Current Physical status // Platoon IC reflection

 IPPT : TOTAL : 82        2.4km : 10.41 (fastest)
SOC : 3.52 ( fastest)


Now that i think about it, the 9 days of being Platoon IC in BMT really taught me so much that brought me to a much higher caliber.

It taught me hardship, responsibility and discipline.  It taught me that I shouldnt do things that would make me disappoint my men. It taught me that i CANNOT be weary in front of my men. It taught me that I MUST have infinite strength to do things which the men cant or wouldnt do, for this responsibility has been entrusted to me. The high keys - BIC , 16km , leave application and parade rehearsals and the many cock ups due to the 9 - 11 statuses, 5 aeromeds etc as they kept coming in and out , really created so many situations that I would never dream about LOL.

INF LDR ( TRAINEE) PRO TERM

 Well, that wasn't my last week of SCS, but just a hiatus from Lima - the apparently most shiong company in SCS.

When i received my posting , i was like WELL FUCK ME. and i was literally stunned , not knowing what to do for like 10 secs. The reason why i reacted this way is because : 1. Im the only one other than Azlan whom wasnt satisfied with the posting / didnt get what we expressed our interest for ( i expressed interest for artillery) 2. I realized that there really is nothing to be proud to be infantry about - everyone gets the CSB , almost everyone has two swords behind their formation badge, but we still train so hard for fuck!?

Also , I do not know why but I was just fucking jealous of everyone else who had something special / different. To make things worse, most of the cadets got artillery - something i wanted to do so as to follow in my brother's footsteps. I just had this feeling of hopelessness and being lost as it was the first time (i guess) I actually missed someone whom I love - my section . Jia Le , Gideon , Azlan, Jared etc. Who was gonna complain about me not bathing ? Who was gonna be as enthu about US army life as I am ? I dont know. But after 8 weeks of Lima , Im gonna fucking pull my socks high and pull through this pro term. The only thing i have in these 12 weeks are the new people beside me (whom I hope are competent) and the drive i have to fucking chiong sua.

With Pride we Lead , Specialists ! Super Chiong Sua!


Btw, the posts before these were all weekly reflections , and i really hope they continue this in Lima so that i can actually update this blog! There is a reason why its not so candid and so serious XD.
So yea, Ill really need a fistful of determination and a strong body to push through infantry and OTOT training man. Hope I do better than the rest , HU rah!

SCS WEEK 8

The last week of SCS. AS I reflect upon my 8 weeks here, i realize how much we have grown as a person and a soldier; the time flew by too quickly and I didn’t even get to know everybody.

The most important event this week was the 24km route march. As it was my first 24 km, I was a bit scared yet excited, but as I looked at my peers around me and their presence gave me the motivation to carry on. The first 8 km and we already had our first fallout - a serious one which required him to be sent to the A & E (leg, stomach cramp, fading in and out). The 20km also had its many fallouts as it was definitely more than 4km. However at the end of the 24 km, I felt happy and relieved that foundation term was essentially over! But when I reflected before we went to sleep, I realized that this is just a small step into NS and a taste of the life ahead of us. The march reminded me that we have to motivate and encourage our peers to press on but yet manage to stay strong ourselves. As the week comes to a close , a nostalgic feeling creeps in as the days of Lima are coming to an end(If I do not stay in infantry) – the tough times we all shared together, the joyous moments we had will be remembered fondly. Thus the things I will take away from my term in Lima is that: WE must be strong in the face of adversity. WE must encourage others to help each other out. WE must not be selfish and work as an individual, but a team. And last but not least, it is only through tough times will we learn the most precious lessons.

SCS WEEK 7

Week 7 – a “slack” week with 2 nights out !

Other than all the lessons we had , the prominent activities we had were : CFA , SOC TEST and MATADOR/M203 live firing.

CFA 6 was a really tiring but reminded us of how as a platoon, we must be cohesive and strong in order to overcome the many challenges ahead.

The SOC test was a big surprise for us, because from the 30 failures of low rope, we all managed to lower it all the way down to 9 failures! A tremendous improvement which I wasn’t even aware of until Encik mentioned it. I then realized that the hardwork we put in that isn’t seen ( ie doing the right thing when no one is watching)  - although the results are subtle, in the long run, we will be rewarded in one way or another ( nights out ! ) .

Then came the MATADOR and M203 live firing at the end of the week. It was a shocking and amazing experience! As I walked past the live firing area, the sheer amount of space needed for the firing was amazing and the scenery was quite breathtaking. As everyone was in a relatively better mood than most days , we managed to breeze through the live firing with smiles on our faces and a sense of achievement. At Chevron’s , I also learnt about the hardship and amount of hardwork our pioneers put in to build up our 3G army of today. It is only through the hardwork of previous generations can we benefit the future generations.

WHAT DOES SG50 MEAN TO YOU ?

