The first day at a new school is always exciting, but even more so when you meet new friends and play games that'll turn you into a real soldier.

You can't just start as a soldier, you have to go to basic training, where you learn all the stuff from your drill sergeant.

That's me.

Oh, okay.

Where's your hat, Recruit Russell?

I forgot it, sergeant.

You can use my spare, but from now on, keep track of your equipment.

Yes, sergeant.

Rusty took me into the bush to learn all the army stuff.

The first thing I had to learn was heaps of hand signals.

Stop.

This one means stop.

This means get down.

This is move over there.

I'll get it.

Now, Rusty and I can talk to each other without talking.

An important part of the army stuff is doing push-ups.

Good push-ups, Recruit Russell.

Also, everything had a name.

Okay, that hill is called Hill 4.

That one is called Hill 6.

That blue gun is called Tango 7.

You got that?

Oh, serge, I'm not good at remembering numbers or words.

Well, you better get good if you want to be in the army, Recruit Russell.

You need to know these things if we call for a dust-off.

A dust-off?

A dust-off is when you call in a helicopter to come and rescue you.

You have to tell the chopper where to land.

Rusty loved calling for a dust-off.

But the funnest bit was the sentry duty.

It's when you're a guard.

You have to be on the lookout when the other soldiers sleep.

I loved it.

All the other soldiers are counting on you.

I was really good at sentry.

You're really good at sentry.

Thanks, serge.

Have some rations, Recruit Russell.

Rations is what they call food in the army.

How do you know so much about the army?

Because my dad's in the army.

Is he on patrol like us?

Yeah, but not for long.

Well, that's good.

He said when he comes back, he's got to bring me some condensed milk.

Oh, I love condensed milk.

Then the scariest bit happened.

Contact!

What do we do?

Fall back!

Get down!

There's too many of them.

We have to call for a dust-off.

I told you we love dust-offs. 6-1, this is 6-2.

We are surrounded.

Request immediate dust-off.

Stand by for location.

Over.

Recruit Russell, what's our location?

It was all down to me.

I had to remember what that tree was called.

Tango 5.

No, Tango 6.

Tango 7!

We're next to Tango 7.

Over.

Great work, Recruit Russell.

Oh, no!

Megan is on the dust-off, Tango 7.

LZ is no good.

I think he was saying the chopper had to land somewhere different.

Recruit Russell, we've got to get to that field.

How?

Run!

One thing I can do is run.

I'm a Jack Russell.

Get to the chopper.

OK.

Good thing we did all those push-ups.

We made it.

Great work, Recruit Russell.

I can see why Rusty liked calling for dust-offs.

Why did you come to this school?

Was there something wrong with your old school?

No.

There's something going on with me.

I'm not good at doing what I'm told, I can't sit still, and I can't remember anything, like numbers or letters on my hat.

Mmm.

Well, you're really good at playing, aren't you?

Learning while having fun in a new place is another great way to get better every day and improve our skills.