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53.

I carried a small overnight bag containing a few personal items, plus one standard-size ironingboard, slung¹ jauntily² under my arm like a surfboard. The Army had ordered me to bring it. Fromhere on my shirts and trousers would need to be crease-free.

I knew as much about operating an ironing board as I did about operating a tank—less,actually. But that was now the Army’s problem. I was now the Army’s problem.

I wished them luck.

So did Pa. It was he who dropped me off in Camberley, Surrey, at the Royal Military Academyat Sandhurst.

May 2005.

He stood to one side and watched me put on my red name tag, Wales, then sign in. He toldreporters how proud he was.

Then extended his hand. Off you go, darling boy.

Photo op. Click.

I was assigned to a platoon of twenty-nine young men and women. Early the next day, afterpulling on our new combats, we filed into an ancient room, hundreds of years old. You couldsmell the history—it seemed to come off the wood-paneled walls like steam. We recited an oath tothe Queen. I swear allegiance to Crown and country…The lad beside me shot an elbow into myribs. Bet you say Granny rather than Queen!

That was the last time, for the next five weeks, that he or anyone else would venture a joke.

There was nothing funny about boot camp.

Boot camp — such a benign³ name for what happened. We were pushed to our limits,physically, mentally, spiritually. We were taken—or dragged—to a place beyond our limits, andthen a bit further, by a stolid⁴ group of lovable sadists called color sergeants⁶. Large, loud,extremely masculine men—and yet they all had tiny little dogs. I’ve never heard or read anexplanation for this, and I can’t venture one. I’ll only say that it was odd to see these testosterone-rich, mostly bald ogres cooing at their poodles, shih tzus and pugs.

I’d say they treated us like dogs, except they treated their dogs so much better. With us theynever said: There’s a good boy! They got up in our faces, shouted at us through the clouds of theiraftershave, and never, ever let up. They belittled⁷ us, harassed⁸ us, shrieked⁹ at us, and made nosecret of their intent. They meant to break us.

If they couldn’t break us, brilliant. Welcome to the Army! If they could, even better. Better toknow now. Better that they should break us than the enemy.

They used a variety of approaches. Physical duress¹⁰, psychological intimidation—and humor? Iremember one color sergeant⁵ pulling me aside. Mr. Wales, I was on guard one day at WindsorCastle, wearing my bearskin, and along came a boy who kicked gravel¹¹ on my boots! And thatboy…was YOU!

He was joking, but I wasn’t sure I should laugh, and I wasn’t sure it was true. I didn’trecognize him, and I certainly didn’t remember kicking gravel on any guardsmen. But if it wastrue, I apologized and hoped we could put it behind us.

Within two weeks several cadets had tapped out. We woke to find their beds made, their stuffgone. No one thought less of them. This shit wasn’t for everybody. Some of my fellow cadetswould confess, before lights out, that they feared being next.

I never did, however. I was, for the most part, fine. Boot camp was no picnic, but I neverwavered in my belief that I was exactly where I was meant to be. They can’t break me, I thought.

Is it, I wondered, because I’m already broken?

Also, no matter what they did to us, it was done away from the press, so for me every day wasa kind of holiday. The training center was like Club H. No matter what the color sergeants dishedout, there was always, always the compensatory bonus of no paps. Nothing could really hurt me ina place where the press couldn’t find me.

And then they found me. A reporter from The Sun sneaked¹² onto the grounds and shambledaround, holding a phony bomb, trying to prove—what? No one knew. The Sun said their reporter,this faux fl?neur, was trying to expose the training center’s lax security, to prove that Prince Harrywas in danger.

The truly scary part was that some readers actually believed their rubbish.

 

1 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

2 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

3 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

4 stolid   

adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的

参考例句：

• Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情，只有麻木的无动于衷。
• He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。

5 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

6 sergeants   

警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士

参考例句：

• Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
• The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。

7 belittled   

使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She felt her husband constantly belittled her achievements. 她觉得她的丈夫时常贬低她的成就。
• A poor but honest man is not to be belittled. 穷而诚实的人是不该让人小看的。

8 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

9 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

10 duress   

n.胁迫

参考例句：

• He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。
• These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

11 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

12 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。