Attention! About turn! At ease!

The 30km Route March of which I only did 5km...

My ears are now becoming accustomed to commands while working at 6 SAI. Attention! About Turn! At ease! While I am gaining more knowledge about this structured workplace, I am also starting to find gems in all my audio collection. My last blog post spoke about my frustration at not being able to have easy access to the women with whom I want to speak. But after a full week at the Fittest Soldier Competition, at least I have some really great audio to compliment the interviews that I will be having with these women. I am feeling ‘at ease’ :). 

Interviewing female soldiers taking part in the competition

On Women’s Day- 9^th of August 2012, Mike (my fellow radio student), accompanied me to the competition with a camera to practice his photography. We were up at 6am, and at the 6 SAI base at 7:15am! We thought we were early enough to begin the ‘Route March’ with the competing soldiers, but we weren't- the soldiers started their march about 15mins earlier than we had expected. The 'Route March' saw the soldiers march over 30kms with a bag on their backs filled with sand and their water bottles. We were at the back, following them as they walked- we only managed 5kms and then turned back. I recorded my own experience of walking this terrain and I definitely want to include this in the documentary as it shows how fit these men and women are in comparison to us. It also shows their dedication, again as opposed to ours. The audio gives great insight into the competition and my experience of this new world. For me, it is a highly demanding world, and yet it is one which many these soldiers treat as their norm.

Women's Day and yet these soldiers are on a Route March. A 30km Route March!

Coming over the first hill- the soldiers march on...and on...and on...

I had another interview this week, this time with Ntomboza Kobekitcha. She’s a Privateer and works in the Logistics section of the military. I only just realised that I didn’t know what a ‘privateer’ is so that is another question I plan to find the answer to along with my many others. The interview with her was very impromptu, and I feel that I could have got more out of it, but it was a start. One of the things Ntomboza spoke about which I would like to ask the other women as well, was her family’s reaction to her working in the military. She told me about how her family were not happy about her decision to become a soldier. In her words: 

“my mother was against it, she even called the family and everything... she said it was dangerous and what what. Being a soldier is a calling, so I went....” 

A calling? I keep asking myself how strong that calling must be if it means joining a workforce in which there is the likelihood of being shot, being hurt and yes, dying. But for her it was about the calling, about proving to her family that “as a woman, I can make it. There’s no difference between a woman and a man... if a man can do it, I can also do it...”. 

I’m at the point of my research where I am starting to uncover similar themes between the stories these women tell. Captain Windvogel and Ntomboza talk about being women in a man's world and being able to work as well as any man. They sometimes mention a struggle to get where they are currently. 

Next step? I want to know what it means for them to be women in the work they do. Does this make any difference? I guess in this whole process I am finding out what it means for me to be a woman too and how I, like them, place myself in male dominated spaces. I feel like I’m finally getting somewhere.

Nadia

One Casspir at a time!

 

I’m frustrated. I am also grateful.

I am frustrated at the pace that this week is taking. It is already Tuesday and I am not as far as I could be regarding my interviews with the women at the military base. I thought I would be talking to these women about their lives in the military, about what their experiences are, why they chose the military and where they see such a career/job going? But instead, I feel like I’m just recording the Fittest Soldier Competition. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed being given the opportunity to be a part of the competition - the audio I have been collecting is fantastic! I have recorded some action audio with the soldiers marching,  jumping over *Casspirs, carrying logs and running with breast plates. They all have to prove themselves in a competition where fitness and good health matters. I am grateful to be here and feel quite free as I walk around between soldiers to get the best audio I can. 

But nevertheless, this week has  begun with a sense of tension. Tension which I have to start resolving.

In all of this action, I have to keep reminding myself of what I came for – which is to explore what it is like, for women, to serve in the military.  What does it mean to work and live in such a highly structured environment? I feel foreign watching these soldiers listen and follow through with orders in such a quick and controlled manner. No doubt, no questions. I am learning though- one command at a time.

Thus far I have only had one interview with Captain Windvogel and as I mentioned, she was great! She leads a team in the health care of soldiers at 6 SAI (6th South African Infantry). She is a strong and focused woman. She wears her uniform with pride. As we spoke, she began to open up to me, letting me  know that she believes in her work. But the time spent with her was so very short. I know that there is so much more that she can tell me! I have asked Royden if I can go back to  her for a follow-up interview.  I am in the process of transcribing my interview with her  and this has allowed me to pick on questions which I still want to ask her, or things I left out. For example, I didn’t get a chance to ask her more about her family life, and how she balances this with her  work. She is quite busy, so I have asked to talk to her next week some time. I would also like to go around with her when she works with her patients.

 

For now, I will continue my work with the Fittest Soldier Competition and see where it takes me. In terms of talking to women who compete in this competition, they are quite shy, and I barely get out their names. But I guess I have to take a cue from these fit soldiers and grow some muscle and carry on!

 

The 'Casspirs'  which the competing soldiers had to scale

One question which has been fluttering through my head in this whole process is: should I use my own experience of  the nilitary as content for the documentary? I initially wanted to come to the military base having these women speak for themselves, but could this documentary possibly become a platform for these women as well as myself to say something important?  Something about what it means to be a woman in South African society?  Maybe I could say that the struggles that women generally face are mirrored by these women who  work in the military and who serve our country? An idea which I am still thinking about…

Nadia

P. S. One more thing! I’ll also be recording my adventures in this new wonderland and will upload them in-between my blog posts. You can then hear my thoughts and how I react to these situations on the spot! :)

* The Casspir is a mine protected vehicle used in the South African National Defence Force. Follow this link to read more about this vehicle: http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product1130.html