Exercise Blue Cord, 44 Painfbat, Havelte, July 2025
Report of a veteran.
On Wednesday 9 July 2025, the Blue Cord exercise will start in the morning at the roll call area of 44 Painfbat, Havelte.
Why this exercise? This dates from the time of the deployment of this battalion to Lebanon.
During the exercise, the soldiers were prepared for deployment. Exercises that were also introduced to put the battalion on alert and keep it in a state of readiness after the battalion was designated by the Dutch government as a UN battalion. In the 70's, a blue flute cord was worn on the uniform for recognition. And now a tradition exercise, hence the info.
Preparations are made long before the start date to ensure that everything runs smoothly, no easy task for an understaffed battalion with many exercise and training tasks and deployments. Especially when there are 162 participants on the list (!). In the preparation, the NUV receives a request to call on veterans to walk with the participants.
And VVL receives a request to show the cinema documentary "In the service of peace" to the participants on the previous Tuesday.
The cinema fills up quickly, yes, soldiers are not supposed to dawdle so that's not a problem. At 10:00 am the documentary "In Service of Peace" starts and the participants are kept busy for an hour with the current and past situation in Lebanon in which journalists (then and now) and veterans give an explanation. An impressive documentary that, especially among veterans and their families, leads to conversations (never knew he experienced this in Lebanon). This group is also challenged to respond. Not so easy when you only see those old faces on the screen. Until you place the situation in 1980, then those old heads are suddenly 20+ years old, pretty much the age of the audience. Slowly some questions come up and you notice, even later in the week, that some of it has stuck. It is valuable that 44 Painfbat has shown this documentary to blue cord participants for the third time. Grateful that VVL can support the implementation, a documentary made by Playback Images supported by VVL and with the cooperation of many veterans (including Van Uhm, former CDS) and sponsors.
On Wednesday, the BA, 1 by 1, lists the names of the soldiers and adds them to the 14 teams that (often) get the youngest appointed as commander. A challenge that they can solve as a group.... Then they walk to the starting position (just outside the gate) and the game goes on the wagon. Some groups literally, they are dropped into the field from a truck. The veterans choose a group to run the course or are assigned to one of the 12 posts that have been set up in the area.
The veterans are well prepared this time with a good mix of beginners and experienced customers. The preparation of the veterans sometimes depends on the alloy. This time a dormitory with 2 bunk beds and 10 sleeping places. A bit like the old days. One participant quickly chooses another room because he is afraid to fall out of the bunk bed when he has to go to the toilet at night, which is more common at our age. A pleasant get-together in the battalion bar with one (or more) drink(s) and a pleasant conversation with the Battalion Adjutant (BA) can sometimes get late, which does not necessarily have to be reflected the next morning.
After an intense day, some veterans don't make it too late to get up at 5:45 a.m. the next morning to wake up the soldiers who are sleeping in a bivouac in the field. Then with a Nekaf and YP408 in front in march formation to the roll call place. There, after a word from the BC, the blue cords are handed out by us, the Lebanon veterans, to the soldiers who have just been enlisted in the regiment. And after a toast with the regimental drink after "44, ALWAYS, IN FRONT!" everyone disappears again, the soldiers at work, we a cup of coffee and home.
Until next time.
Fred van der Ploeg and Bert Kleine-Schaars