I probably slept well on the third night, as I almost overslept. Much to my surprise, as I was sleeping in a hole I dug in the ground the previous day. Perhaps it was the fatigue from the past few days building up. Nonetheless, this morning marked the last and final day of field camp, as well as the second last day out field. The activity for the day was GBC or Group Battle Course in short. This entailed applying what we have learnt throughout those few days at field camp, as well as IFC a few weeks back. A test of sorts.
So, everything went along as usual, falling in, eating breakfast, and applying camo cream. For 4 days since the start of FC, we have been wearing a permanent facial mask of green and black camo. Except, our pores were no where near cleansed. The familiar burning sensation of face paint felt all too routine by then.
By the time the sun was up, the GBC had started. Each group of 3 recruits are to follow a path through the site where they will be attacked. The group has to react to the enemy fire and choose whether to advance or retreat. Being the last section of the last platoon, we were naturally, the last to start on our course. It was about 11 in the morning when we were about to proceed with our course.
However before we could even make our way past the second checkpoint, the exercise was called off. Apparently someone in another company nearby suffered a heat injury, causing all other activities to be suspended for that afternoon. For the rest of the afternoon, the majority of us were just, sitting around. For the first time in 4 days, enjoying the nature and the quiet around us.
As the sun started to set, we transitioned to our situation test site, via bus. Air conditioning never felt so good! The sit test site was located just off the coast, with a view of the control tower of Singapore Changi Airport. Before the end of the night, we were greeted by yet another surprise. Dinner was... instant noodles! Cooked with our mess tin and solid fuel in another hole in the ground, the taste of instant noodles was one that could bring tears to your eyes.
I jest .
But after dinner, we settled down to rest for our last and final day of outfield, the famous, Situation Test, or Sit Test for short.
The Last and Final Day
The Sit Test was a set of 10 missions which involve teamwork, coordination, and a good knowledge of knots. The goal of the Sit Test was to identify recruits with leadership capabilities and those that can function well under stress. Recruits that do well in the tests will have better chances of getting into command school, making the test a known requirement for qualification. During the Sit Test, an assessor along with his assistant will be assigned to each group, comprising of people in other sections and platoons (Strangers). The assessor, is an officer in the army, and he will observe and assess each individual throughout the course and score them according to their aptitude to lead. Whether the group manages to clear the mission or not, it doesn't matter. Because the assessors are looking at the effectiveness of the group leader.
Throughout the entire day, we were put through many different scenarios. Some include transporting cargo across the river, protecting an important landmark from enemy attack, or evacuating casualties from precarious scenarios. At the start of every mission, a new group leader as well as an assistant group leader are appointed, to lead the group and plan the course of action. These people are paid special attention to, when they are in charge.
My turn came at the 7th mission. The mission was to evacuate a casualty through a 3m deep sewer on one end and up through the other end, within a 15 minute time limit. Needless to say, a seemingly impossible task within that time limit. But 12 minutes into the mission, we were already lowered into the sewer and attempting to raise the casualty out of the sewer. However, before we could evacuate the casualty, time ran out. But instead of feeling sad or disappointed, we all felt that we did a great job making it this far into the mission before time ran out.
Sit test ended at around 4pm and we were ready to go back to our bunks. As we were waiting for our transport back, I realized the itch that began somewhere on the 3rd day of FC started hurting. It felt like hundreds of needles piercing my back, my scalp and my chest. That itch, was heat rash in action. It felt like hell.
As we were boarding the tonner back to our bunks, I looked at my hands. Covered in a layer of dirt for the past few days, I realized that I have never been through such an experience like FC before. I've never been this dirty before, I've never felt so hot and sweaty, and happy to go back to civilization. A shower, a comfortable bed and some internet was all that I wanted to feel satisfied for the rest of my life. Field camp was finally over, but we were not allowed to book out until the next week, which was another 5 more days. All of us felt weary, and all of us wanted a break.
NOPE
Next time: GRENADE? And Project White Star.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Blood, Sweat and many many Tears (FC Day 3)
Day 3 was the much awaited shell scrape day! A shell scrape is essentially a hole in the ground in which a soldier can take cover in to prevent them from going SPLAT when under artillery fire. Day 3 of field camp day was dedicated solely to digging one of these beauties, (Yes, it took the whole damn day) along with other surprises.
