Amanzimtoti veteran marine publishes tell-all book
A former marine during apartheid times published a book entitled 'Toti Marine', which details his time serving his country.
VETERAN border marine, Brent Labuschagne, who was previously featured in the South Coast Sun in the late 1980s when he was posted to the northern-most operational base in the Eastern Caprivi, in Namibia, recently published a tell-all book detailing his experience in the marines, entitled Toti Marine.
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Labuschagne began writing about his time as a marine about 20 years ago, when his first son was born, with the hope to teach him to know and understand how different life was. After his fellow marines expressed their interest in reading the book, and after he lost one of his good friends who championed the book’s completion, he decided to push forward and get it out into the world.
“I hope the readers take away from this book that no matter what hand you are dealt in life, it is always up to you how you react to it. Despite all the online promises of overnight success, hard work is where it’s at. Basic training in the marines, which was a lot longer than in the regular army, was gruelling. There never seemed to be time to catch your breath. It was really tough for me to basically be locked in behind barbed wire fences with absolutely no freedom, as I love to have fun. We had heard horrific stories about the marines and the army and I was just trying to make it out alive and have as much fun along the way as possible,” said Labuschagne.
“We would have competitions taking the weapons apart and putting them back together again, but this time blindfolded. Within a couple weeks however, we could almost do it as quickly as with the blindfolds off. It was during one of these demonstrations that I suddenly had a flashback of a news story I’d seen on SABC a few years before. A terrorist had been captured and sat before the cameras. He then proceeded to assemble and disassemble these same weapons with remarkable speed. I remembered everyone who saw it being horrified at the terrorist’s expertise. What was I becoming? When did this happen? This was not who I wanted to be! I never practised again – I did, however, watch others doing it so I’d at least pass the exam.” Excerpt from Toti Marine, Chapter 26 – Killing Machines.
The book is written in a comedic tone and can be great fun to read, though it does not mask any of the adversity, and almost relentless daily struggle a marine was subjected to under apartheid rule, during its most insecure time before dissolving in place of democracy.
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“In my time in the marines, the last thing I expected was to make lifelong friends, but I did. I also didn’t expect to learn so much about myself, my limits, loss, and of other people – so many lessons that have served me well over time. Conscription is not for everyone. I’m forever grateful for the experience, but wouldn’t want to do it again. If the army is your calling and your personality lends itself to going in that direction, then great. If not, try something different, especially if you have the opportunity to follow something you’re passionate about. If you’re doing something you don’t enjoy, life can feel very long. Start with the end goal in mind and plot your way as to how you’re going to get there. It might involve working a crappy job for a while to save money, but keep learning all the while and do not be afraid of the hard work. And also learn the value of compound interest when you’re young,” advises Labuschagne.
His mother, Heather Labuschagne, said, “His conscription was very hard on the family. It was a very worrying time, but Brent has got a very strong faith. We’re very proud of him. He brought me a teddy bear when he came back from the marines which I still keep to this day. He is the kindest person to everybody. He’s a very sporty type and a wonderful father and a wonderful son.”
If you are interested in reading Toti Marine, you can find it with the following Amazon url: https://a.co/d/5jd9Al1.
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