My Army Experience

Inspired by Logaretm I though I would write about my own army experience as a fellow Egyptian. I’ve finished my military service on the 1st of September.

I initially wanted to document diary-style my army experience and during my very first vacation I wrote in great detail what went down but then I came to realize that such format wouldn’t be proper for a mere blog post. Instead of describing in great minutiae how everything went down. I’ll draw the greater picture and let you fill in the blanks.

I’m primarily documenting this experience in order to unveil the mystery about what military service is like in Egypt for other people who were in my shoes because whenever you ask someone you always get wild answers and never know what happens. Spoiler alert, they were right and it’s even way wilder than they had described.

What I’m about to describe is a mere glimpse of what really goes on over there but for the sake brevity I’ll only talk about certain aspects. I must also add that what you’re about to read is from my perspective as an ex-recruit and it’s not objective. Take what I say with a grain of salt.

Some background

There’re couple of things you need to be filled in if you’re not an Egyptian.

Compulsory military service is mandatory for all Egyptian males between the age of 18 to 30. Once you reach the age of 18, you may apply for recruitment or you may choose to defer it until you finish higher education like colleges/institutes and such.

If you’ve a bachelor degree or higher aka (college graduate) there’s a good possibility that you will be enlisted as an officer where you’ll serve as a lieutenant to precise. Your service time as an officer is about 2 years but as a private is 1 year, again that’s if you only have a bachelor degree.

If you’ve lesser degree you will only be enlisted as a private but your service time will range from a year and half to 2 years and 9 month. The lesser/inferior your degree the longer your service. Illiterate or those with no form of education at all get the bad end of the deal where they serve the longest (2 years and 9 months).

My background??

I was confused. I reasoned that it’s one’s duty to protect his country, right? I’m being safe because someone else is watching over us and patrolling. It’s my turn to chip in and hold my end of the deal. Surely, it’s not fun and no one likes it but if were ever to leave it our whims nobody is going to do anything. Life isn’t about having fun and it shouldn’t be how we measure things.

On the other hand, people’s recounts of what happens there isn’t thrilling to say the least. Everything comes to a halt. Your career, your life, your everything. You’ve to support yourself with no income whatsoever, more on this point later on. So, it’s a real bummer.

Despite all of this, I had little hope that’s it’s going to turn out to be a positive experience. I’d meet lots of different people from different backgrounds, get to make life long friends. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit but I considered it as a form of rite of passage towards greater manhood. Spending time away from your family surrounded by other men surely build character.

Gear, Honor & Money

With those three words you get inducted to the training camp. It’s your sole responsibility to protect these things. No one is going to help you if your money or gear stolen and it’s also on you to protect your honor. Every man for himself, that’s the name of game.

The training camp is where you first land once you leave your home. It varies but can usually be anywhere between a month or two. You get a taste for military life for the first time. While at that time I thought this is probably the worse it can get but in reality they were actually being nice to us. Deep down, they knew the shock we’re met with so they would go easy on us. Later on at your unity things would only get harder.

I remember vividly at our first day we were gathered up for a word from the leader of the camp where he told us that us being here is why the bad guys never show up. Just because bad guys aren’t showing up isn’t a testament to how peaceful the times are but rather a fruit of the tremendous effort that those who guard us put in. And now it’s on us to do our part. Wise words if you ask me.

Our days were empty we didn’t do anything yet felt completely busy. The most dreadful part starts at 9:00 am. They’d have have us stand still in the scorching sun followed by a brief break where the canteen guy shows up to empty our pockets by selling water & sodas then resume till 2:00 pm where it’s time for lunch.

The most interesting thing about training camps are rumors. Exactly, after one week people started whispering that we’re going leave after a week. Then after the passed, another rumor started spreading and that’s how it went. Recruits were preoccupied with their departure date. They couldn’t wait to be sent to their units and have their first vacation to see their families again.

