One of my clearest memories from recruit school is trotting along a frozen road with my rifle and pack rattling and my breath sawing as we all sang " When the Red, Red Robin goes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along". It was our corporal's favourite, followed immediately by "Bye, Bye Blackbird" and several other bird-themed ditties. Singing while doubling was a traditional training technique used to keep us moving together while increasing our heart-lung efficiency.

We did not use jodies, however; that was a foreign practice frowned on in the Canadian Forces. Folk songs, pop songs, the sillier the better.