But before all the digging starts, we had to rise in the morning, eat breakfast, collapse our tents and do some field PT. Nothing very special happened that morning... well, except for taking a poop in the forest. It was 4:30 am in the morning, and all of us were already awake, getting ready to start the day. I, on the other hand wasn't ready for the morning. Since the last potty break was about 2 days ago, I really didn't have a choice. You know, when nature calls, you can't exactly put it on silent. So, I, along with another friend attending natures' call went to the latrine set up by the commanders. It too, was basically a hole in the ground (I shit you not).
I feel don't need to describe the rest of it to you, but after that morning, rations didn't make me full anymore. Even the smell of rations made my stomach turn on its side.
T'was around 8:30 am when we were allocated our spots to dig. I felt ready to start the day, finish digging the shell scrape in about 2-3 hours, and call it a day. But nope, the ground had other plans for me.
As I swung my ET blade, into the soil, all I felt were roots. Many many roots. The first 2 hours worth of digging was spent to digging the outline of the shell scrape. With relatively fresh batteries, the stubborn topsoil outline was carved out, in a painstakingly slow manner. Digging didn't just take your arms, it took your legs, and your whole core to drive the blade into the ground, pivot the blade, and loosen a chunk of soil. Every hour or so, our commanders gathered us together to conduct their hydration routines, along with good swings of "tekan" (punishment) as we were moving sloppily due to fatigue. Even my buddy, a much fitter soldier, looked like he could see a distant light calling him toward.
As the morning thinned and the afternoon crept upon us, the heat started to intensify. Digging started to slow as the sun rose higher in the sky. Our LBVs (Load Bearing Vests) became saunas, as they covered most of our upper bodies on top of our uniforms. It was not long before we were sweating buckets. As lunchtime drew near, I dreaded the sound of another round of combat rations. I just couldn't eat another bite of that without becoming sick. In fact, I was preparing to survive on the biscuits provided in the snack pack for the rest of the camp. But before lunch, our PC (Platoon Commander) asked us to gather. He sat us down and said "If you've watched Ah Boys to Men, you'll know what's coming up". Some of us were looking around for a sack of letters, notes which were written by our loved ones many miles away. But there were none to be seen. Instead, one of our commanders sat down and told us this:
"All of you here, seated now are here for what? Is it because you have no choice? Is it because the government said you have to serve?
No.
You are here, not to protect the country. You're here to protect your families. Every night, your parents, your loved ones, sleep easy because you are here. While you're protecting them. Do you understand the power of family? Of love? No matter what your parents say to you when you're at home, they still love you. Even if they don't openly say that they love you, they still do. If your mother were to be here right now, seeing you so filthy and tired, how would she feel?
Her heart will break. She would cry for you.
If she were here right now, she would take the ET Blade out of your hands and tell the commanders, "Commander, its ok, let me dig the shell scrape for my son."
The one thing that you never want to do is to make your mother cry. When I was younger, I was bad to my mother. I would always make her cry. I used to steal, I use to do bad things. And because I was caught, I made her cry. You will never know the pain, the pain I made her go through, begging the lawyer not to send her son to jail. I told myself that never wanted to see her cry again, so I went to push myself in the army. In the army, I wanted to go to OCS (Officer Command School) to prove to my mother and to make her proud. But I didn't get in and because of that, I freaking cried. But it's okay. I know I did my best, and no matter what she is always my mother, and I love her."
As the words sank into our hearts, many of us poured our emotions freely. We shed tears for our loved ones, while we were here, on a small island, isolated from home. As we collected our letters from our Commanders, many couldn't hide our teary eyed faces. No, it wasn't embarrassing for any of us. Because as men, it is okay to shed tears for our family. My parents, being less expressive folks manifested their affection in a short note to tell me to press on and achieve (sigh... how classic of them) but that nonetheless, made me tear up too.
After the letters were given out, we were greeted by another surprise. Instead of combat rations, (which I was now thoroughly sick of) we were greeted with out-rations. (dabao food from the cook house) After 3 days worth of eating rations, the sight of a hot meal made my insides tear up too.
