I had returned to CTCRM after Easter ready to get back into the groove. The first couple of months had basically been an introduction. An eye-opening introduction, but that's all it really was. Why it was called 'Foundation'. I was now part of the way to being a Royal Marine. Some of the rough edges had already been smoothed out. Things like drill / marching was already second nature, as was housekeeping, neatness, timekeeping. Stuff that seems so simple but, to a Royal Marine, just like everything else, had to be perfect in its detail.

I'd learned handling a weapon. Map reading. Day and night navigational skills. Kit husbandry and...