s a big thing. Right? So it definitely was challenging. I would say it’s still a challenge. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to the military.

Capt Orton: I mean, if it makes me feel any better, I’ve been around for quite some time. And I’m still learning stuff too—so I think that’s part of the process.

Pte Brazolot: And that definitely makes me feel a little better.

Capt Orton: So, tell us a story of maybe your experiences—something that stood out for you as part of your training.

Pte Brazolot: Oh, man, there’s a ton of experiences that I’m never going to forget. So, I mean, you join the Army and you think I’m in shape. Right? And then you get this warrant officer who just takes you on this huge ruck march and you're just sweating, and you’re like: “This is ridiculous. Like, why are we doing this?” That’s more than once that’s happened.

So, the big thing is, I guess, the physical endurance that they put us through all the time, you know. I thought I was in good shape at thirty years old, but the one warrant officer that took me out. He’s a brick house. I don't know how he does it. He’s older than me. He was not even breaking a sweat. He’s telling us to hold our rifles above our head and march, and I was like: “Dude, like, you’re insane—like.” Those are stories; I’m always gonna remember that.

The other thing is, it pushes me a little right because my excuse was always I’m a bit older than, you know, these other recruits that are there, you know. But, when you see a warrant officer who’s maybe twice‚ maybe even just a year older or your age, and he’s physically fit like that, I’m thinking to myself: “I can't use that as an excuse anymore. Right?” So, it really pushes me to do that. But yeah, that's one thing I’ll never forget is just how in shape some of these girls and guys are. Like, it’s crazy.

Capt Orton: It’s funny, you mentioned ruck marching too, because I would say, that’s definitely one of the more challenging physical aspects of the Army that you don't really see elsewhere. Like, maybe portaging or camping—you might be carrying a heavy load. But for the most part, the average person isn't used to hauling one hundred pounds of gear. In fact, we did a whole podcast about it a little while back. And we talked about it a bit. And it’s just one of those things where that’s a skill that you just build from scratch too.

Pte Brazolot: Absolutely! The bottom thing is that, like, I’ve done portaging, and it’s like you’re saying. Right? But you do portaging and you can’t stop. You don’t have the ability to stop. These guys don’t let you stop. It’s: “No, no, let’s go. We have another 3k to go” and you’re like: “My legs are Jell-O right now—like, my.” But, I mean, it’s like I said, you have all these other people around you and they’re just—to me, it’s what pushes me. Right? If they’re not stopping, why am I stopping? So, that’s another big thing of the military. It’s everyone’s pushing each other to make themselves better.

Capt Orton: You know, listen, probably people who aren’t in the military who are listening to you know, somebody who’s relatively new in the military, they’re thinking guns. That’s what Infantry is all about really. How did you feel about firing a machine gun for the first time?

Pte Brazolot: For me, I was kind of intimidated by the weapons you know. I’ve never shot weapons before. Like I said, I do construction so I’m used to nail guns and stuff like that, but man. Like a machine gun or just even an assault rifle is such a different thing. With the training the staff gave me, I mean, I wasn't really too concerned when I shot it you know. I knew all my safety precautions; I knew how to handle the rifle. So, it was really different. From day one, as soon as they give you that rifle, you’re kind of worried—at least, I was. Right? Like, and I know, you know, keep my finger off the trigger. You know, that’s one thing I always knew. But it’s—you know, it’s still intimidating. You didn’t have a bolt in the weapon which is what fires the actual round you know. So it was safe. But they teach you everything that you need to know in order so that when you actually do shoot a live round, you don’t even think about it. You just—what do they call it? Muscle memory you know. You’re just kind of going through your things and they’re behind you. So it’s very safe. And honestly, I was like, I mean, that was super fun. And if they have live rounds for me to shoot, hell, man—I’ll shoot’em. Like I’m not gonna say no because I'm not intimidated by it anymore. But it was absolutely fun. And this is why the BMG Course, it’s the Basic Machine Gun Course, they’re going to be on like I'm looking forward to it because it's a different type of shooting. You’re shooting on a tripod now as opposed to just you know laying down or prone. It’s so all these different ways of shooting rifles in a safe manner that, you know, is really fun.

Capt Orton: So, after doing all this training, you know, like, yeah, it's an interesting experience to maybe if you’re an expert in your field, like construction or whatever. And then you find yourself, you know, the new guy in a different field. What do you know now that you didn’t know before?

Pte Brazolot: Ah, man, there’s a ton that I didn’t know before. My attention span is a lot better than it was before I can tell you that. And I don’t have a choice about that; you have to pay attention twenty-four seven. Especially, like, basic pioneer, you’re playing—let me rephrase that—you’re not playing, you’re utilizing explosives. That’s kind of a scary thing. It’s not like you make a mistake and you’re fine. You make a mistake and you could be, you could be hurt. Right? So really paying attention to small little details and listening to the course staff. Whether they are younger or older, it doesn't matter. They have the knowledge and it’s just listening to them and putting what they tell you to use and doing in a safe manner.

So, yeah, the military has definitely shown me that I had to be a little more patient than I’m used to being. Like, we were talking about, I’m used to running my own crews, and I’m not running my own crew now being kind of like a labourer, I guess. It’s a different perspective for me. And you know, and it shows me in my civilian life, how I should have treated labourers and how I should also treat other people. Right? You can always learn something from everything. So it’s great in that aspect.

Capt Orton: And, what do you hope to see moving forward after? You know, you’re almost wrapping up this Assault Pioneer training. So that’s your basic stuff, plus, maybe a little bit more of an advanced course under your belt. What do you hope to see moving forward?

Pte Brazolot: The biggest thing of the military is you start a course and they make you do an autobiography. And what I always say in my autobiographies is like I want any type of training that you want me to have. I would take any training because I feel that, one, knowledge is power. And if there’s any time that I would need to skill—you know—I feel like the more training I have, the more capabilities I’d be like: “I have that training.” Like: “Oh, my God, I can get us out of that situation.” I don’t think I want to stop with courses; I would like to just kind of load myself with courses, whether it be career advancement courses for promotions, or just basic knowledge. I mean, it’s just the military. So I think you have to kind of have the mentality of getting as much knowledge as possible.

Capt Orton: So to the people that are listening, who are interested in, you know, joining the army, what would you say to them?

Pte Brazolot: I mean, yeah, to anyone who’s listening, join the Army! It’s awesome. It’s a great family. You’d be surprised like sometimes getting yelled at sucks, you know, but you gotta embrace the suck because your brothers and sisters are there and they’re there to help you. So just embrace it.

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Capt Orton: “Embrace the suck.” That’s a pretty infantry thing to end on. I just want to say thanks for taking the time to tell us about your experiences and provide advice to all the aspiring soldiers out there. Thanks for coming on the podcast.

Pte Brazolot: No problem. Thanks for having me.

Capt Orton: That was Private Adam Brazolot from the Princess Louise Fusiliers in Halifax. If you want to hear a little bit more about what it’s like to be new in the Army, we also have another podcast where I interview a junior officer Second Lieutenant Michelle Evans about her experiences being new in the Army—it’s season 1, episode 13.

Thanks for listening! Orton out.

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