With warm food in our bellies and invigorated spirits, we continued the rest of the day digging our shell scrapes. Finally at around 4pm, I was finished. We spent the night in our newly refurbished real estate complete with well... nothing. I am sure that day was special not only to me, but to the rest of my friends as well. As day 3 went by, we prepared for our final day at FC, Day 4.
But before all the digging starts, we had to rise in the morning, eat breakfast, collapse our tents and do some field PT. Nothing very special happened that morning... well, except for taking a poop in the forest. It was 4:30 am in the morning, and all of us were already awake, getting ready to start the day. I, on the other hand wasn't ready for the morning. Since the last potty break was about 2 days ago, I really didn't have a choice. You know, when nature calls, you can't exactly put it on silent. So, I, along with another friend attending natures' call went to the latrine set up by the commanders. It too, was basically a hole in the ground (I shit you not).
I feel don't need to describe the rest of it to you, but after that morning, rations didn't make me full anymore. Even the smell of rations made my stomach turn on its side.
T'was around 8:30 am when we were allocated our spots to dig. I felt ready to start the day, finish digging the shell scrape in about 2-3 hours, and call it a day. But nope, the ground had other plans for me.
As I swung my ET blade, into the soil, all I felt were roots. Many many roots. The first 2 hours worth of digging was spent to digging the outline of the shell scrape. With relatively fresh batteries, the stubborn topsoil outline was carved out, in a painstakingly slow manner. Digging didn't just take your arms, it took your legs, and your whole core to drive the blade into the ground, pivot the blade, and loosen a chunk of soil. Every hour or so, our commanders gathered us together to conduct their hydration routines, along with good swings of "tekan" (punishment) as we were moving sloppily due to fatigue. Even my buddy, a much fitter soldier, looked like he could see a distant light calling him toward.
As the morning thinned and the afternoon crept upon us, the heat started to intensify. Digging started to slow as the sun rose higher in the sky. Our LBVs (Load Bearing Vests) became saunas, as they covered most of our upper bodies on top of our uniforms. It was not long before we were sweating buckets. As lunchtime drew near, I dreaded the sound of another round of combat rations. I just couldn't eat another bite of that without becoming sick. In fact, I was preparing to survive on the biscuits provided in the snack pack for the rest of the camp. But before lunch, our PC (Platoon Commander) asked us to gather. He sat us down and said "If you've watched Ah Boys to Men, you'll know what's coming up". Some of us were looking around for a sack of letters, notes which were written by our loved ones many miles away. But there were none to be seen. Instead, one of our commanders sat down and told us this:
"All of you here, seated now are here for what? Is it because you have no choice? Is it because the government said you have to serve?
No.
You are here, not to protect the country. You're here to protect your families. Every night, your parents, your loved ones, sleep easy because you are here. While you're protecting them. Do you understand the power of family? Of love? No matter what your parents say to you when you're at home, they still love you. Even if they don't openly say that they love you, they still do. If your mother were to be here right now, seeing you so filthy and tired, how would she feel?
Her heart will break. She would cry for you.
If she were here right now, she would take the ET Blade out of your hands and tell the commanders, "Commander, its ok, let me dig the shell scrape for my son."
The one thing that you never want to do is to make your mother cry. When I was younger, I was bad to my mother. I would always make her cry. I used to steal, I use to do bad things. And because I was caught, I made her cry. You will never know the pain, the pain I made her go through, begging the lawyer not to send her son to jail. I told myself that never wanted to see her cry again, so I went to push myself in the army. In the army, I wanted to go to OCS (Officer Command School) to prove to my mother and to make her proud. But I didn't get in and because of that, I freaking cried. But it's okay. I know I did my best, and no matter what she is always my mother, and I love her."
As the words sank into our hearts, many of us poured our emotions freely. We shed tears for our loved ones, while we were here, on a small island, isolated from home. As we collected our letters from our Commanders, many couldn't hide our teary eyed faces. No, it wasn't embarrassing for any of us. Because as men, it is okay to shed tears for our family. My parents, being less expressive folks manifested their affection in a short note to tell me to press on and achieve (sigh... how classic of them) but that nonetheless, made me tear up too.
