Guarding Buckingham Palace, the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II, is one of the worst jobs in the British army, according to documents quoted by The Sunday Telegraph. The soldiers posted at the gates of the impressive royal residence suffer a "very onerous and repetitive" job that "constitutes real and unique pain", according to a letter from Major General Sebastian Roberts, the head of the Household Division.
Roberts, also the general officer commanding the army's London district, told the army director of infantry brigadeer, Jamie Balfour, that service in the Household Division was an "honour and a privilege".
He added: "It must be recognised that MT 2-5" - short for Military Task 2-5, the code for the job that includes guarding royal palaces but also other public and ceremonial duties - "is a debilitating routine task. The challenge within MT 2-5 for recruiting, retention and maintaining operation capability is enormous. The task constitutes real and unique pain."
Roberts said the number of soldiers from one regiment seeking to leave duty early had risen 50 percent since they were assigned to some royal guard duties.
The vision of Britain's soldiers in their red-coated uniforms, beloved of foreign tourists and postcards, takes a lot more work than it seems, the paper said, since they spend hours each day cleaning and pressing their uniforms, and polishing their boots. The romance of the job, Roberts added, wears thin quickly, especially after a few days living in the "atrocious" Victorian barracks at the Tower of London.
"The fun aspect of the job evaporates after the first week. Irt's not what soldiers join the army to do. It requires a very high level of personal discipline but that's about it. It requires no intelligence, zeal, athleticism or initiative."