Vacations

The holy grail of military life – Vacations. Everybody wants time off. Everybody wants to be close to their family and loved ones. Everybody wants to earn more money by doing side jobs. Time off and vacations aren’t sought out only by privates/recruits. This includes Sergeants and Officers. It’s also the root cause of great deal of envy, and it’s perfectly understandable why. You wouldn’t be too joyful when you’ve been stranded away for more than a month when your peer has only been a couple of days back from a vacation to only go on another!

Wasta/Connections

A corner stone of the Egyptian culture, and Egyptian army is no exception. Wasta’s are only bound by your imagination and well.. who you know and what he can do for you. But if you can imagine it then it can happen. The reach of your Wasta can be as simple as helping you get favorable treatment, having you serve in a place closer to your home, less chores and all the way to not showing up yet still receiving your certificate or dodging the service completely by faking medical examinations at the beginning. I was once heard an officer blatantly telling friend that he has to summon the new recruit quick and talk to him so he can call over his parents and let them know that “Wasta” worked! This was a regular everyday thing for him.

I’m proud that I went through without the use of any “Wasta” and got the whole raw unfiltered authentic experience which adds to my credibility. But honestly the more I think about it I wonder how different or pleasant my experience would have been.

Stealing

Ah yes, like fish to the water. I’ve come to believe that if you haven’t been stolen at least once during your army then sadly you didn’t go to the army. It must happen for you at least once to have an authentic army experience. Stealing for some is a way of survival. And some excuse at as result of the poor financial condition of the recruits. It’s quite common for the new recruits to get their military gear (especially boots) stolen once they arrive at their units. Senior recruits gear get worn out so why purchase new when you can snatch a full brand new gear?

Another major contributing factor is you’re forced as a recruit at the end of your service to hand over the same military gear they gave you when you started. So, senior recruits steal from their new friends and in turn when their new friends turn senior and a fresh batch of recruits arrive they’re going to repay them the same courtesy. Circle of life, how sweet. I once joked with a friend what would happen to recruits if someday conscription was suspended. How’re they going to hand over new military gear when there’s no one to steal from?!

I guess the fact of life is when you lock people up together this is inevitably going to happen, add in the fact that you’ve such a high turn over rate and fresh gullible new recruits show up at your doorstep.

It’s such a common occurrence that they warn you at 1st day ;)

Orders & Obedience

If you can comprehend those two word, then you truly understand how military life is like. Obedience is of utmost importance to the success of modern armies and today’s warfare.

In primitive times, if two tribes collided and war broke out. It’d be every man for himself, a brawl kind of fight. There wasn’t a plan or any form of coordination. Even if there was, some eager young man was sure to launch a premature attack. Slowly people came to the realization that to win wars you need to follow plans. And for people to follow plans they need to be obedient. Every man has a specific task to perform he cannot act individually or on his own. He must be cooperative and act in accordance with the greater group interests not his own.

Obedience is bred into every little single act to the point it becomes habitual. You always have to ask for permission to do anything. You cannot exit a queue on your own. You cannot go to the bathroom without permission. You must do what you’re told to do, all the time. Saying No is the ultimate sin. Defying orders is unthinkable.

This singular unquestionable truth have such a strong cascading effect on the entire army culture.

People cannot be direct with their “No”s or rejection of an order so they’ve to be cunning. Let’s say a recruit was given an order but he doesn’t want to execute. So, he comes up with a reason as why he’s unable maybe fake something, pretend it’s not working basically you do anything but give a direct no. This leads to culture of mistrust.

Second, since people are forced not only to do certain things but to also work with certain people whom they might not like. They cannot openly show animosity, you’d fine people sitting in circles and laughing but in private they’d speak of how much they hate each other. They have to be double-faced. When they address someone who out ranks them they speak in a soft, sweet tone but once he’s talking to someone inferior than him, he’d be stern giving orders and shouting. I guess the army teach me a thing or two about dealing with people I used to be an idealist. You must always give out an honest answer when you’re asked about real thing but the more honest and direct the more I got intro trouble over time I learnt that there’s no thing such as lying you need to say what’s only suitable for the current moment. I think the army eroded my moral compass. Though one thing is true it did help me grow up and go from looney tunes to real men world where deceit, lying and cunningness are the norm.

