Recruitment

The international situation had evolved to become more extreme and dangerous. The European Union considered that it was not enough to increase financial investment in defense. It was necessary to have young people trained and ready to face any eventuality. The training would be different, more focused on directing and annihilating drones, hacking, etc. Soldiers closer to new technologies were needed. Therefore, it first suggested and then pressured the member countries to re-implement Mandatory Military Service for boys and Voluntary Military Service for girls.

Ricardo, the colonel

Ricardo, a 45-year-old retired colonel in the reserve, tall, strong, and masculine, is called to active duty. The prohibition on moving from the reserve to active service had ceased to exist. However, the reservist's willingness needed to be confirmed. The colonel missed the army, but what made him accept the proposal most was the deterioration of his relationship with his wife, with frequent arguments over generally unimportant things. Moreover, he was greatly stimulated by the fact that his task would be to create a military base from scratch. It would be the Ucéar base, taking the name of the nearest village, although besides being very small, it was actually kilometers away. The existing bases could not accommodate so many young people called to become soldiers.

They took him to the area where he was to create the military base. It was a vacant lot with a single construction, an abandoned house, without doors or windows. The architects showed him the plan. The existing unused house would be demolished and three barracks of prefabricated, easy-to-assemble materials would be erected, housing 500 soldiers each, all with a front separation intended to provide some privacy for officers and NCOs, and there would be three additional constructions: one for showers, another for latrines, and the third intended as a mess hall.

Ricardo accepted, he liked the plans, but he opposed the demolition of the house; he wanted that, repaired, it be used as the headquarters, where he himself would lodge. The technicians saw the idea as feasible and asked him about the internal layout. He wanted, upon entering, a very large room, with a long table as a central and important element; there, the meetings of the commanders would be held. Then a large room and a small one, which could be used as storage for important elements for the battalions' operations, and a bathroom. From the living room, passing through a door, one would enter a hallway with the door to the large bedroom on the left and two doors on the right, one to the small room and the other to the bathroom.

The constructions were carried out very quickly. Everything was prefabricated except what would be the headquarters, for which temporary masons were hired to specifically handle the repair and redesign of the abandoned house.

Noel, the recruit

Noel, 19 years old, ...