After the letters were given out, we were greeted by another surprise. Instead of combat rations, (which I was now thoroughly sick of) we were greeted with out-rations. (dabao food from the cook house) After 3 days worth of eating rations, the sight of a hot meal made my insides tear up too.
With warm food in our bellies and invigorated spirits, we continued the rest of the day digging our shell scrapes. Finally at around 4pm, I was finished. We spent the night in our newly refurbished real estate complete with well... nothing. I am sure that day was special not only to me, but to the rest of my friends as well. As day 3 went by, we prepared for our final day at FC, Day 4.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
FLFC! (First Legit Field Camp)
Finally at last, we've reached one of the highest of high hey events here in Basic Military Training. Field Camp! In short, field camp or FC for short is a 4 day 3 night stay in a classy resort where you will get closer to nature, allow yourself to know yourself better and also make friends with the birds and the bees!
If only life were that easy going. Haha
Day 1 - Long relaxing walks!
The first day of field camp started at around 4am in the morning. We were awoken by our alarms as well as our dread. Some of us went to the loo or took a shower, knowing that this will be the last time for almost a week, that they will enjoy such comforts. I on the other hand, was still sleepy. Tossing and turning around in bed, I didn't have a good rest at all that night. Nonetheless, we prepared our gear and made sure everything was in order before embarking on our first activity of FC, the 12km route march.
All I can say, is that route march, was like a highway to hell. Being near the back of the group, we were forced to run every 2-3 minutes or so, to catch up with our group. It didn't feel like a route march. It felt like interval training. If you thought that was bad enough, imagine a 17 kilo backpack on your shoulders the entire time. As we approached midday, the sun grew higher in the sky, making the last few kilometers of our route march that much harder. Throughout the march, I was constantly egging on my fellow platoon mates, encouraging them and asking them to push on.
To be frank, I felt just as close to giving up as they did.
We reached our field camp site just before lunch, and we could not expect the sights greeting us. When people talk about FC, they think about camping in the dense tropical rainforests. With thick vegetation, hanging vines and muddy terrain.
Hardly.
The sight that greeted us was not an entrance to a thick forest. But this...
If only life were that easy going. Haha
Day 1 - Long relaxing walks!
The first day of field camp started at around 4am in the morning. We were awoken by our alarms as well as our dread. Some of us went to the loo or took a shower, knowing that this will be the last time for almost a week, that they will enjoy such comforts. I on the other hand, was still sleepy. Tossing and turning around in bed, I didn't have a good rest at all that night. Nonetheless, we prepared our gear and made sure everything was in order before embarking on our first activity of FC, the 12km route march.
All I can say, is that route march, was like a highway to hell. Being near the back of the group, we were forced to run every 2-3 minutes or so, to catch up with our group. It didn't feel like a route march. It felt like interval training. If you thought that was bad enough, imagine a 17 kilo backpack on your shoulders the entire time. As we approached midday, the sun grew higher in the sky, making the last few kilometers of our route march that much harder. Throughout the march, I was constantly egging on my fellow platoon mates, encouraging them and asking them to push on.
To be frank, I felt just as close to giving up as they did.
We reached our field camp site just before lunch, and we could not expect the sights greeting us. When people talk about FC, they think about camping in the dense tropical rainforests. With thick vegetation, hanging vines and muddy terrain.
Hardly.
The sight that greeted us was not an entrance to a thick forest. But this...
A palm plantation
Then again, instead of feeling shocked or surprised, I was feeling hot and cold at the same time. I got chills on my skin, and I could feel my heart rate racing. No, I wasn't talking to some hot chick. It was the beginning of heat exhaustion. In a slight daze, I went along with my buddy to build our shelter for that night. Moving much slower than I normally would, I struggled to hammer the tent pins into the ground. Stopping to catch my breath from time to time. (Yes la, I sound damn weak ok. But 12k was no joke) If that wasn't enough, our Sergeants were rushing us to gather on the other side of the site. Realizing that I dropped one of my elbow guards on the floor, I reached down, picked it up, and turned to sprint to the gathering point.