I used to have this stereotypical idea that army is all about camaraderie, sacrifice and honor. But when met with this harsh reality I came to the simple conclusion that army is just another organization filled with the same everyday people just in different outfits. People lie, steal and cheat. Soldier don’t necessarily meet the death with a smile, they might get scared or even run away. That’s why they may be also to fight at gun point by their commanding officers.

People often joke how recruits become dumber when join the army. This happens because they’re constantly reprimanded when they’re act on their own so slowly over time they get accustomed to following orders and only acting if explicitly told to do so.

Lastly, lots of recruits tend to hide their crafts, knowledge and any special talents/skills they posses as they’d be asked to perform those tasks and they wouldn’t be able to reject later on.

I was gullible enough to tell them of my computer skill so they doomed me to an office job I couldn’t escape till the end of my service. :(

Punishment

The most favorite and easily reachable way for officers to punish recruits was by denying them vacations or postponing it. This was the most effective method by far and you’d easily understand why if you’ve read the section about vacations carefully. I don’t have to say more about this except the fact that I’ve developed a deep sympathy for inmates and prisoners. Counting days, hours and minutes till I’m free. I was allowed to walk freely within my unit yet I felt an immense pain from not being able to see my family and loved ones, being kept against my will. Freedom is truly to die for and you’d only get to appreciate it once it’s taken from you.

I couldn’t help but wonder if serving your country is the ultimate duty one can fulfill why I so vehemently hated not being able to go back to see my family?

A recruit may be denied a vacation but he has to conduct his entire service anyway so vacations may not be that a big of deal anyway. There’s a loop hole, you might think but fear not that’s where prison comes in with a little twist.

You platoon commander can jail you if he thinks you deserve it, with little to repercussions to him nor restrains. For some that may be more than enough of a deterrent but the real catch in as if you get jailed for more than a specific number of days set according to your service. You release date gets postponed. For example, if a 1 year recruit gets jailed for more than 30 days his service time gets extended by another month.

Recruits already want to get it over with and get back to their life and this fear of extending your service is what truly keeps them in check. This also acts as a great deterrent to recruits who think of deserting or running away and never coming back. Most go through the service in the hopes of travelling abroad later.

They also have “the farm”, 2-3 year recruits who don’t excel at following orders get sent to the farm where they have to do manual labor. Now, I don’t have to tell you how fun it’s to be sent there. Some of them try to evade the work by refusing to work and getting jailed but all of the recruits who got back from there told me they’d preferred labor to jail there. I wonder why?

Drill Sergeants/Non-commissioned officers

Non-commissioned officers or drill Sergeants are a unique archetype of the Egyptian army. They’re mostly from lower Egypt specifically the Nile delta and they all hail from villages/rural backgrounds. They typically have some sort of a craft and join the army in the hopes of stable career and well paying job. Most of the time they apply right after preparatory school which means their age is around 15-16. Their education takes about two years and ten month then they’re allocated to army units once they’re graduated with the rank of a Corporal.

Most are oblivious to what the military life entails and since they join so young at the will of their parents that by the time they wake up to the harsh reality they’ve already put a considerable effort and money that they just can’t quit so they continue walking down the path.

It’s common for non-commissioned officers given their rural backgrounds to be married early so when you’ve a wife and kids. You don’t just think and plan for yourself but you’ve to take into account your family too which makes quitting even a harder decision.

I’m unsure whether they were bluffing but most of them weren’t too happy about their job. They’ve probably been met with the same astonishment that enlisted recruits get when they join the army but they’re already knee deep in it to call it quits.

They’ve joined the army in the hopes of improving their financial circumstances so leaving and going back to the civilian life isn’t that great of an option especially when you’re older and without useful skills that’s why lots of them try to quit the army on premise of medical problems so they can enjoy pension and benefits.

