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.