We Are Not Watchmen

3.3 Blue Shoe Recruiting One of the crucial side effects of the strong community spirit evolving among the guard recruits, not the least because of drill, was its great impact on my research role. Finally, I was no longer saluted “yes, sir.” I entered the ranks of recruits on fairly more equal terms: This morning, someone prodded my back. We were standing at attention outside the instructor’s scrutiny. Apparently, the distance between my toes could be more accurate. Thanks? (Day 3) Related, the two instructors began to treat me like a more normal recruit. Normal treatment included sanctions in case of improper marching, turning, mode of talk, appearance, saluting and much, much more. To be called “villager” constituted a standard verbal punishment. Sometimes, instructors found it necessary to put a tyre around a recruit’s neck, after which they would tell the recruit to run or jump a certain level. I was never subjected to this specific punishment. A few times, however, I became the object of other disciplinary initiatives: He [the instructor] stood in front of the group. He did not say a word. I hurried up through the narrow passage between the barking dogs and scrap and asked for permission to join the group. He did not answer. He told me to frog jump to the main gate and back again. After that, he told me to do twenty press ups. Now, I could join. (Day 9) At other times, I was just ridiculed: Today, I was selected from the group, being told to demonstrate how to march properly. Initially feeling very proud, I panicked. Suddenly, I could not remember how to march at all. The instructor shook his head. He said, I looked “like a bloody kangaroo”. (Day 5) What happened at this stage of field work was a transition in research role from someone seemingly associated with management or clients to a recruit of some kind, what might be termed “recruit novice” (Wadel 1991:34). Yet, there was still a very long way to go before entering the ranks of real recruits, as indicated, for 10