I took one step after turning. My foot got caught on something and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor with a very familiar sensation. A sprained ankle.
Shit. Injured on the first day of FC.
I limped over to the medic tent and iced my injury. Still feeling the effects of the heat, I took a half hour over there to rest. As I was sitting in the tent, I heard the lunch bells ring. And one of my friends handed me a green pack labelled "Combat Rations". Opening up the packet labelled "Chicken Macaroni" I had a bite of FC cuisine for the first time ever. The taste...
Was not as bad as I thought! Granted, it looked nothing like what it said, it was edible; which is all that mattered. Upon finishing lunch, I rejoined FC, with a slightly swollen ankle. Hoping not to injure it further, I tread lightly. The rest of the day was mostly devoted to lessons involving tactical movement and so on. Much similar to IFC.
Day 2 - FIGHT BACK!
The second day of field camp was filled with more lessons. At that point of time, field camp felt more like outdoor lessons than a camp itself. We spent most of the morning listening to lessons by the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) on fire movement (Advancing and defeating an enemy in a group). It was only in the afternoon when we managed to practice what we learnt. Most of the time however, was spent waiting around for our turn and talking cock with the Sirs and Sergeants.
Another large portion of the day was spent watching and laughing at some of our blur section mates getting scolded by the commanders as they weren't following instructions properly. Which provided entertainment in the otherwise disconnected world.
My ankle didn't seem to worsen since the previous day, much to my relief. But I still tried to be careful whenever I was walking. Lunch and dinner were both combat rations as usual. Curious to try other flavours of rations, I dug in to flavours such as "Lor Mee"and "Nonya Curry Rice" which neither looks nor tastes like what is labeled. Nonetheless, we were still in high spirits for the rest of the day. But at the back of our minds, we knew what was looming ahead. Day 3 was the infamous "Shell Scrape Day". Expecting the worst, I retired for the night in my basha.
Next up: FC Day 3 and 4. Blood, sweat and many many tears.
Day 2 - FIGHT BACK!
The second day of field camp was filled with more lessons. At that point of time, field camp felt more like outdoor lessons than a camp itself. We spent most of the morning listening to lessons by the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) on fire movement (Advancing and defeating an enemy in a group). It was only in the afternoon when we managed to practice what we learnt. Most of the time however, was spent waiting around for our turn and talking cock with the Sirs and Sergeants.
Another large portion of the day was spent watching and laughing at some of our blur section mates getting scolded by the commanders as they weren't following instructions properly. Which provided entertainment in the otherwise disconnected world.
My ankle didn't seem to worsen since the previous day, much to my relief. But I still tried to be careful whenever I was walking. Lunch and dinner were both combat rations as usual. Curious to try other flavours of rations, I dug in to flavours such as "Lor Mee"and "Nonya Curry Rice" which neither looks nor tastes like what is labeled. Nonetheless, we were still in high spirits for the rest of the day. But at the back of our minds, we knew what was looming ahead. Day 3 was the infamous "Shell Scrape Day". Expecting the worst, I retired for the night in my basha.
Next up: FC Day 3 and 4. Blood, sweat and many many tears.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Real Life FPS!
Week 6 was the start of our live firing exercise of our Basic Military Training. Only after 6 friggin' weeks than we can actually use our rifles... "Military Training" huh?
Anyway, before we headed over to the range and pumped holes into a few targets, we had to go though the Individual Marksmanship Trainer (IMT). The IMT range was some high tech stuff! Located in a building a short walk away from our bunks, the IMT range was a large, long and dark room filled with projectors and simulator rifles. The purpose of the range was to train and teach recruits on handle the rifle, familiarize them with the targets, along with the procedures to take in the event of a rifle malfunction.
On top of that, the equipment at the range can track everything! From how steady you hold your rifle, to how you squeeze the trigger. The simulation rifles there were even able to deliver recoil, making the simulator that more realistic
Chilling in an air conditioned room for the whole day, shooting digital targets. Of course damn shiok la.
Towards the end of the day, we were required to pass an IMT test. In short, we had to shoot in all positions (Standing, kneeling, prone and foxhole) and in both day and night conditions.
