For Moff, a true blue mate and Digger.
A reinforcement arrived to join our happy band
A smart arse who never tried to understand
Such was his manner he was given the thumbs down
His presence caused friction and certainly lots of frowns
So we turned to our hero, Moff, who was surely one of the best
To sort out this bloke who didn’t want to soldier with the rest
Moff, an old veteran, listened and played the cards close to his chest
Then came the annual test; a nine mile run with rifle, equipment and pack
If you failed to finish in the time given then it was worse than getting the sack
The day arrived and our platoon was at the start line waiting to go
The “Salvos” turned up with a brew and to say hello
Moff stayed with our gear all left in a neat line
We returned to our packs to see him wink that all was fine
The whistle blew and we all took off, determined to finish in time
It was a very tough run under a boiling hot sun
Halfway, the new chum was puffing and blowing as if carrying a ton
With a mile to go he was way behind as the rest ran on as one
All met the time limit, well, that is, all except one
The major cursed “what a bloody disgrace”
The RSM raved and ranted “One of my soldiers has failed the race”
We weren’t sorry to see our smart alek in such a pathetic state
As he staggered to and fro wondering his fate
We headed home on the truck with all aboard
The dejected soldier sat staring at his pack then uttered “Oh gawd”
A scream as he opened the pack to find a large rock as extra weight
It was then he realised he had been nobbled at the starter’s gate
The years have passed and after several more wars Moff is still around
We gather at the odd reunion and old stories do abound
Including the one of the annual tests and the famous race
When a smart arse with extra weight in his pack failed to keep the pace
George Mansford©July 2011
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