In my experience
Combat is like chess
But it's like playing chess for the first time
If it is a sudden threat.
But it is also still
A male dominated thing,
And I was put down
For being female.
In cadets,
We had enemy drills
Thrown onto us instantly
And we had to make a move.
I graduated top of my unit
But it wasn't easy.
I was like the rook on the board
Protecting my commander, the king.
My general, Sargant Major General Tsalikis,
He would play moves that
Were against the rules
But did he care? No.
Of course he didn't
Because in war,
Who follows rules??Don't we all break them?
?We break the rules
To protect our king
To get our queen in the way of battle
To protect the man.
But in battle, I found
It actually isn't at all like chess.
Because in chess you have smaller pieces,
Pawns that you can sacrifice.
It's not like you can sacrifice
Those on the front line
Because they are the ones
Protecting the back.
In this situation,
Especially in cadet training,
All you can do is
Work with your comrades.
Because some people think that
The army is an individual thing,
Each man - or woman -
For their own
But when you work alone
You won't come out on the
Bright side of the war,
Trust me.
Having been told war stories
And being told what it is like
To see people, either the enemy
Or your comrades die.
Having been told stories
Of the women not being
Pushed because they were
"fragile creatures"
It's horrific. ?I decided then and there
That I would work harder than them
To graduate top.
Not because I'm an
Overachiever, but because
I wanted to prove that I,
A woman, could do it.
So I played the chess board,
I put my best foot forward
I pressed against the men
And I stood my ground.
So when I was put on the front line
In a paintball bulleted war,
I was the one left standing
When the rest were on the floor.
I was nearly 'killed',
But did I give up when my fellow
Soldiers-in-training dropped
To the floor???No, because in chess
You cannot pause when you lose
Any of the pieces on the board
Or you will lose too.
So, in my cadet experience,
The army is somewhat like a chess game.
As well as a sexist group,
But my chessboard was well-played.
I will never be the same
