Wednesday, August 08, 2007
since i have now completed my army phase of my life, i think its appropriate for me to write a post that consist of the ups and downs that i encountered during this 1year and 10months... this will serve as a memory for me, and it will be something that wont be forgotten by me no matter how distant it will be...
7th October 2005 was the day i enlisted for National Service... it was to be the start of a 1yr 10mth journey in the military... the starting phase was called Basic Military Training (BMT)... it was a 2.5mths course held in Tekong... its the place where i first came into contact with military conditions and was the first place i made friends that had a huge impact on my life... i was assigned to 'R' Coy... when i first went to my bunk, i did not know anyone there but we quickly warmed up to each other... my buddy was Andy... he's a great guy who's very friendly and approachable... the following 2.5mths we spent looking out for one another... *ch33rs to u my buddy* ... within a few days, we practically knew everyone in the platoon... we spent the next 2.5mths training together... outfield, lectures, physical training etc... we all had loads of fun... the going was tough but we endured through it and soon we found ourselves physically fitter than we were when we first enlisted... BMT ended with a Passing Out Parade (POP)... it was a sad day for us as we were about to proceed on with our army lives with the possibility of not having one another supporting us, but we knew our friendship would last...
next phase of my army life was spent in School of Infantry Specialists (SISPEC) which was at the new campsite at Pasir Labar (forgot the spelling)... it was there where we trained for 6mths to be specialists or simply called sergeants... attended the Basic Leadership Course (BSLC) and Advance Leadership Course (ALC)... i felt kinda blur when i first reached the campsite... it was a totally new place, and i was proud to be the first batch to use that place... i found out that i actually had alot of friends who were from my platoon in BMT together with me... we were assigned to the same bunk and platoon as well in SISPEC... haha... that was so cool... for the next 6mths, we did everything together and even went for our overseas training trip to Taiwan together as well... we supported one another through the whole period... the most memorable parts during SISPEC would be getting the Combat Skill Badge (CSB), Taiwan trip as well as the POP... in order to get the CSB, we had to go through a lot of tests and most importantly the 32km route march... it was a tedious and tiring march, but we were able to endure thankfully to all my friends... but sad to say that not everyone managed to get the badge... the Taiwan trip was another highlight of ASLC... we spent 3weeks there training and during the last few days we had our own Rest n Recreation in the city of Taipei... haha... it was really fun over in Taiwan... new surroundings and new experiences for all of us... the POP was another highlight of the whole SISPEC course... it was then we all graduated as 3rd Sergeants... i can still remember the feelings from that day... how proud all of us were to pass out, and are ready to lead our section during the rest of our army days... it was also a sad day for us as we were about to be separated once again...
i was posted to 1 Signal Bn... at first, my posting slip wrote Signal Spec, but when i reported, they told me that there was not posting for a Signal Spec and there was some mistake... after much deliberation, they found out that i was suppose to be a Regimental Police Spec, meaning i was the IC for the RP section... this was the place i spent ever since i passed out from SISPEC and all the way to my ORD... highlights during this period was getting Silver for my IPPT and getting Marksman for my live range... it was really a good experience... although its a service side camp, meaning no outfield or physical training, i still had to be lead by example... things didnt really go right for me during this period, both work n personal matters, but im glad to say that i managed to pull myself through this period of time, thanks to help from friends as well... although i had to work harder than the previous ICs, i felt that i managed to make more friends than the rest, simply because i really work with them for duties... during this period of time, we still managed to meet up with those from BMT and SISPEC...
after all that has been said and done, i really want to thank a handful of people for making NS life easier to go through... firstly to the instructors in BMT and SISPEC who taught us everything they knew and taking such good care of us... next to the people whom i got to know in 1 Sig Bn... and last but not least, to all the friends i have made during this 1yr 10mths, especially my good buddies, Andy, JX, Ah Hao, Eugene, Heng Kiang, Wei Quien and Dean... many thanks to everyone ;)
waking up from my lonely world at 1:24 AM;