Well , it is a really special and memorable year. SG50 to me represents Singapore – her culture, her people, her racial harmony and peace that she attained. SG50 is just a celebration of the hardwork put in by our pioneers that set the pathway to our success today. After the many events that happened – the queuing up to visit Lee Kuan Yew , the rail breakdown etc. -  The Singapore spirit truly showed. People helping each other , passing water and food around and letting the needy board the public transport – allthese shows how cohesive Singapore is and how generations are able to come together to help each other out. All these events really makes SG50 very special and means a lot to me as it shows how Singapore managed to withstand the trials and tribulations over the 50 years and yet managed to excel above the rest.

WHAT DOES SAF50 MEAN TO YOU ?

Although it has only been 3 months as a soldier, to me, SAF 50 represents the great achievement of attaining a sustainable and reliable defence system in such a small country . It shows that even though we have limited resources and have a much smaller population compared to other countires, our SAF is still well-respected amongst other nations and is one of the top few countries in terms of defence. SAF50 together to help each other out. All these events really makes SG50 very special and means a lot to me as it shows how Singapore managed to withstand the trials and tribulations over the 50 years and yet managed to excel above the rest.

WHAT DOES SAF50 MEAN TO YOU ?

Although it has only been 3 months as a soldier, to me, SAF 50 represents the great achievement of attaining a sustainable and reliable defence system in such a small country . It shows that even though we have limited resources and have a much smaller population compared to other countires, our SAF is still well-respected amongst other nations and is one of the top few countries in terms of defence. SAF50 is merely a milestone we achieved in defence and that we must press on to improve, innovate and sustain our standards in order to beat our competition and keep our nation free and strong. 

SCS WEEK 6

Week 6. An excruciatingly long week for me especially. Being a COS during off-in-lieu was quite demoralising , but that “ordeal” in itself was quite enriching! I had to double confirm the medics’ and drivers’ particulars for Encik , the tonners and safety OUV for Urban Ops.

Tuesday and we were off ! When we reached the urban ops area, I was stunned – such a place existed in Singapore !? I was surprised how well equipped the area was and how all our drills could be applied there. For both the days , we practiced the room clearing, window clearing and team movement drills repeatedly till we executed the drill almost perfectly. Thanks to the amount of rounds we had ( around 90 , but I had 140+) and the amount we could only expend in one room , I can safely say it could be muscle memory to execute the drills already. However, not everyone practiced the drills as much as the others. They just passed their rounds over to the rest and continued resting. This taught me that we should persevere and not be lazy in training – when its crunch time, we do our drills seriously , but when its rest time , we really know how to relax. I really enjoyed UO overall , and discovered how smooth the drills can be executed even with an additional team behind.

Other then the lessons and SOC time trial on Thursday, the most important day was Friday – section live firing. It was really fun , being able to see the section moving as one across a field , trying to overrun the enemy and applying all that we learnt to this live firing. When shooting the live rounds, I realized how difficult it was to keep the section integrity – to ensure all were in line and no one lagging behind – and at the same time , to be able to combat zero and hit the target. During the night, I felt it was the coolest. The sky lighted up with our tracers like a laser show and the challenge of hitting the target kept my adrenaline pumping. I learnt that sometimes at night, our focus will be off as we try really hard to figure out whether or section is In line or not, whilst trying to figure out where our bullets are landing – a tough feat which gave a lot of pressure to the section commander.

All in all, week 6 was quite a great week as all we learnt could be applied to real scenarios  and the ability to fire rounds injected that little bit of fun to it. 

SCS WEEK 5

Week 5 : Field Camp week – something most cadets can safely say they dread.

However, for me , albeit I dreaded the experience, but I still took whatever I learnt and tried to apply it the best I could. The first day was harbouring ; Encik explained really thoroughly why we do harbouring and why we need the all round defence and why arc of fires are needed. This reason WHY and not WHAT helped me understand the reason why we go outfield more too. After that, we had the tripflare demo and practice, which was kind of cool because we managed to try out things we played with back at company line! As I did not setup my tripflare properly, I had to redo it and this taught me how to be more precise when doing things instead of doing it for the sake of things

From then on , it was all the practice of Section drills – a very tiring experience but enriching. As a section commander , I did pretty okay as I managed to control my men under me. However when my trainer pointed out my mistakes , I reflected and it gave me a deeper understanding of why we ICE , SPIDER and ORANGE.  Together with heat rash , the discomforting experience of doing fire and movement was excruciating but I pushed on as I knew if I didn’t do so, my section would be let down. Especially when we did the sniper drill – at one point, because of my foolishness trying to help the casualty and “medic” , there was a moment whereby we had to retreat , but I had to carry back the important equipment before retreating – the MATADOR , M203 , SAW and the SAR-21. This was the most defining moment of my SCS life. When I reflect upon that moment – running 20m with all 4 weapons – I knew that : 1.  The section commander’s mistakes can be amplified when the section is discombobulated. 2. The failure of a person in the section can delay movement and smoothness in drills 3. Determination and the motivation to not let the section down is something really important as we aren’t individuals, but a team. 

