RE the tension between North Korea and the USA/South Korea/Japan, it is sabre rattling.

If you have an army but no war, you cannot have soldiers sitting on their backsides every day, hence the military exercise being carried out by the USA and South Korea.

If you have a perceived threat (North Korea) the idea is to confront. My last NATO exercise I was on the East German border before the unification of Germany, the Russians being the perceived threat. Eleven people died, I was nearly the 12th. We were in our sleeping up an embankment when an armoured personnel carrier reversed up the slope.

My zip stuck with the tracks two feet from my face, my big pal Bobby Hodge threw me still in the bag into the bushes. If not for him I would not be here.

To prepare for exercises you had to do certain things like NBC training (Nuclear Biological Chemical). You had to don an NBC suit over your combat gear suit, rubber boots over your own boots, two pairs of gloves and a gas mask all in nine seconds, which is impossible.

Then there was the gas chamber. Stood inside with gas masks on looking and feeling silly for the specified time, to see how you do under stress and to see if the gas mask worked. If it didn't you had a problem.

The parachute jumps. Ideally the army wanted all infantry soldiers trained on this, not just the paras. I did all mine, for which you got a small pay rise and your wings.

This brings me to the amazing story of Eddie Early, formerly of Ballingry, now Lochgelly. Eddie was a Para TA, I was Black Watch. I used to meet Eddie out running up Benarty Hill via The Avenue. I would dress for the weather, Eddie ran in full combat gear, boots, rucksack, whatever the weather.

During his last jump the unthinkable happened his chute failed to open. There were no back up chutes back then, you were told to glide using air currents and grab hold of someone.

Of course you could not practice this but Eddie did just that and grabbed someone who turned out to be his brother Billy, who said: 'Hello Eddie, how you doing?'

The chances of doing that are very slim, the chances of grabbing your own brother are astronomical.

I still see Eddie every week in Diamonds Bar, a true soldier and probably the luckiest man alive!

Next time, a previous military exercise not NATO, purely the battalion in Cyprus where I was a 'terrorist' for ten days and my run in with the CIA.

BILL BISHOP,

Ballingry.