Non-commissioned officers spend the first half of their life tying to get into the army, and the second half trying to get out.

Food

I thought that the army might be tough but at least I’ll attain a fit body but sadly this isn’t the case. At my brigade, you’re given three meals a day.

The breakfast: Couple servings of Fava beans, 1 Egyptian flatbread and 100gm of Jam and occasionally we would extra bread, cheese or other extras.

Lunch: Couple servings of Pasta, boiled vegetables & a slice of cantaloupes or any fruit as a sort of a dessert.

Thee days a week we’d get a bit protein besides the pasta and veggies. And recruits would flock on those days.

Dinner: Same as breakfast, Fava beans, bread & jam.

There’re two rationales behind this:

• You’re not in a 5 star hotel. Set your expectations.
• Teach recruits to survive on the few. When you’re at war, you’d be lucky to have a crumb.

Funny thing is that when there was an inspection or a visit by some high ranking officials the food would be plenty and of much better quality. Also, food was a lot better during Ramadan which is another reason why everybody cherishes the holy month.

The question really is if it’s to harden recruits and get them used to a harsher life why are there so many canteens around??

Canteens

The most consistent aspect about Egyptian army, it doesn’t matter where you’re located there’d be always a canteen in amidst of desert there’s a canteen. The lore goes that units are self funded so any financial needs has to be covered by the unit itself.

Our monthly salary was ~530 EGP which doesn’t last long when you’ve have to supplement your diet. At the very least you had to bring in another 1000 each month. You could also choose to have your salary be deposited into the canteen directly so you can purchase on credit so to speak.

Some of the recruits are the breadwinner of their homes and with them being away their families suffer the consequences while the recruit has to endure with little to no income of his own.

Cigarettes are the top sold item at any canteen. Smoking is so common that at my unit you could on your fingers the number of soldiers who didn’t smoke. When cigarettes ran out you could tell that everybody is jittery and irritable.

Fever Dream

That’s it. That’s the best way to describe it now that it’s all over – a fever dream. I used to be so emotional longing for the moment when I’ll be finally free. I cried at times, felt ecstatic at other times but none of that anymore. I used to get anxious when my phone rang during my vacations because that mostly meant I’d be sent to do errands now I get joyous when my phone rings and it’s one of my army friends who wants to say hi!

My life got back to the same pace it was before the army, even my habits haven’t changed a whole a lot. I used to think that this experience would have an immense effect on me. Maybe it’s internal and has to do with my thought process instead of external behaviors.

I’m more confused than ever. I’m yet unable to decide if this ultimately a good or bad experience. Would I recommended it to others or not? Is this what maturing means? It’s naive to try to categorize nuanced life experience into good or bad. They’re as mixed as life is. Is there’s nothing in life that’s inherently good or bad?

I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between prisons & armies. Both have a similar hierarchy system that emphasis seniority. The more time you’ve spent in the system the more your privileges are. Capos and Non-commissioned officers both have the same job of hounding others while officers and wardens couldn’t care less as long as things are running smooth. The only major difference is that the army dictates even the smallest details of your daily life and in return for that restriction, there’s less violence among the recruits because army is based on unity and cannot tolerate problems disrupting its cohesion. While inmates in a prison system enjoy a greater freedom where interactions between aren’t as regulated and in-fighting is allowed or even encouraged as it keeps them occupied. Are all ultra-masculine environments bound to act by the same rules?

Should you be rewarded for serving your homeland? Or you should proudly accept it no matter how unfair to you? What’s a rite of passage anyway and why do we consider conscription as one? Does anybody even consider it as such or it’s just me? If I told you why don’t you leave your home, make no money whatsoever and starve yourself. Would you accept it? But what if I told you about a rare opportunity where you’ll be voyaging with others into the unknown facing tough circumstances with little to monetary gain but a chance of the eternal glory?? Both are virtually the same yet which one you’re more likely to agree. Either way I don’t feel recruits should be given the short end of the stick under the guise of serving their country.