As all 18 year old boys, i was forced to serve my military duty in Soviet Army.
I was sent far away from home - to Uzbekistan (one of the Eastern countries of Soviet
Union, bordering with Afganistan). When i (we) were told that we will be trained as a cooks,
at first i thought that we are fooled as always young soldiers are treated. But it was not
a joke, as a big surprise for me - in Soviet Army was even special training schools
for military cooks.
So i turned into one, although before i did not know anything about cooking...
It became handy later in life - very practical profession, not like for those who served
as a tank drivers in the Army base i cooked.