On the last day, it was where we saw the dark side of many. After a tiring 3 days and painful heat rash all over, people started shouting at each other  and the integrity of the platoon started breaking down. But somehow, after the 45min under the hot sun and a few casualties , our platoon started taking the initiative to help others in need – something that really touched my heart. Then I realized that once a team has suffered together, worked hard together and played together , will they start building that special bond and trust between each other.

When we reached the Tekong ferry terminal, it was a great way to relax in those few hours. Reminiscing the days of BMT , talking to our previous SGTs and just sharing with each other experiences gave us a great sense of relief and comfort. During this period , I reflected on how the field camp went – and I found out that I really didn’t like disappointing my men – section commander and men alike – and through field camp I really wanted to be a good sergeant so that I didn’t need my men to suffer next time.

SCS WEEK 4

Week 3 was a mentally draining week. Signal lessons for the whole day, learning voice commands, SOPs and everything else in signalling. Inserting the tests and lethargy , it was really a challenge for everybody. After the lessons , it was really cool having the knowledge about voice commands and being able to apply it ; Especially in ORANGE, now I clearly understand how its meant to be done.

Backyard training was really fun as  we got to do it in our own bunks! We tried many different variations  with the different organics in our section. We learnt the dynamics of how to clear a room and what are the roles for everybody.

The SAW familiarisation shoot was truly the highlight of the week( or even, the weeks to come!). although we didn’t have ample time to get used to the SAW , seeing the huge MMRC range and others firing the U100 was very exciting for me. When it came to my turn , I was so excited that I did not really care about passing, I just cared about having fun with the gun ! I did pass in the end, however I feel that this short period given to ‘familiarise’ us with the SAW might be abit too short as there was no practice.

All in all, the week was fulfilling as I learnt so much in such a short span of time. I hope the weeks to come would be able to give us this much sense of achievement at the end of each week

SCS WEEK 3

What a week it was! Navigation test was a blast as we finally could put our navigation skills to the test. Although it was a tiring full day of testing, the exposure given to us by the training was tremendous; As a scout, even I found the navigation test challenging as I have never done it in blistering heat with my body drenched in sweat. But I also really learned the importance of how pacing and azimuth setting complemented each other and how those key factors determined the accuracy of where you’ll land.

Fire and movement was fun because SGT Muz took our section. He expected a lot from us so he trained us hard- we tried different situations, tactics and learned the reason why we do ICE and SPIDER. Despite the raging heat and continuous training ,I feel that this lesson was essential as it really reinforced my knowledge on how fire and movement was meant to be done. Especially when it came to the lesson on ORANGE,  Warrant Heng drilled into us how it was done and how the sitrep was meant to be said. He even gave us an additional challenge by giving us a situation and made us react to it – something which I really appreciated as I soon found out the reason why and how we do fire and movement in a real life mission.

Sports day was really fun! It was a cool Saturday morning , despite the drizzle, thank God it didn’t rain and the training everyone put in didn’t come to waste! It was really how great the cadets from the individual schools became bonded and began cheering for their own schools even though the guys were from different companies. This really touched my heart and made me prouder of school 3.

SCS WEEK 2

Week 2 was met with a lot more challenges as the physical and combat training began kicking in. Together with SOC and IPPT, our navigation course and practical test became that much harder as our muscles ached from the previous day and our uncomfortable SBO 1 made us sweat buckets. Navigation course was fun in the day because as a scout, it was my element – I could run around and get to my destinations without much complaint. However, in the night, as previously in scouts I did not have much practice for night navigation, I found it abit of a challenge and didn’t do so well as in the day. All in all, despite the scoldings, I still managed to take away lessons, be it soldiering skills or life skills such as how to take care of one another or those under you.

IPPT was really a delight for me as I managed to improve my 2.4km timing to an amazing 10.46 , a timing even I haven’t gotten before in my life! ( fastest was still 11.01 in BMT then) and although my pushups decreased by 2, my situps moved up by one point! It was an achievement because I managed to improve my score as what Encik expected and raised the bar for my physical fitness – a challenge for me to work hard during trainings!

SCS WEEK 1

On the first week and the first day in Lima, I remember dreading my 4D number as I dragged myself up to the 5^th floor, but once I met my company/ platoon members from Eagle and many other different personalities in Lima, I began feeling like I was part of a big thing – as Lima was considered a company with peak physical condition.

After going through the CFAs and IPPT , I felt like I was dying , but I could feel myself growing stronger both physically and mentally as I got accustomed to the Lima Life. Training soon became more manageable and more fun ; the Master SGTs interacted with us more and more, and in turn, we created an initial bond with them.

The initial week was short , but progressively, Lima company trainings and SCS became more manageable and “fun”.