I hit everything. 32/32, earning an easy marksman. I thought to myself, "Shooting no kick la! If I can ace this test, firing will be just as easy". Hah, I was so wrong
BTP - Live Range (Day 1)
Day 1 started real early. We took a bus towards the 100m range some 20 minutes away. I was quite excited, ready to hit as many targets as I could that day. The previous day, we (my section mates and I) found out that we were the last detail of the entire exercise. Settling down just after 8 in the morning, we sat down and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
T'was 1pm, while the rest were having lunch, when we were called up to shoot for the first time that day. At IMT, there were 6 ranges of 12 lanes each. Which means 6 details worth of people could shoot at the same time. At the range, there was 1 range of 12 lanes. Holy... That wasn't even all! We had 3 shoots that day too! Anyway, the first shoot was a zeroing shoot, meant to adjust our scopes to our aiming style. The targets were big, and easy to shoot. They were meant to be. Still feeling confident, we waited for the next shoot later that afternoon.
After lunch, things seemed to move faster, after about 3 hours, we were back at the range for our familiarization shoot, (A test shoot in the day). Ready make another flawless run, I steadied my aim.
My target came up, I took a breath, aimed and fired.
The target remained up (I missed)
Pulled the trigger yet another time, and the target still stayed up. All around me, targets were being shot. Flustered, I fired again, and finally the target went down. Hoping I was unlucky. I shot my last round in that magazine, and missed again. That was just the first out of 3 magazines. For that shoot, I hit 5 out of 12 targets. Not even near the marksman score. Lol, my ego fell so hard it shattered to bits. I was at a loss as to what happened. Was it my aiming technique? Was my rifle zeroed properly? Maybe I was too full, or maybe I was just unlucky. I didn't really know and it bothered me. Later in the night, I had a slightly better, but still unsatisfactory performance at the night shoot. Struggling to get a marksman, I hoped the next day was going to be better
BTP - Live Range (Day 2)
The next day, started similar to the first. we reached early and got ready for the shoot. This round was the real deal. Day 2 determined whether you could earn a marksman achievement; rumored to be a criteria for admission to command school. This time, I was worried. If I didn't get my marksman today, it's gonna be that much harder getting into command school. But instead of feeling flustered, I told myself to take it a shot at a time.
The first shoot came at us quickly, and before I knew it, I was already in the foxhole. I calmed myself down, and got ready to shoot.
The first target came up, and got shot.
The second target came up and also went down
This happened again, and again for the rest of the day shoots. I hit 16/16 test targets, and 16/16 practice targets. I didn't just perfect my test shots, I also hit all my practice shots too. Suddenly, my target wasn't for marksman anymore. It was for company best shot, the best shooter in the company. With a full IMT score, there was a very high chance I might be able to achieve it if I could shoot everything today as they ignored the fem shoot the previous day. That was when the pressure started to pile up. Between the day and night shoots, we had 5 hours to wait around for nightfall. Trying my best to keep shooting out of my mind, I talked a lot of cock with my friends around me till night came.
Night came, and it was the moment of truth. The first 6/12 rounds hit their targets, and when the 7th round flew out of my barrel, it missed its mark.
Ah well. So much for the high hopes.
Then again, I still walked away with a comfortable marksman award. Happy but a little disappointed, we left the range and headed back to our bunks
Next post: FIELD CAMP!?
Sorry guys and girls for the late posts, I'm really busy with BMT now to do the posts as regularly as possible. In fact, I'm now behind in writing. Hope ya'll don't mind - Matthew
Becoming fabulous
Applying Makeup, Soldier style
Ever wanted an all in one concealer, foundation and lipstick? Well, the army has exactly what you are looking for! Also known as "Leaf Green Camouflage", this revolutionary beauty product will conceal all of your flaws like dark spots, scars and even unsightly blackheads! Your face will be transformed into a sight to behold, so much so that everyone else's faces will all be green with envy. Try it today!!!
