The other day I was contacted by a reader about her impending enlistment. She asked some very good questions, but something in her comments triggered a memory of mine and I thought I should share it with you.

When you go to Kapooka, you WILL change. Naturally, you’ll change physicall, because Kapooka will get you fit and tone you up a bit. But the changes are more than physical.

You’ll be entering a world of short haircuts, discipline and respect. This may not seem like a significant issue, and for some it probably isn’t. But for others, it’s a very different lifestyle to what they’re used to.

One of the major changes you will notice in yourself is that the next time you get to come home and see your friends again – you may not like them as much. Sounds crazy, right? But at Kapooka, you start to get your priorities a bit straight, and some people realise that their friends aren’t the kind of people they want to hang out with anymore.

You will really need to watch out for that. It can be disappointing if it happens to you, but in the long run, it’s a good thing. After all, if you realise you don’t like your old friends anymore, it’s probably because they’re not heading in the right direction.

You’ll also start to respect people more. Kapooka will put you in your place as far as heirarchy goes, and you will start to see that you’re really close to the bottom. This means that you will develop some respect for older people and professional people. You may even develop some respect for the battlers that are working their arses off to make ends meet.

You know that lady at the food court that wipes the tables down after all the pigs have finished eating? Suddenly, you’ll realise that she isn’t the kind of person that doesn’t deserve your time anymore. She’s just doing what she can to pay her bills. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself thanking these people or even having a conversation with them.

But one of the biggest changes you’ll go through at Kapooka is realising some things about yourself. You may discover that you haven’t been very good to yourself in the past, and start to change that. You might find that Kapooka helps you learn to motivate YOURSELF to get things done, instead of having to be nagged by your mother all day long.

Another change that occurs is that you’re entering quite an amazing group of people. Believe it or not, all of the “bad” statistics go down for you if you’re in the ADF. What I mean is that there are less incidences of depression, suicide and alcoholism in the ADF then in general society.

Why? There’s a few reasons for that. Firstly, we have annual training about these things, and Defence goes a long way to ensure they provide great “coping” tools. There are plenty of avenues you can use if you’re feeling depressed, or having trouble cope.

But I can hear the thoughts running through your head. We’re always hearing on TV about drunken soldiers who do stupid things, or a soldier who killed himself, right? And do you know why that is? There is one, very simple reason for it. It sells. That’s it.

When was the last time you watched TV and heard the headline “Carpenter commits suicide” or “Drunken service station attendant starts fight in bar”. Never, and why? Because who really gives a shit? Nobody. But make that a soldier that commited suicide, or started a fight and suddenly people want to know about it.

And so, despite our comparatively low stats on these things, it SEEMS that we’re always suffering from these issues, because the media need a headline that grabs your attention. Over the years, I have heard of soldiers who have done amazing things in public, yet nothing has been said.

I have MET soldiers who have done amazing things in public, and yet they are unkown. In fact, I myself have DONE a couple of things that I like to think are pretty amazing in public, yet have not even received a thank you.

Soldiers have done everything from STOPPING fights, chasing down offenders, freeing people from crashed vehicles, prevented crimes, given CPR and saved lives, to rescuing children. And not because they were called upon – because they were there.

But again, I digress. Just remember that if or when you go through Kapooka, keep an eye out for subtle changes in yourself. You never know, you might become a better (and healthier!) person.