Camaraderie, Problem Solving and Competition

Date: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 16:18:38 +0800
From: Maj. Gen. Rudy Estrellado, PMA '62
E-Mail: mgrsc@SKYINET.NET
Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Subject: Camaraderie, Problem Solving and Competition
To: ACF@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM


Every time I am asked by friends and relatives alike what is so significant about PMA and what is there to be so proud about it, I always have the same answer. First is I learned to value Camaraderie, second, I learned how to solve problem and lastly, I learned to be competitive.

Of course, you may have your own answers. I guess there are very few institutions who up to date consider the mistake of others the mistake of all. I never understood it then during beasts barracks. Why punish me when it was the fault of my classmate? Why do we have to be equal? Why can't I have what I can afford? Why can't I do what I want to do? Discipline? Maybe. But more that anything else, I really learned the value of unity, friendship, caring and to sum it up camaraderie.

All the subjects we took, whether it is a social science subject or the more precise science subject itself, I only learned, which I still practice to date, to determine what is given, identify what is the problem, and then proceed with its solution. So far it has not failed me.

Lastly, I learned how to compete and really compete hard. From the time we step into the portals of the Academy we are in competition with ourselves, our squad mate, our platoon mate, our company mate, and our battalion mate. It is either you compete to be the best or to be the worst of something: the shiniest shoes or the most punishment tours. The best squad, the best dancer, the best in mathematics, best company and many more others.

We have the Superintendent's Cup for the most Efficient Company, the Dean's Cup for the company with the highest in Academic proficiency, the Jurado Cup for the company with the highest rating in Intramural and of course the Canteen Cup for the others.

I recall when we were cadets, i.e., from 1959 to 1962, Alfa Company was the only company getting the majority of those cups at the end of the Academic Year. On our last year, our company commander, Boy Enrile, the former CSAFP, had to undergo punishment tour up to the night prior to our graduation because of an altercation with a tactical officer who monkeyed around the result of an athletic event which deprived our company the Jurado Cup by a few decimal point. That is how serious we have become due to competition.

This brings me to my story, an athletic intramural, specifically the wrestling event It is narrowed down to Alfa or Charlie for the gold medal. Before the final match, the Alfa trainer came to the plebe wrestler and said, "Now don't forget all the research we have than on this Charlie yearling. He has never lost a match because of this 'pretzel' hold he has. Whatever you do, don't let him get you in this hold! If he does, you're finished." The plebe nodded in agreement.

Now, to the match. The plebe from Alfa and the Charlie yearling circled each other several times looking for an opening. All of a sudden the yearling lunged forward, grabbing the plebe and wrapping him up in the dreaded pretzel hold! A sigh of disappointment went up from the cadets of Alfa company, and the Alfa trainer buried his face in his hands for he knew all was lost. He could not watch the ending.

Suddenly there was a scream, a cheer from the Alfa side, and the trainer raised his eyes just in time to see the Charlie yearling flying up in the air. The yearling's back hit the mat with a thud, and the plebe weakly collapsed on top of him, getting the pin and winning the match. The trainer was astounded.

When the trainer finally got the plebe alone, he asks, "How did you ever get out of that hold? No one has ever than it before!" The plebe answered, "Sir, I was ready to give up when he got me in that hold, sir, but at the last moment, I opened my eyes and saw this pair of balls right in front of my eyes, sir. I thought I had nothing to lose, sir, so with my last ounce of strength, sir, I stretched out my neck and bit those balls just as hard as I could, sir."

And he continued, "You'd be amazed, sir, how strong you get when you bite your own balls, sir."

Rudy Estrellado