I kid
Away from the witty advertisement, applying camo was not exactly the best experience. With the order for camouflage to be on in 5 minutes, all over our face (including neck, ears and lips) we literally had to eat camo, smear it all across our faces and sometimes into our eyes. Yes, even lunch was camo tinted rice. Applying camo was easy. Squeeze a generous amount of camo, slap it on your face and eat it. But getting it off at the end of the day felt like scrubbing a stubborn coffee stain off a white shirt. The camo also had a biting sensation a while after applying it. Also, I've never tried lipstick before but green lipstick, will do the direct opposite to lip balm/gloss/stick/whatever. My lips became dry. And green.
Arti! Arti! Arti! Incoming incoming incoming!
Movement and combat drills were another part of our training. These included reacting to contact from enemy soldiers to artillery fire. For someone watching from afar who doesn't know what's going on you might think us crazy. These drills mostly entailed rolling on the ground, getting up and getting down; basically looking like clowns.
IFC in short, was an interesting experience. For the first time, I understood that physical fitness and combat fitness are worlds apart and, I got a taste of what life is going to be like in field camp. I apologise for a sub standard post this week as uni open houses burnt most of my precious weekend (I wrote this from my bunk on tekong). Next week: live firing!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Signing on, signing up, and so on...
This week was primarily centered around talks by the Air Force, Navy and Army to sign on to become regulars. In short, they were 'sales' talks by the Ministry of Defense to recruit people to join the SAF. This means that those who sign on, are contractually bound to the SAF for a number of years. In return, the SAF pays for your education and provides you a stable salary. In return, you are bonded to the Air Force, Navy or Army (depending on which one you sign on to). Obviously, the offers presented seem very very attractive. The talks and speakers were engaging and there were many cool videos that were shown to us, advertising life as a regular in the army. To put it bluntly, ah gong (the Gaarment) throws money at you to help him protect the country. Sounds good right? In fact, many of the contracts feature a pay-as-you-study scheme, where the government gives you your standard pay (2k+) per month as you pursue further education. Alternatively, you can defer your studies for a on the spot payment of $20,000. For a 19 year old kid, $20,000 seems like such a large sum of money right!
It got me thinking, "perhaps, if I don't do so well for A's... sign on la". The thought kinda bounced around the back of my head for a while. With the A level results day looming around the corner, a job in the army seemed like an option that may become attractive (should the circumstances become a reality). Thus, I decided to sign up for some of their additional thoughts, just to... keep myself informed and to listen to what they have to say.
On top of signing on, this week also marked the first EI (Express Interest talk) where the CO (commanding officer) talked about the leadership programs in the army. During national service, recruits are given the opportunity to rise to become commanders. Essentially, leaders in the army. These come mainly in the form of Sergeants or Officers that attend the Specialist or Officer Cadet Schools respectively. The gist of the talk was centered around the fact that it is up to you to express your interest to be a commander in order to be considered for selection. This means that regardless of your BMT performance, as long as you do not tell your commanders that you aspire to join command school, you will never get in.
In short, throughout this entire week of talks and thoughts, one thing stood out to me. If the person entering the army is exactly the same person when he leaves the army, then it means that he/she has wasted their time. By going through NS, we're supposed to grow as individuals. To change and transform. Since we're given a free chance to change our lives, might as well go about it!
It got me thinking, "perhaps, if I don't do so well for A's... sign on la". The thought kinda bounced around the back of my head for a while. With the A level results day looming around the corner, a job in the army seemed like an option that may become attractive (should the circumstances become a reality). Thus, I decided to sign up for some of their additional thoughts, just to... keep myself informed and to listen to what they have to say.
On top of signing on, this week also marked the first EI (Express Interest talk) where the CO (commanding officer) talked about the leadership programs in the army. During national service, recruits are given the opportunity to rise to become commanders. Essentially, leaders in the army. These come mainly in the form of Sergeants or Officers that attend the Specialist or Officer Cadet Schools respectively. The gist of the talk was centered around the fact that it is up to you to express your interest to be a commander in order to be considered for selection. This means that regardless of your BMT performance, as long as you do not tell your commanders that you aspire to join command school, you will never get in.
In short, throughout this entire week of talks and thoughts, one thing stood out to me. If the person entering the army is exactly the same person when he leaves the army, then it means that he/she has wasted their time. By going through NS, we're supposed to grow as individuals. To change and transform. Since we're given a free chance to change our lives, might as well go about it!
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